Day one began very early departure from our base at Falklands House. We met our other instructor Daniel Bucknole, who was a perfect addition to the Exped team with previous careers in mountain rescue and the RAF. Right after landing, we met plain clothes Gendarmerie who enabled us to fast-track customs. We were then off on Moroccan soil and moved by minibus across Marrakesh, climbing up through the Atlas Mountains until we reached our first stop, Imlil. As we settled into the culture whilst having a traditional evening meal of Tajine and hot lemon grass tea, we were greeted by the attached Moroccan Armed Forces and Gendarmerie. Day two began in a bundle of hustle and excitement as our team began this trek with 10 of the MAF and four of the Gendarmerie. We climbed out of Imlil on a gravel track over a col reaching 2050 meters. We were taken down a winding path covered in the shade which joined onto a riverbed at the bottom of the valley where we were greeted with lunch under a patch of trees. After an enjoyable lunch, we handrailed the river west to find our refuge at the top of Tacheddirt in a picturesque local Moroccan village. After a total of 17 kilometers of trekking with 1150m ascent, the team thoroughly enjoyed a relaxing evening watching the stars surrounding the Atlas Mountains.
Day three started as a 0900 departure from Tacheddirt. We initially started on a wide track before turning off to begin our ascent up to the col at 2940m. Upon our descent, we were greeted by an initial view of a basic village which gave way to the semi-abandoned ski town of Oukaimeden. Upon arrival, lunch was served in the CAF hut with a siesta afterward for the team to take in the landscape with arid Moroccan mountain tops scattered with empty ski lifts. In the late afternoon, we had a walking tour of Oukaimden, including stone carvings, a planetary observatory, and alpine ski infrastructure. Our third day totalled 14km with 750m ascent. An early start to our fourth day, climbing a short uphill to our max daily elevation at 2726m. After this climb, we had a long, gentle descent, initially down dusty tracks, and later, newly laid concrete road switchbacks. A late lunch with fresh melon, fish, and salad was served before crossing the river. Upon entering the village, we encountered a woman with burns to both arms – our attached Moroccan military medic assisted, before continuing to our refuge, an exciting end to our 17.4km trek. It was safe to say by now our team was fully absorbed in the Moroccan culture, with each stop making us even more excited to have the hot tea waiting for us and to have an evening debrief full of laughter.
Day five started with an even earlier 0830 departure up a gentle climb of limited aesthetic interest. A Berber happened to have gone to the effort of carrying up a crate of fizzy drinks, chocolate, and pringles to the col at Tizi n Techt, declaring his makeshift café to be open on our arrival. After a much-needed sugar high, we gently descended for a late lunch at Gite Tihliwine. After a short rest, three-quarters of the team completed an optional round-trip across the valley for traditional berber tea in a local house, leaving us with a total 14km walk with just under 1,000m of ascent. Day six started with another early departure, back across the valley and into the shade of the wadi. The temperature kept climbing as the day went on and the team sheltered wherever possible in the shade and took lunch under a blanket of walnut trees. The afternoon descent into Tizgui was gentle, and as ever, Moroccan tea and biscuits were served on our arrival. We gathered in a house that evening with several local Berbers. We all sang and danced together on a rooftop, surrounded by the Moroccan nighttime and the hum of villagers’ swaying voices. Later that evening as the team was sleeping, the High Atlas Mountains was hit by a magnitude 6.8 earthquake. The building began to shake violently, and rockfall from the mountains began crashing down into the side of the village, taking parts of houses with them. Our instructors immediately sprang into action, their calm but commanding actions led us out of the building and quickly to safety. Thanks to the military training the team had received and the incredible effort from our instructors, we remained calm and collected as we left the accommodation and headed to the edge of the village toward a wide, open area, away from further rockfall danger. Our Expedition Leader confirmed no injuries within the team, and returned briefly to accommodation to collect sleeping bags, boots, and water. The team slept directly on the ground overnight, with the Moroccan stars to look up at all night, giving us a sense of calm security. Everyone had such a strong sense of courage, resilience, and positivity. It would be safe to say that everyone found out that when they were in the face of danger and unpredictability, their morale and overall stature were as strong as ever.
As night slowly turned to the next day, brushing off the dust from our sleep on the foothills of crumbled rocks, we started off with a brief for the 15km on foot evac plan. There was some, albeit limited, breakfast and lunch was bread, a tin of fish, and an orange. The team then departed at 1100 for a foot evac down a track that was scattered with car-sized boulders and landslide debris. On arrival to the MSR, the attached Gendarmerie procured a minibus, which lifted the group plus black grips to Ansi, for a minibus exchange and return to Marrakesh.
The team displayed outstanding resilience in some of the most challenging circumstances imaginable. All with thanks to our leaders Zack Coleman and Daniel Bucknole, their natural leadership, and years of experience on mountains paired with a strong army prowess, made them brilliant from start to end and the team cannot thank them enough.
The next day, the team gathered for breakfast in the hotel in Marrakesh, then dispersed in groups to explore Marrakesh. A surreal experience to see bustling cafes amid crumbled buildings. We then got the promising news that our Duty Officer arranged for the return flight to be brought forward and the team reconvened for a rooftop lunch overlooking the skyline of Marrakesh. After more retail therapy and cultural exploration, we ended the day at the same restaurant for the evening and talked for hours about our individual tales from the night, our morale still strong and humor constantly present. The next morning, the team moved from Marrakesh to Sidi Kaouki, a beachside town on the west coast. On arrival, the team was issued a revised set of ground rules and was introduced to the concept of decompression. We were tasked by our exped leaders to be responsible for checking in on another team member. This gave the team time to reflect on the past few days, strengthening our thanks for the performance of the team in the situation and to give individual gratitude to members of the team, solidifying all we had learned and reinforcing our newly found skills. The team sat on the beach until returning for a sunset BBQ at Dar Boujdaa hotel. Overlooking the sunset scattered across the sea, we all reflected on how lucky we all were to be all together and to give thanks once again for such a strong team.
Day ten began with most of the team on an optional steady-state lone soldier beach run, after which we gathered to listen to the second instructor give a short talk based on his experience of nine years on the RAF Mountain Rescue team. Three-quarters of the team then headed into Essaouira for lunch, a local fishing village with a rather developed beachfront and the remainder remained at SK. Our final dinner was an assortment of smoked fish at the hotel, with the sun setting over the sea, making for a lovely final evening in Morocco. Our final day had arrived, and with the excitement of finally being able to return home, the team made an early departure before midday, returning to Marrakesh in the early evening. Whilst eating dinner together at the airport, we collectively decided to come back and have a positive impact on the situation, with foreseeable plans to raise money for a local charity, Education for All. We left Marrakesh at 1900 and were greeted at Gatwick by police, who enabled a fast-track through security, and out the side door of the arrivals lounge. Our Commanding Officer welcomed the team back to the UK, before QM drove the team back to Falklands House by minibus. Once again, morale was still strong as we were laughing at the state of ourselves at nearing 0100, crammed in a 15-seater bus with another 15 massive bags sitting on top of us. We arrived back at Falklands House in the early hours of the morning and were greeted by camp beds in our gym hall and slept for a few hours before being met by the TRiM team from RMAS. After a traditional English breakfast kindly provided by our Staff Sergeant, we had recovery of the issued expedition kit, and a closing parade by the XO, and then the team departed. We cannot express our thanks enough to our exped team leaders, Danial Bucknole and Zack Coleman. We are thankful for the support from our unit and cannot wait to have even more adventures with our newfound confidence and resilience, all credited to our leaders, without whom we could not have had such reinforced resilience and strong morale.