Fay Manners & Solenne Piret establish 'Win Oumalou' on Jebel Inslif in Morocco

Early this December Britain's Fay Manners and France's Solenne Piret teamed up in the village of Zaouia Ahansal in Morocco where over a six-day period they made the first ascent of Win Oumalou. Located on the west face of Jebel Inslif, this 185m climb is fully bolted and features difficulties up to 7a.

Both had long dreamed of climbing in Taghia and, with December the only time both were free of other commitments, they travelled to Morocco despite everyone warning them that early winter would be too cold, especially for opening a new route. Before the trip, Manners went to Taghia to do a recce of the surrounding walls, and during that visit she met with Kris Erickson who showed her around his village of Zaouia Ahansal and helped her identify a west-facing aspect that would catch the afternoon sun. When Piret arrived, they headed to that largely untouched wall above the small village of Zaouia, where the blank rock gave them the freedom to choose a line defined purely by beauty and creativity.

Piret, a five time World Champion paraclimber, has been steadily expanding beyond competition climbing into alpine objectives. After free climbing the Swiss Route on the Grand Capucin last year, she arrived in Morocco imagining she would bolt her first route from the top down. But Manners, with experience opening new routes across many mountain ranges and rock types, had other plans. The vision was to open the line ground-up: climbing everything between bolts, using only a hook or cam to sit briefly while placing each bolt, and never using aiding gear to climb the route.

Over the next six days the pair worked efficiently each afternoon as the wall moved into the sun - starting the day cold, in down jackets and gloves, before warming with the light as they climbed higher. After equipping the line for abseils and marking a walkable descent with cairns, they returned on their final day to free-climb the entire route, confirming the grade and enjoying the complete flow of what they had created.

The route has been called Win Oumalou, meaning “From the Shadows” in the local Tamazight language, and is a nod to both the daily rhythm of their work and the deeper story behind the partnership. They began each day shivering in the shade, climbing into sunlight as they opened new ground. But the name also quietly acknowledges that neither Fay nor Solenne came from the expected pathways that typically lead to becoming professional climbers. Manners grew up in the flatlands of Bedfordshire, far from mountains. Piret was born with just one hand, making climbing an unlikely future. Yet both found their way through persistence, curiosity, and a willingness to step into the unknown.