Morocco Lead Climbing
Level 3 : Instructional Course
The Anti-Atlas mountains offer a perfect environment if you wish to develop your 'trad' lead climbing skills and techniques in a warm and sunny climate in a culturally interesting area of north Africa.
Course Highlights
Coaching on 'trad' climbing leader skills and techniques
Multi-pitch rope work and belay techniques
Build confidence and become more independent in your lead climbing abilities
Expert guiding and coaching from experienced ISM Guides
Is The Course For Me?
The week is idea if you have previous outdoor climbing experience, and are confident in your own personal climbing ability. If you are at the stage where you have experience in seconding a traditional route and wish to develop your skills and ability further this is the course for you. It will enable you to start learning the mechanics that underpin safe lead climbing.
Climbing in the Anti-Atlas
Over the last 30 years, Morocco has developed into a world class climbing venue. What sets the Anti-Atlas mountains apart from other venues in Morocco is that it hasn't been bolted, and still offers adventurous 'trad' climbing, intertwined with great weather and an interesting culture , creating a fantastic climbing holiday
The Anti-Atlas is a large rocky mountain range situated 90km to the
south east of Agadir with a lifetimes supply of rock routes of all
grades up to 500m long. The rock is compact quartzite and there are high
quality routes of all standards but mainly in the low to middle grades. There are plenty of cracks in this rock, so
although compact, it is generally well protected.
It is the perfect place to spend the autumn and winter months trad climbing, when the UK weather can be unpredictable. The weather in the Anti atlas is predominantly dry and sunny as it is close to the Sahara dessert.
Flying to Agadir we travel inland for 2 hours by car to stay at the famous Kasbah in Tizourgane. This ancient fort was built in the 13th century and has recently been developed into a very comfortable hotel. It is a unique and unforgettable place to stay.
From here we have easy access to the northern cliffs on the mountain range and an hours’ drive to the smaller cliffs in the south.
There is soft Muslim culture in Morocco and in this mountainous region the people are mainly Berber. They have a relaxed and peaceful agricultural lifestyle, which has remained unchanged for centuries. The area is certainly a remote rugged wilderness. The locals speak Arabic, Berber and French.
Traditional Lead Climbing Skills
Skills covered on the course include:
- A refresh of your skills and the level of your ability
- Preparation of equipment, traditional gear and rope choice
- Mental preparation
- Safe leading practises
- Using the full range of natural protection
- Route choice and route finding
- Stance organisation
- Abseiling and retreating from the lead
- Avoiding potential problems (such as rope jams, protection falling out)
- Adequately protecting your second at all times
- Emergency procedures (when things don’t go quite as smoothly as planned) such as abseiling past a knot, hoist systems, escaping the system, evacuating an injured climber
- Judgement in rock climbing (perhaps the biggest safety factor!)
Itinerary
Saturday
Fly to Agadir, drive to the Kasbah at Tizourgane
Sunday
Warm up day rock climbing, refreshing the basics on a single pitch crag
Monday
Single pitch rock climbing consolidating Day 1. Preparation for lead climbing
Tuesday
Single pitch learning to lead climb
Wednesday
Multi-pitch climbing, stance organisation
Thursday and Friday
Multi-pitch climbing lead climbing
Saturday
Return to Agadir and depart
Course Dates & Booking
Please call +44 (0) 1539 721561 for availability
Vital Information
Short introduction to vital information. This is everything you need to know about attending this course, links to other pages
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