Baraka

When you have the opportunity to travel out of Europe, to the “second” or the “third” world you have to be insensible to come back home with no changes on your mind.
We are fortunate people, we must to be happy people, we try to be better people...

Morocco is really near Europe, near Spain, but is so different! Taghia is a hidden valley in the hearth of Atlas. Only 3 hundred people live there (best said survive). To arrive Taghia you have to walk two or three hours… no teachers want to do this, so the school is still waiting for one teacher with no problems to walk. But the water gives life to the valley.

Past April we have traveled to this little town with The Mountain Academy team maybe because there you can find some of the most beautiful sport long climbing in the world or maybe because there you can change a little bit your life and open your mind...

Baraka, the circle is closed

It’s impossible to describe all the impressions I have carried in my bag so I will explain you one of the most special moments for me.
It was the 7th day when Tito, Christian and me decide to follow the Baraka way, directly to the stars of the Oujdad. Baraka is a classic 680 meteres route in the west face of the Oujdad. Is one of the easier climbing routes in Taghia and one of the most recommended vertical walks to go up to the summit of Oujdad. In Sufi Baraka means “breath of life” but for me also means one of the most shocking films I have ever seen.
It’s a film with no words, only images. Instead of a story or plot, the film uses themes to present new perspectives and evoke emotion purely through cinema. The images and music explains the evolution of the earth, nature, the chaos of the cities and especially the fragility and the misery of humanity.



It’s a pleasure to find some sense, even very small, when you are a conqueror of the useless. It’s a pleasure to climb with “Dead Can Dance”, “Inkuyo” or “David Hykes” and remember sounds like “The host of seraphim”. Just thinking about it gives me goose pimples.

Definitely I really, really recommend you to buy the Baraka DVD. I really encourage you to travel to Morocco and I really, really wish you finally have the opportunity to walk or climb in Taghia.

Thanks to the MOUNTAIN ACADEMY we have change a little bit our life and we can see more far away...

back home from Taghia

I arrived 4 days ago in Innsbruck from this amazing trip to Taghia. But till now I'm not able to find back in my daily life. There exists so many work on my desk, but I can hardly find any motivation for managing all stuff, too many impressions of the climbing trip to Taghia that whir in my head. So I went for 3 days more of climbing at home instead of arrange my university affairs.

It seemed I internalised the mood of the local people (Berber) of Taghia: In Shallah!

About our climbing trip and Taghia I don't know where to start. To describe these beautiful place we have to wait for the pictures, but I hope they are coming soon...to round this post off.

But so far, we climbed a lot in the red brown and very sharp limestone. If you would see our hands totally scratched and buttered...

So a short selection of the realisations I was involved in:

Paroi des Sources: "Belle et Berbère", TD+, 300m, 6b+ (6a+) with Jirka and Seb
Paroi des Sources: "Le rêve d'Aicha", TD-, 255m, 6a+ (V+) with Sana and film team
Paroi d'Ifrig, Akka N'Tafrawt:"Canyon Apache", ED-, 280m, 6c (6b) with Corne and Remy
Paroi de la Cascade: "Haben oder Sein", ED-, 250m, 6b+ (6b) with Kurt
Oujdad: "Pilier Ouest", Td- 250m, 6a and the last pitch of "los ratones coloraos" 6b with Sana and film team

Patricia

Taghia Selections

This is a little selection from a Taghia begginer climber. I have to check with the "local guides" (The sheperds :-P). It seems they climb up to 5!!! Obiously with no rope, no climbing shoes...

STAE 500 m. V+ A1 (Taoujdad)
Voie de la Grotte, 500 m. V+ A3 (Taoujdad)
NW Pillar, 530 m. V+ (Taoujdad)
West Pillar, 500m. V+ A1 (Taoujdad)
Left Crack, VI A2 (Oujdad)
Les Folies Bérbéres, 350 m. 6c -6a obl.- (Akka n'Tzarate)
Le rève d'Aiche 255 m. 6a+ -V+ obl.- (Tadrarate)
Au nom de la reforme, 340 m. 6c -6b obl.- (Taoujdad)
Canyor Apache, 355 m. 6c+ 6b obl.- (Timrazine Canyon)
Vía del Sostre, 700 m. V+ A3 (Tagoujimt n'tsouïant)
Teixonera, 290 m. 6a+ (Tagoujimt n'tsouïant)
Istrid Astrif, 500 m. 6b (Tagoujimt n'tsouïant)
Soyez cool, mangez des moules, 400 m. 6b -6a+ obl.- (Akka)

Griaß eich!

Hi my friends,

time is running and the next stage is close at hand... Yeah!
Can"t wait to see and climb with you again.

I"ll fly to Morokko next wednesday with a friend of mine and meet you then at the 8th of April in Marrakesh.

In Tirol the ice climbing season is almost over and the rock is still very cold...
Yesterday I went climbing at -1 degree; I hardly felt the holds ;-)

(on the picture: "Metallica", 7C+)



My leg is getting better and better and so I hope to be fit again for the next stage .

For the moment that"s all...

All the best
Benjamin

My ice climb season

This post is about the activity in leisure time of Tito, one of the members of the ma team.
My ice climbing season started some days before the mountain academy stage in Argeiter la Bessiè, by climbing some icefalls in the Valle dell’Orco. After that we went to the stage where I could climb with my fellows, the guides ant the athletes and have fun on the ice for one solid week.
Thanks the training and the experience I got during the stage of mountain academy I had a wonderful winter full of ice climbing. The mountain academy gave me good motivations to spend two months with ice axes in my hands.
Soon after coming back from the mountain academy I did some ice falls in Valtellina, but the conditions were not so good because there was too much snow, characteristic of this strange winter.
After the ice conditions improved I did some very nice ice-climbing around the alps. I found good ice in different places, for example in Val di Cogne and in Val Daone, in Trentino.
I found the best conditions this winter in gole di Gondo, below the Simplon pass in Switzerland. It was great!. The large quantity of water and the low temperature allowed the formation of all normal the icefalls, and also other ones that did not appear in the last 8 years. I went there for two weekends. In the first weekend I climbed the “Buon Compleanno” with my friend. It was very nice indeed. What I also liked a lot was the casualty of choice. In the morning while having coffee in the bar of the climbers we read in the log book that somebody climbed the “buon compleanno” the day before and found it in very good conditions. I and my friend did not say anything, we just looked at each other smiling: we were thinking the same thing. We went there right away.
The ice fall was only 3 pitches, one better than the other, with in the middle one beautiful and delicate free standing.
The following weekend my friend and I went back to the gole di Gondo, because the conditions were so excellent. This time we did the "Titanic". A wonderful icefall with a long approach of 3 pitches. Titanic is less thin but more vertical than “buon compleanno”: three tough pitches very vertical, but the ice was so good that we could put some very good ice screw. Normally the exit of this icefall has a dry tooling pitch, but we found a very big ice candle that we climbed. I like a lot this icefall because is so long, there are 3 pitches of approach, where we did not find good ice; after that the real icefall starts, 4 pitches not so easy for me. When I finished the last pitch I was so happy because my arms were totally dead. Moreover, the descent trail was not easy to find. In this day the ice was soft because there a little warm wind, it was the last day to climb the titanic before the temperature become warm making the ice dangerous.
I finished the ice season in val Daone on “il sogno del gran scozzese” a pleasant icefall with a dear friend, in a very beautiful sunny day, but we were in the shadows of the north side, far from the sunshine. The ice and the gloves were totally wet, a sign that the season is near to finish…
Now is time for goulottes and rock climbing and to train for Morocco!!!
Tito

M1D (Missing 1(one) Document)

While most of my teammates are doing researches on Taghia region, in between my trainings, I'll need to provide few visas for trip to Morocco. Visa is kind of vignette, whit a „small“difference. Vignette is pass for e.g. car on highway, and visa is pass for a people from countries political unsuitable. Although Serbia represents geographical center of Europe, its residents are considering as „residents of third world countries“, so for traveling abroad, we need this vignette in our passports...

Forward, I’ll demonstrate how it looks procedure when you apply for a EU visa ...

Scenario :

Usually, there are 2 major roles, applicant (A) & desk employer (DE). Everything is happening in some safe lock cabinet (kind of office), with, of course, window and speakerphone between these 2 roles. In order for this meeting happened, an applicant must to make an appointment reservation (telephone-paid), at least, 2 weeks in advance (in a case of holidays – New Year, 1 May, and long school holidays, even 1 month or more in advance), so all good journeys like – Let’s go next weekend in Alps, and similar, are absolutely impossible.

(Note – The rest of text is partly taken from famous radio-drama(Indexovci), which shows our reality. Point is – A must provide TONES of paper)

A : Hello…

DE : Hello, why do you need a visa?

A : I would like to go to “(some EU country)”, for mountaineering.

DE : Mountaineering? Mhmm... Do you know somebody there?

A : No. But I’ve done some researches, so I know the area very good. I’ll meet there with my friends from other countries, you know, I’m participant on great European project.... (DE stops A in talking)

DE : Hm, give me your documentations...

A : Here it is. I think it’s all you requested.

DE(with a laugh) : Don’t say that twice.
... DE is checking „book“ of documentation, loud check...
- ID card, ok
- Passport, ok
- Citizenship, ok
- driving license, ok
- traffic license, ok, I don’t need this,
- police insurance, ok
- health ID, ok
- working ID, ok
- military ID, ok
- elementary school ID, ok
- bank ID, ok
- any service ID, ok
- degree of elementary music school, ok
- official statement of birth, ok
- official statement of marriage, ok
- contract for grave(crypt) place, ok
- statement of real estate registry, ok
- list of all moveable property and real estate of applicant, ok
- proof of TV subscription, ok
- proof of paid – tax, ok
- proof of father’s paid tax, ok
- father’s ID, ok
- mother’s ID ... ok…Wow, you’re mother is very pretty hear...
- father’s and mother’s marriage list, ok
- 2 photographs from parent’s wedding (one with marriage witnesses, one without them)...Hm, you don’t look like your parents here.

A : Well you know, that photo is quite old and blur.

DE : Don’t y’a... You are blurring... Listen. You must give me your father’s political party ID, if, of course, he was a party member, or court statement that he wasn’t. And don’t tell me that your father recognizes only court of his party... And next, result of your mother’s blood group and result of DNA.

A : Excuse me, please, why do you need that for?

DE : For two reason – first, because I can!, and second – I want to check your identity. I cannot foretell if is it you, or not!

A : But wait... I brought tons of all possible and impossible documents. By now, I forgot why I came in this office for a first place! I don’t have anything more of documents, this is all.

DE : That is what you think! But there is more! You will bring me orthopan of all teeth, and then, I’ll identify you over teeth!

A : Excuse me? What for you need (black) teeth? (phrase)

DE : Well now... Black, yellow, or white teeth. It’s not important, I won’t judge that. So, I want digital orthopan, and upper and lower jaw.

A : Digital?! Ok. Is that all then?!

DE : Mhm... No! I’ll need and digital orthopan of your parents!

A : Well, no way, my parents are dead?!

DE : My condolences! In that case, you will bring me their artificial teeth.

At this stage, applicant, likely to loose his tempers, and starts with curse...

A : You know what...*#*?!”#$)%$”#”…

DE : You are very rude! And you are not even capable, to bring me two piece of paper?!

A : What are you talking about? You are asking artificial teeth and my elementary degree, what are you, mad?!

DE : GET OUT! BREAK-TIME!!!

*********************************************************************************

So, quite funny situations, right?

Just a reminder – I missed #1 TMA, because of visa… It wasn’t so funny to me.

Library visit

Today I was in the central library from the Dutch Climbing and Mountaineering Association to look for some info on Taghia and Morocco.

Off course I got a bit distracted by some articles about Ueli Steck and Aconcagua....

Now it's just waiting for my shoulder too get better, but finally some time to do some research and reading now. Working with computers as in typing still hurts quite much but climbing is no problem ;-) For now the coming time is mostly skiing anyway

Cheers,

Corné