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ATLAS'09. DAY 3: damnata - CATHEDRAL ROCK. ATLAS'09

DAY 3: damnata - LE CATHEDRAL. 200 kms.

We woke up the other day and found that during the night it rained a bit and also fog. The thing does not look good.

What a day.

breakfast at the hotel with coffee with milk, butter, jam and bread in abundance. I'll take a few crumbs of this bread, and so I get in the saddle, at the end of what little they would eat on this day, one of the 2-stage queens. We ignored the palizones that lies ahead. Look at the mileage is very low compared to previous days, well this time of night made us completely when were still on the bikes.

In theory, the route of the day we had to carry Imilchil, our base, but the snow complicated the path we start slowing down too much. The track was really unruly, without refueling and with a forecast of about 325 kms. To complete my self bought 4 bottles of 1.5 liters of water, emptied and got 3 in my wallet and the other gently took her amarok.

A few more miles on pavement and the fog slowly dissipates as we ascend. A bit of runway to take Tilsghet, Amarok tries to get out of a groove pretty deep, is diverted and slammed into the mountain, exploding gas bottle partially carrying. Take this opportunity to refuel, so badly wrong I close the tank, and about 5 kms later found to have been spilled over one liter of "sans plomb". Autonomy was already declining.

Raising the Tizi n'Amarskine (2000 m) following a track very tiresome and down the south side with a great valley to our right through which ran the Assif n'Zawyat.

The valley of Assif n'Zawyat to our right.

descend to the valley and then a serious wading near the village of Imi n'Ouaqqa. Kick me to see the depth and see that there is a narrow corridor before the cataract that forms the dam where you can pass safely. The photo looks like a bullshit, but it was not, a wrong step and you were going to the waterfall or to the depths.

The n'Ouaqqa Imi ford.

a server here getting a little too soaking:

Careful.

began a long climb per track with views of snowcapped peaks most impressive of the whole trip. Here we could have done fantastic photos, but we could not stop him. Observe the insignificance of the bike compared to Mountains:

immensity of the Atlas.

The track started to become a path with some steps distressing to the edge of vertiginous cliffs. I fell a couple of times at very low speed, and I admit that I was a little nervous about the heights and depths, curious because this is the kind of endurance that 've always done, but here the landscape dimensions imposed much respect.

And the way?

Is Here?

Finally, the trail disappears because of a landslide and we are forced to retrace our steps, but not before getting stuck in a couple of steps we have to solve Trialeras helping each other. Fortunately then Amarok is a track that allows us to link with the planned route. Still climb more and we reached the ceiling of the first part of the route, without a doubt the km 37 to 2000 meters of altitude:

overhead.

started to descend into a valley of red sandstone with abundant vegetation in the river valleys. The scenery is spectacular, the most beautiful of the whole trip, but we are entangled by the villagers of Tarbat n'Tirsal, perched on the mountainside, with "streets" crossed by canals ... and unfortunately no time to do poses. I particularly like this photo:

Tarbat n'Tirsal.

We left the maze of canals and back down hill to climb another hill. We snowfields from more or less effort. In some snow drifts reached considerable thickness, if we add that is squishy ...

Coping in the snowfield.

As we feared, we came across a snowfield harder normal, with a drop of about 3 meters rather ugly. Amarok insists on an alternative route across country to go around, and after about 100 meters of boulders and shrubs and as directed by a spontaneous, we return to the track diagonally hair down to this rocky area where with a bit of visual acuity is sensed go down the route where the bikes:

In the scree.

finally crowned the Tizi n'Tghist, at km 60 of track at 2500 meters:

Tizi n'Tghist.

The decline quickie to another valley, following after a road with lots of gravel. We planted on a plateau full of villages that succeeded one another, with dozens and dozens of children who met and jalearnos. I recognize that many of these crossings acelerábamos has more than just to escape the crowds that overwhelmed us with their cries and gestures.

Shortly after this series of crossings spliced few miles of tracks and great for tacking clay drift to sack a pity that the weight of the panniers and backpack sometimes you extend the skidding was too much and you looked forced to calm down ... temporarily, of course.

About Abachkou.

In this plateau a truck to a crawl blocking our progress, and Amarok he fell in the middle of overtaking, fortunately without serious consequences. We began to address the special category of port a day, 130 km stage, at 2700 meters altitude, just after spending Iglouane. Climbed by a good track until the exit a corner we came across a snow field about 50 meters long, uphill, with some threatening cliff side bending and right. Amarok was too complicated and tried to find an alternative, but ultimately we take courage and to throw up front, but not before patearnos the path to see what surprises awaited us a few meters later.

exploration.

Amarok took a long walk to get to the top, when I took the opportunity to eat some bread supplies were already going wrong, do not calculate well the issue of food. Once back informing me that the snow ends a little higher and it is feasible to proceed. Between the two started up my bike, but for every inch forward (uphill) sweat China ink.

a respirator.

height and begin to affect the effort and begin to experience the first symptoms of a transient slut. I remember that half had a tree snowfield where to stop strategically to protect from the sun and reach that place was like going to an oasis in the desert.

The Jbel Azourki (3677), my bike and me.

As you can see here a slip to the bottom could be tragic. The fact is that finally we both bikes and we continued the climb up a small hill, where we realized that we had the cinnamon: a few hundred yards up a truck to us on a track not covered by the gps. Look how happy she got Amarok:

Explosion of joy

take this opportunity to take photos of stunning scenery Atlas bottom and up again.

Jbel Wawgoulzat in the distance.

The road continued to climb, sometimes with snow fields we passed by a miracle, but not so tired as before. Since we were warm, the day progressed, and Amarok Coroners assumed that once the port going to have more problems, because the decline would be on the north face and the snow was blocking our way again. What to do? Continue to see it, obviously. We reached the top and this is what we find, the Tizi n'Tirghist blocked.

Tizi n'Tirghist (2300 m).

A barrier of impassable snow over 2 feet high. We started thinking and my bike went through the stone corridor to the left, and amarok from the right, down and up between boulders and then sliding on the snow field in slight decline. By now already beginning to dominate some driving techniques in snow.

the other side of the barrier.

Once the barrier of snow, the scene that unfolded before our eyes was that of a desolate runway surrounded by mountains dotted here and there over glaciers. Again the uncertainty of whether we would be able to get somewhere in these conditions we faced. The slut is felt more and as we were getting the idea that one day there we arrived at our base in Imilchil or accident. We were only at km 130, raising the Tizi n'Tsalli, at 2700 meters high, tired of pushing the bikes, with wet feet permanently from the previous day, hungry, and the evening began to fall. Naively thought that the distance we had left port could not be as bad as the slope by which we climb, basically because we were able to repeat such efforts, but soon to begin a short descent, we were stuck in the same scrubbed.

narrow lane near Tizi n'Tsalli.

here for the first time we saw traces of other bikes. Apparently two colleagues had preceded us and on the basis of marked paths, the snow had borne the brunt of their machines. Without doubt they had spent days before or early in the morning with more solid snow, because ours is sinking hopelessly. However, we encourage you to try to cross the snow field of the previous picture at full throttle in second and more or less got it. At other times you could not get momentum and you get stuck without reference:

A civilian who was walking by those peaks (aperece always someone in the most inhospitable) assured us that we could continue with the bikes without any problems for that track. For the problems were similar to those of the last 3 hours, but generally downhill, or that things improved slightly. In short, more of the same, and the temperature dropping.

without fin.Tizi n'Illissi Snow.

The shadows lengthened and the sun went down. Water reserves are gone and before us lay the snowy path than ever. In the picture you can distinguish amarok progress in this white hell:

increasingly white.

The thing was better as we went down and the track became increasingly clear. Here we begin to see the end of the tunnel.

Fed up with snow.

A drop quickie in 5th gear warm as possible and return to the liquid element, to remind us that we had your feet wet and icy:

After the snow, torrents.

Look what were the shadows lengthened. We ended the day and we were not anywhere. Meninges amarok wringing here to go somewhere that night under the watchful eyes of a boy who appeared there:

Consulting GPS.

More photos, attention to the peaks that surrounded us:

white pyramid.

And I here to warm up. The warmth of the sun had passed. Now hands were well chilled. Gloves and winter in the hotel!

Sheltered to the fullest.

For good tracks to go down fast green valleys that had nothing to do with the frozen landscape that had accompanied us for most of the day. Night was falling as we went through those tracks released by facile. Finally it was dark and, inevitably, had to find a place to camp. After that palizón, without food or drink, ice cream and soaked, played sleep uncomfortably. I would not resign and asked that if there appeared amarok a village near its gps and eureka!, There was a shelter there, about 2 kms!! We arrived and the candlelight we are looking for a double room rather narrow and gloomy, without light or water or anything, but valid to sleep. Above gave us hot dinner. Blessed blessed food and bedding.