Winter climbing trip - Morocco or elsewhere?

Heyo!
My wife and I are looking to make a trip this winter for about two weeks.  Most of our trips are a mixture of 50/50 climbing/touristy things.  Coming from WA, we want some sunshine, culture and adventure.  We mainly climb trad but clipping bolts are always fun.  We have been to a few of the "popular" international spots but we were thinking Morocco or something similar.  
Beautiful MP lurkers - do you have any suggestions on a fun international trip with a mixture of climbing and culture?  
OR
Have you been to Morocco? Experience? Beta on the area?
Thanks in advance!

Conor Pesci wrote: Heyo!
My wife and I are looking to make a trip this winter for about two weeks.  Most of our trips are a mixture of 50/50 climbing/touristy things.  Coming from WA, we want some sunshine, culture and adventure.  We mainly climb trad but clipping bolts are always fun.  We have been to a few of the "popular" international spots but we were thinking Morocco or something similar.  
Beautiful MP lurkers - do you have any suggestions on a fun international trip with a mixture of climbing and culture?  
OR
Have you been to Morocco? Experience? Beta on the area?
Thanks in advance!

Can't speak personally to the climbing in Morocco but I have heard wonderful things. It's pretty cold there in the winter though... The skiing is awesome as well, in case that's a remote interest. I found Marrakech to be amazing and the atlas mountains/surrounding villages to be out of this world. A little bit of French def helps if you go off the beaten path. 

Jackie Sweet wrote:

Can't speak personally to the climbing in Morocco but I have heard wonderful things. It's pretty cold there in the winter though... The skiing is awesome as well, in case that's a remote interest. I found Marrakech to be amazing and the atlas mountains/surrounding villages to be out of this world. A little bit of French def helps if you go off the beaten path. 

Thanks for the response! I’ve heard Nov is still manageable but maybe I was misled.  I’ll check out the areas! 

Last year i climbed one day in Todra gorge. It was on hollidays with my wife who doesn't climb so I used the service of the local guide Aventures verticales. It was all lovely low-key and a perfect day. The guide let me lead everything, to be honest i think he enjoyed a nice easy day, but he was very generous with tea and cookies and lunch etc. The climbing (on bolts) is fantastic. The rock mostly still super sharp limestone. There are also quite a few long multipitch lines.

Morocco was a blast. I highly enjoyes Fez and Meknes. I wasn't so wild on Marrakech, way too touristy but still a fun experience. The desert was great to visit. And we rented a car, driving around ourselves which was easy and fun and a great way to experience the country. Overall I'd like to go back with climbing friends some time.

We were in october 2018 and the weather was pretty crap for that time of year. Friends did the same trip in november 2019 and had perfect weather. So you can really have everything that time of the year. Summer is way too hot of course.

Hey Conor, what time of year are you planning on? In general you can climb here (Morocco) year-round. It's hot in the summer, but you can climb in the shade in some areas, and you can climb all winter provided it's dry (it usually is). It can be cold in the winter, but nothing too crazy.

Taghia is phenomenal for multi-pitch sport on limestone. worth at least a week of your time, though routes there start at 5.10+ and the majority are 5.11-5.12 and harder. Spring and Fall are best.

Todra is good too, but can be busy and it's my least favorite of the big climbing areas. A road through the gorge means it's accessible for everyone (trekkers, bikers, harley's, etc). Spring and Fall and Winter are best.

Tafraout and Jbel Kest are a beautiful remote multipitch trad climbing areas with tons of moderates on quartzite domes. Jbel Kest (the north side of Tafraout) is one of my favorite areas and is climbable in all seasons except summer.

If you just want touristy things with a bit of cragging on the side, there are a few crags within 2 hours of Marrakech worth visiting. 1 in the high atlas with gorgeous views and decent climbing, and a couple in a remote village north of Marrakech with great long single-pitch sport routes in a beautiful valley.

There are also a few more obscure crags in the north of the country; another multi-pitch sport limestone destination near Akchour, and a newly bolted (hard) sport area about 3 hours from Marrakech. Lots to climb here with plenty of touristy things in-between if that's what you're wanting.

I live and guide here based out of Marrakech. Reach out to me at climbmorocco.com if you have any more questions. Really happy to just help and give advice on routes if that's what you're looking for. 

--TJ

I went to Morocco in November 2018. I had hoped to climb in Todra Gorge one day, but ultimately I didn't do it. My significant other and I had one car and one locally set-up phone working between us, so I was unsure where he could go and how we would communicate if I disappeared for hours. I also wasn't too certain about the integrity of the equipment the guides used there or their typical safety practices/expertise. I would love to go back with my own stuff and a partner and climb some rock.

November was colder and rainier than I had hoped it would be. My trip was originally delayed a month due to work, so I was continually watching the weather. October that year had terrific weather, whereas it degraded the day after we arrived in November. You could definitely climb on nice but cool days, however.

TJ's post definitely seems to have the beta to a science.

I went to Morocco with no set agenda and just flew by the seat of my pants. I met and hung out with several locals in various parts of the country, some of whom I remain in contact with to this day (although language barrier is still a bit of a problem at times).

Depends what you like to climb...

I think that Taghia might be a better late spring destination vs. winter (rel. high altitude; we went there around Memorial Day & were not baking).  Todra was fun for a few days with more to do in the easier grades.  The two are connected by a day long trek through the Atlas (we hired a guide & his donkey; arranged on the spot in Taghia) which was one of the highlights of our Morocco trip.

Wadi Rum in Jordan should be in prime conditions now.  Have done 2 trips there over the years and enjoyed it much more than Todra & Taghia.  Sounds as though it's become a "scene" now though.  Easy trip to pull off.

I really liked Oman.  We did only one route there (the 1000m tall French Pillar on Jebel Misht - aka the El Cap of the Arabian Peninsula per guidebook) but it was a long one and quite beautiful.  Easy place to visit (fly in & rent a car) but still felt exotic to us.

Have not been yet, but Sinai in Egypt looks great.  UAE seems to have a few decent looking multi-pitch routes.