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At the beginning of August, Allan led a 14-day expedition to the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. The team consisted of Allan as the leader, two school teachers, and 14 students from Thirsk High School in North Yorkshire, ages 15 to 17.
The expedition led on behalf of World Challenge consisted of different phases. After arriving in Marrakesh, the group was whisked off the next day by minibus to the project phase. This occurred in a town called Ouarzazate, hosted by a wonderful family! In a homestay. Each morning after breakfast, the group would head out to start mixing and laying concrete footings at a vocational school which was being rebuilt
The trekking phase goal was to reach the summit of Mount Toubkal, 4167m, the highest mountain in North Africa. Quite possibly the hardest 6km I have ever trekked from base camp at 3200m to the summit (and back). Due to group fitness levels, it took us 12/13 hours to walk the 6k.
Incredible winds of 70mph kept everyone awake at base camp, and so at 2 am, after a meeting with the local guide, Allan decided that the start time should be put back so that we were trekking less in the dark. So at 4.30 am, we started the trek. We were walking in the dark for about 2 hours. The stars were incredible as there was not a cloud in the sky! The winds were still powerful near the summit, and Allan decided to use the rope to get safely across the ridge towards the top. Allan wasn’t roped in as he needed to move up and down the group to keep the front plodding and the back motivated,
At times, the pace of the group was painful, and sometimes, it was hard to keep the group together and amicable, as one young lady was so unfit. A few near the top were tired from no sleep in the wind, and, of course, altitude always makes people tired and grumpy with headaches, etc.
After our five days of trekking, the group spent two days relaxing by the coast at Essaouira. Then, it was three days of R&R in Marrakesh, haggling in the souks.
From a First aid perspective, there were a few issues which Allan had to deal with, which could have resulted in people not successfully summiting the mountain. Allan had to burst and treat a couple of blisters on the way, mainly because people had not broken their boots in properly. The temperature in Morocco was 44 degrees, and as we were not only walking in it but also doing manual labour, Allan had to ensure that there were regular breaks, sunscreen was being reapplied, and lots of rehydration was taking place with lots of fluid and sugars and salts. From a medical point of view, perhaps the most daunting potential issue was altitude illness, especially as we took so long on the mountain. Allan was carrying altitude medication with him and keeping an eye on the participants throughout in case any of the group were not going to make it to the top and he would have to turn them around. Fortunately with plenty of fluids a gentle pace ( and an acclimatisation trek a couple of days before) and lots of paracetamol the group made it to the top with no issues. ( I know a previous team from another company had tried to summit four days earlier, and 5 of them didn’t make it)
Allan’s Rescue & Emergency Care Advanced first aid course was designed to meet the needs of large expedition companies like World Challenge. The courses include all the usual first-aid knowledge, emphasising remote locations. Aspects such as altitude illnesses, medication, snakebites, jellyfish, scorpions, malaria, dengue, schistosomiasis, etc, are all covered to help make the leader or traveller ready to face these challenges abroad. If you want more information regarding these courses, get in touch below; happy travelling!
