Mountain trek during trip to Morocco for Wrexham Scouts

The Atlas Explorer Scouts, one of five units in Wrexham, spent four days trekking through the Atlas Mountains before reaching the summit of Mount Toubkal, which stands at 13,675 feet.

Max Schwarz, the youngest member of the group at 13, said: “It was a wonderful, once in a lifetime experience and I’m really glad I went.

“I enjoyed learning about the Moroccan culture and found I was pretty good at bartering.

“Going up the mountain was fun and I enjoyed being part of the group.

“I’m already planning my next challenge.”

The trip included ten young people, aged 14 to 18, and two adult leaders.

During their time in Morocco, the scouts acclimatised to the high altitude by staying in mountain huts before attempting the summit.

After their climb, the group returned to Marrakech, where they went on a camel trek and met with a Moroccan Scout group.

In a chance encounter, they also met four French Scouts in a park, singing campfire songs, playing games, and exchanging badges.

Harry Lloyd, 14, said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Morocco and although I found the climb difficult I have learned new skills and made loads of memories.

“I enjoyed learning about the Moroccan culture and going around the market.

“It was also good fun meeting Scouts from both Morocco and France.”

The group was guided to the summit by professional mountain guides Paul and Kelly.

The pair said: “The team should be very proud of what they achieved, getting to the summit is not a given at this altitude.

“They were a great bunch of characters pulled together and absolutely ideal for a trip like this.”

Seventeen-year-old Oliver Coull described the journey as unforgettable.

He said: “The trip to Morocco to climb Mount Toubkal was a great experience.

“It was cool to climb it with friends and the weather up to the summit was kind to us.

“I really enjoyed the food, views from the top, meeting other scouts from around the world, and camel riding was really fun.”

Team leader Trev Haughton said: “The purpose of the trip started as taking Atlas to the Atlases, and to build international friendships with a Moroccan scout group, but we now aim to use the many hundreds of photos and videos we took and hopefully inspire the next generation of Explorers and volunteers.”