Anyone got any thoughts in the type of gear needed in the Moroccan High Atlas in September?
I'm specifically thinking about: -
Boots - UK 3 season OK or would a Fabric or 4-season boot be better?
Shorts and T-shirt OK or better left at home as they offend the locals?
Anything specific recommended based on experience?
Thanks
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 I was in the high atlas a few years agon in August and it was very hot, however warm clothing was good the higher we got and in the night time.
As for afending the locals they tend to be very friendly and it's woman who need to a bit more careful. This tends to be more the case in cities rather than off the beaten track. Shorts are not really a problem (as long are they are resonable - not really short shorts ;-) ) but covering the shoulders sould be considered.
As for foot wear I'd probaly go for a more sturdy boot as there is alot of scree in places in the High Atlas and the extra support is welcome on this type of stuff.
Hope you have fun and make some new friends while your out there.
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 I was there in March and had no problem with shorts and t-shirts. As Angeline says, keeping shoulders covered is best and not wearing short shorts.
It did get a bit chilly at night so a fleece would be a good option.
One thing you might want to consider is taking a bunch of biros with you, as whenever you see young children near villages they come running asking for pens and pencils. I guess that depends on whether you want to encourage them or not, but they usually ask for pens rather than money.
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 The High Atlas is a spectacular area to walk in – definitely one of my favourite ever trips
I was there in early summer and it was mostly hot, damn hot. Walking in the mountains modest shorts / t-shirts would be fine. Once you get higher warmer clothes/waterproofs are needed - we walked through snow on Jebel Toubkal and suffered a freak hail storm.
The main thing with boots is that they give good support, are well worn in and relatively tough. Walking in the High Atlas is 'strenuous' as there is a lot of loose scree - in our group we had two badly twisted ankles.
The locals (Berbers) are friendly and genuine - hope you like mint tea! And the guides were of a high standard.
Other random advice:-
When you meet a mule coming the opposite way don’t walk on the cliff side of the path – they don’t stop for anyone!
If staying in village houses/gites, try sleeping on the flat roofs as the star filled skies are quite breathe taking - as are the early morning views of the mountains.
Remember your French.
Don’t pick a snowball fight with a Berber – they always win!
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 Just to add to the excellent advice from the others. I did a 2 week trek in the Atlas in Sept 02, which was probably the best mountain trip I've ever done, for its mix of culture & scenery.
You need to allow for both hot & cold. Whilst the Berber villages are fairly used to people in Shorts & t-shirts, we were advised that is was politer to cover the legs/shoulders in villages. We therefore had stops just before each village & zip off trousers were an excellent choice. I also used a shirt with tie up sleeves as sometimes you want to cover your arms. i took several sets of shirts but settled on the best & washed it regularly - gave the others to the mule guys.
Sleeping bag - a 3/4 season synthetic allowed me to comfortably sleep on rooftops every night, which was amazing. It was a bit too warm for the few nights indoors we had, so i used just a silk liner then.
Boots - fabric would be a bit too flexi in my opinion, though I do always prefer a stiff leather boot. I actually used 3-4 season leather boots - the tracks are rough at times & I like the confidence they give me. Most others used 3 season boots. Take a pair of sandals for evenings.
Evenings & mornings can be cool - I took my Rab down jacket & was glad of it.
Water - we had the choice of either buying bottled water off the mule support team or filtering our own. I opted for the easy option as it was dirt cheap, but we did check that the empties were taken back to Marrakesh for disposal not dumped in the mountains which can happen. I used between 4 & 7 litres per day in the heat, & a "Camelbak" type bladder is recommended.
Hat - take a good 'un - the sun can be merciless.
I also took one set of mountain clothing - long sleeved base layer, gloves, warm hat, Gore-Tex etc for the Toubkal ascent we did, as this was at night - to get there for sunrise (see my piccie on the right!) It was VERY cold, & for a brief time I had my down jacket on as well as fleece, baselayer & goretex, something I have never done in Scotland on many winter trips! Once the sun rose it became warm very quickly though.
And finally, make sure you get to Marrakech on the way there or back!
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Oh, & a Thermarest made sleeping on the rooftops a luxury!
All our gear was carried by mules, so weight wasn't much of an issue - we had a 15kg limit for each persons mule bag, but didn't really need it.
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 Mal
Who did you do the trip with, was it Trail mag to Toubkal or a travel co??
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Frank - Explore, their High Atlas trek. Was very good, brilliant tour leader who tried to make a difference, had got to know the locals well & also added a few extras to the standard trek . Unfortunately he's now moved on to other things, but the other groups we met seemed to have had good leaders too.
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My trip was also with Explore - the same High Atlas trek. In general their trips are very well run.
Our tour leader wasn't so good (this is several years ago though!) but the local guides and the itinerary were excellent. Accomodation was local houses and gites which was reflected in the low price.
Exodus have a similar trek as we kept meeting them but their accomodation was slightly posher.
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 Mal - you said on the ascent morning
'VERY cold, & for a brief time I had my down jacket on as well as fleece, baselayer & goretex,'
We are there this sept and I was not planning to take my down jkt as I do prefer to be more flexible in the equip we carry. If I add my R1 fleece jumper to fleece, thermal baselayer & goretex do you think it would be good enough.
I always overheat so was thinking that to take both fleece jkt and fleece jumper would be overkill.
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You'll be OK, I'm sure, the worst bit was waiting just below the summit for the sun to rise, for about half an hour. For the rest of the trip the down jacket was just a nice luxury in the evenings! No one else had one, I just tend to go a bit over the top with gear!
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Ta
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