Sump To Summit

“Probably the most memorable”—that was the quote from CJ that led us to this climb… And what a route!!! A true caver’s delight!

With an early start in Tafraoute, we drove the tarmac/gravel road for an hour and a half to reach the crag. As we pulled up, a farmer approached us, and we had a bit of a chat… He spoke no English or French, and we spoke no Arabic, so we mostly smiled and gestured at each other.

We walked to the climb, passing blackened trees, and made it to the base of the route.

The first section took us into a cave/hollow, and El got to lead the traverse out of the cave.

As I belayed El, the mosques from all the surrounding valleys began the call to prayer, which reverberated through the valley we were in. With this awesome climb, these views, and the call to prayer ringing out, it was a truly magical pitch!

Further up the route, we entered a chimney. El decided that, as the caver, it was my job to lead this one 😁. It was exhilarating, with a tough escape at the top.

We topped out the climb and walked toward the escape gully. As we descended, we noticed more burned-down trees. It had been a big climb, so the walk down the gully took a while, and we were both suffering from a lack of water. We eventually made it back to the car and drove back to Tafraoute.

We returned a few days later and had an interesting conversation with the farmer about the trees…