As part of the review and feedback session with our last DofE Gold Open Expedition, we asked participants: ‘What one piece of advice could they offer another DofE team who were about to experience their expedition’. This is what they had to say:
You sit, you wait. Over the horizon you see silhouettes of people. Could this be the Duke of Edinburgh's Award group you have been waiting for?
Altitude sickness is a potentially serious condition faced by many adventurous travellers venturing to altitude. It’s not just those climbing mountains like Kilimanjaro (5,895m) or Mount Elbrus (5,642m) or even the lower altitudes of Jebel Toubkal (4,167m), as you might expect. The symptoms of (AMS) Acute Mountain Sickness, can be encountered at altitudes as low as 2,500m.
Alone high on the mountain in full winter conditions, the wind began to increase and I was in a white-out. My face and eyes were being blasted by snow and ice particles and I couldn't see. Navigation was impossible and I knew there was a cornice and a big drop to my right side, somewhere'.
Toubkal and trekking in the High Atlas mountains is perfect for those with only a short amount of spare time but still want their 'Mountain Fix'. If you are new to overseas trekking or climbing mountains which are at 'altitude', we can highly recommend Jebel Toubkal, Morocco as an introduction.