Читать книгу The High Atlas. Treks and climbs on Morocco's biggest and best mountains онлайн

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Perhaps surprisingly, the early travellers in the Atlas were British, and following their exploits became one of my interests (I hope to write a book about them), while, as a mountaineer, the lure of a summit was always present. A system evolved – meeting mules at some chosen spot reached by minibus, camionette (pick-up) or Land Rover and heading off for some distant objective. With nothing in the way of route descriptions, success did not always come at a first attempt, but the exploratory element was part of the fun, as was travelling with the Berbers and being so hospitably welcomed in the remotest villages, and enjoying the wildlife, the good food and the blessed sun.

So what you have in this book is a mix of reminiscence and description, much of the latter being provided by reading between the lines of the former. Where I’ve been up a summit more than once, the first visit may be described if more instructive – experience is the sum of our misadventures after all. I’ve given the date of any visit described, the month being the important reference for the weather and conditions encountered. But seasons can vary by a month, as botanists frequently note. It is somewhat frustrating to journey for a week to see some rare flower only to find the season so late it is not even in bud. If I seem to be using the regal ‘we’, this is to save giving endless names of any particular party. If there’s only me involved it will be obvious.