Hiking, backpacking, trekking, mountaineering...

Just back from another week in Tafraout, Morocco. Even better this time round, such an awesome playground for climbers, cheap as chips, perfect weather, super nice people. Had a BBQ in the desert one evening, night sky was incredible. Planning next trip already.

There's been so much development on the granite since my last trip, new guidebook is huge. Loads of bolted sport climbs, tons of splitter cracks.

Some footage of making an absolute hash of a classic HVS :)

 
mid_gen said:
Just back from another week in Tafraout, Morocco. Even better this time round, such an awesome playground for climbers, cheap as chips, perfect weather, super nice people. Had a BBQ in the desert one evening, night sky was incredible. Planning next trip already.

There's been so much development on the granite since my last trip, new guidebook is huge. Loads of bolted sport climbs, tons of splitter cracks.

Some footage of making an absolute hash of a classic HVS :)

Click to expand...
You're climbing harder than I am at the moment, and clearly have the strength and techniques to be capable, but do you struggle psychologically with climbing? You had loads of bomber gear, in my opinion, but kept placing more pretty much every 0.5m.

I get you were close to the ground, but would it be a lot easier to keep climbing than stop every move to place more gear? Not trying to be negative and it's difficult to see how high you are from the belayer so feel free to tell me to shut up, but that purple you placed before the green, it looks like the gold would have had you 100% and even the red below likely, if that was your last piece and you fell placing the green?

Not trying to take away from how safe you feel as leading is a crazy mind game and I also struggle mentally on lead, but I'm trying more to believe in my ability for the grade and place only the amount of gear needed to stay safe and not overkill it which means I'm limiting the amount of time holding on to place gear and get gassed.

That flared bit of crack after the gold looked nails though and great jamming! Looks like some great routes too!
 
moon man said:
I am after some walking / hiking trainers low cut ones ( if that's the term , realised I don't like the higher ankle ones ) but every make I look at has some reviews that put me off , my Columbia were not water proof in the slightest so what's a decent make going by experience? ( Longevity, comfort, water proof, grip) For mixed road field and rock
Click to expand...
i'd go crew-length waterproof socks and trail runners that drain quickly. Gives you a cool dry shoe when dry and a layering system for wetter conditions that doesn't hold water. Once you get water in a gtx shoe it doesn't really get back out. I usually hike in normal socks then if my feet get wet I put on my waterproof ones. If it's sunny out I'll hand my wet socks from my backpack.

Waterproof socks are great but obviously have their limits - ifg it's tanking it down and your feet are saturated then they'll eventually soak through, but likely so would gtx trainers at that point.
 
ok i am keeping these suggestions in mind, i am in Yorkshire next week so will be calling at a go outdoors , don't really fancy gambling on how a brand fits with my prime or mess about sending back, i already have some sealz socks so will wear those when sizing , i see some do half sizes
forgot to mention i want synthetic not animal based material
 
Last edited:
Jonnybmac said:
You're climbing harder than I am at the moment, and clearly have the strength and techniques to be capable, but do you struggle psychologically with climbing? You had loads of bomber gear, in my opinion, but kept placing more pretty much every 0.5m.

I get you were close to the ground, but would it be a lot easier to keep climbing than stop every move to place more gear? Not trying to be negative and it's difficult to see how high you are from the belayer so feel free to tell me to shut up, but that purple you placed before the green, it looks like the gold would have had you 100% and even the red below likely, if that was your last piece and you fell placing the green?

Not trying to take away from how safe you feel as leading is a crazy mind game and I also struggle mentally on lead, but I'm trying more to believe in my ability for the grade and place only the amount of gear needed to stay safe and not overkill it which means I'm limiting the amount of time holding on to place gear and get gassed.

That flared bit of crack after the gold looked nails though and great jamming! Looks like some great routes too!
Click to expand...
Hah yes, I wouldn't say I struggle pyschologically, if you check my other videos I'm quite happy on some pretty exciting solos (E1/E2). I'm not a particularly competent crack climber though, this trip was the first time I'd spent any time on it.

I made a lot of mistakes on that route, definitely too much gear. There was a thin section that needed laybacking, but I should have exited the layback and seen the footholds on the left face and been able to bridge across instead.

What I did do well was slow down and manage my breathing when I was getting stressed and pumped. Could have easily rested on gear, but calmed down, and fought my way up, even if it wasn't pretty! :)

I can't say enough good things about Tafraout as a climbing destination.....it's a dream. Going to try and go twice a year if I can.
 
mid_gen said:
Hah yes, I wouldn't say I struggle pyschologically, if you check my other videos I'm quite happy on some pretty exciting solos (E1/E2). I'm not a particularly competent crack climber though, this trip was the first time I'd spent any time on it.

I made a lot of mistakes on that route, definitely too much gear. There was a thin section that needed laybacking, but I should have exited the layback and seen the footholds on the left face and been able to bridge across instead.

What I did do well was slow down and manage my breathing when I was getting stressed and pumped. Could have easily rested on gear, but calmed down, and fought my way up, even if it wasn't pretty! :)

I can't say enough good things about Tafraout as a climbing destination.....it's a dream. Going to try and go twice a year if I can.
Click to expand...
Yeah, you did well to climb through such a pumpy route to be fair I'd of been done for the day after that one ha!

The only lead climb I've fell off outdoors was an E1 I'd done a year previous and thought I could still do it without climbing often enough.. I hesitated too much going for the layback move on a not so great rest, as I only had one cam large enough for the crack (I'd used a friend's massive friend the previous time). Once I committed, I kept blindly bumping my only cam big enough till I got gassed and had to fall on it. Once I knew the cam could catch me I had 2 more goes and fell off both times till I gave up lol.

To this day I've only ever fallen on lead those 3 times lol. I have a major issue with climbing anywhere near my limit that I'm trying to combat by trusting in my ability more.

Well done on on the top out though great effort!
 
Thought this would be the best place to ask.

I'm looking for a pair of shoes / boots for getting back outdoors and getting some miles in. I'm not doing 'proper' outdoors stuff, just extensive walking on and off road, a few hills but no mountains yet! I've not had proper walking shoes for years so I'm not sure what I'm looking for. My most recent pair were a pair of Hush Puppies Hiking Trainers whih i bought in January but I've barely had any use out of them because they were a terrible design with the tongue built into the shoe with barely any give to get your foot in and to top it off, the top eyelets were an integral hard rubber which perished after less than 10 months use. So I'd be looking at a proper outdoor shoe / boot. The only caveat that I have is how the sizing compares to Hush Puppies as I'm a size 11 foot and I know I've been stung before with size differences between brands.

Any advice on size comparisons would be great.
 
The best advice is to go to your local outdoor store and try a few approach shoes on. Find a pair that is comfortable, they’ll have little bridges/rocks etc that you can walk over to get a real feel for them.

I’ve got la sportiva ones, had them for years they’re brilliant. The sole parted but I got them repaired as they’re so good.
 
Jonnybmac said:
I have a major issue with climbing anywhere near my limit that I'm trying to combat by trusting in my ability more.
Click to expand...

I've been similar for the last year or so. After a couple nasty accidents with friends, I've lost all desire to climb at my limit. For the time being I've been happy to bimble about on easy stuff and it's been quite fun for a change. I've always preferred long easy HS/VS mountain days anyway so it's been good to get back to it.
 
Reuben klang said:
The best advice is to go to your local outdoor store and try a few approach shoes on. Find a pair that is comfortable, they’ll have little bridges/rocks etc that you can walk over to get a real feel for them.

I’ve got la sportiva ones, had them for years they’re brilliant. The sole parted but I got them repaired as they’re so good.
Click to expand...

When trying stuff on its usually best to visit a place. I'll probably head to my local branch of blacks but maybe not this weekend as i don't fancy too much travel in this wind!
 
Street said:
I've been similar for the last year or so. After a couple nasty accidents with friends, I've lost all desire to climb at my limit. For the time being I've been happy to bimble about on easy stuff and it's been quite fun for a change. I've always preferred long easy HS/VS mountain days anyway so it's been good to get back to it.
Click to expand...
Yeah same. It's not like HS/VS is a ladder anyways it still takes some thought but I'm enjoying the easy longs
 
lovely location - back seat driving - it looks like you could nearly layback a bit on that lovely, warm I guess, pink granite .. might put longer slings on the nuts - to avoid any sideways loading.


lightweight synthetic knitted liner gloves ? the pairs I have black/blue are becoming threadbare
can't remember where I got them - they fit inside the mittens beneath, and larger gauntlets - any ideas
pretty good for typing in a cold office too./WFH

IMG-0107-result.jpg
 
I went in for a scan this morning for a lump that appeared on my finger after a climbing session 6 months ago and it turns out I have osteoarthritis in a couple knuckles as well! Not the best news, but kind of expected at some point as I'm in my 40s now and have had various finger injuries over the years. At least she did say the best thing for it is to not stop climbing. :cry:
 
I always forget this thread exists.

I have what I think is a fairly good first go for winter UK camping now.

Really, only thing I want is some small plastic light weight bottles for holding

Milk, eggs, bioethanol.
I had to use a glass jar this week!

Quite happy with my titanium pan and alcohol stove.
1ttxXSn.jpeg




I was deciding between osprey 55 and 45.decided to go for the 55.and thank goodness I did. My set up is quite light but a 45 pack would be too small.
 
Last edited:
moon man said:
ok i am keeping these suggestions in mind, i am in Yorkshire next week so will be calling at a go outdoors , don't really fancy gambling on how a brand fits with my prime or mess about sending back, i already have some sealz socks so will wear those when sizing , i see some do half sizes
forgot to mention i want synthetic not animal based material
Click to expand...
In the end I got some Solomon x ultra 360 gtx after trying on loads , never thought I would need a size 12.5 , the sketchers are a 12 and they feel bigger, anyway I tried on with sealz socks and they are.a perfect fit, did a 12 mile test on the moors and the grip is great on steap muddy terrain and rock, not sure about the water proofing as it was torrential rain all the way and they were definitely wet on the inside so I need to test again as may have simply filled them in a deep puddle, I Will take them back if they don't perform well on the next wet test

IMG20241221102025.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom