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 New Route, New Roof in Morocco
By Dougald MacDonald
A team of North Face climbers
established a long 5.12 route in Morocco’s Taghia Cirque and
also built a new roof for a school in the remote village
below the limestone cliffs. Conrad Anker, Kris Erickson,
Renan Ozturk, Heidi Wirtz, and Kevin Thaw climbed La Bas
(5.12) on the Tagoujimt n’Tsouiant cliff in Morocco’s
Atlas Mountains, above the village of Taghia; the name is a
local expression meaning “no harm.” The route has 12 pitches
of bolted 5.10 to 5.12 leading to several hundred yards of
easier, traditionally protected climbing to gain the top of
the 2,500-foot cliff.
Climbers (mostly French) have been visiting the Taghia Cirque for about 30 years, and new-route activity has increased steadily in recent years, adding both the benefits and costs of tourism to the traditional farming and herding economy. Taghia is three hours’ walk from the nearest road. Generated electricity and timber for the new school roof had to be hauled in by mule over the course of about three weeks. In addition to climbing their route, the team crafted and installed the roof also they improved established trail accessing climbing routes, plus those leading to high pastures for the local resident's’ seasonal goats migration.
To see dispatches and more photos from the Moroccan expedition, visit www.thenorthface.com. Date of Ascent: October 3, 2006 |
