21st February 2018
A group of Outdoor Adventure students got a real taste of adventure when they travelled to Morocco earlier this month, spending three days mountaineering in the High Atlas Mountains with local guides and culminating with the ascent of Jebel Toubkal, which is the highest mountain in North Africa. Before the trip, students practised various winter skills and learnt about the specialist equipment that would be essential for their trip.
The team arrived in the mountains after two days travelling and had to face high winds and heavy snowfall which made accessing the mountains and life outside the refuge difficult. Due to the blizzard conditions, they spent two days acclimatising and practising ice climbing and building snow holes! On one of the days, the students managed to get half way up Jebel Toubkal through waist-deep snow before having to turn around.
Finally, the weather cleared for the final morning, so our students set off early (when it was still dark!) and made good progress to where they had been the day before, and then continued onto the summit. The feeling of achievement and happiness at the peak was tangible and was made more significant by the challenging days before it.
The team arrived in the mountains after two days travelling and had to face high winds and heavy snowfall which made accessing the mountains and life outside the refuge difficult. Due to the blizzard conditions, they spent two days acclimatising and practising ice climbing and building snow holes! On one of the days, the students managed to get half way up Jebel Toubkal through waist-deep snow before having to turn around.
Finally, the weather cleared for the final morning, so our students set off early (when it was still dark!) and made good progress to where they had been the day before, and then continued onto the summit. The feeling of achievement and happiness at the peak was tangible and was made more significant by the challenging days before it.
The team returned to the College with a greater understanding of the possibilities available to them for adventure and an awareness of the kindness and generosity offered by locals in a new culture. They also learnt about the importance of decision making in a harsh environment and further developed their skills in winter mountaineering.
This trip will be run by the Outdoor Adventure course at Kendal College every two years to ensure all Outdoor students have the opportunity to take part in what has been a thoroughly inspirational week.
