Treasure Hunt on Tuyat at Taghia in Morocco

Taghia is a paradise for multi-pitch climbing, offering incredible quality red limestone and relatively easy access, making it a popular destination for climbers from all over Europe.

Most groups come here for the classic week, to repeat the classic routes, some of which are world-famous and opened by climbing legends such as Les Rivières Pourpres, L'Axe du Mal and Baraka.

Last year, we too approached this remote oasis in the Atlas Mountains with the same spirit. However, during the afternoons spent on the roof of the refuge, we were struck by the obvious line that crosses the grey shields of the north-east face of Tuyat. Was it possible that no one had yet attempted it? Yes, it was possible!

We spend the summer organising ourselves to return armed to the teeth in order to try and establish the new route. Will 400 metres of static ropes and 300 bolts be enough? None of us has experience in opening routes on big walls: there are many unknowns, but above all... are we good enough?

We give ourselves a month. We're already used to the village life and we know how to adapt well, so at least that's not a problem. The idea is to jug the static ropes every day and come back down in the evening to the gite to eat well, sleep in a bed and meet up with groups of friends who come and go, all in order to manage our energy levels and keep our spirits high. The route will be long and challenging!

It takes us four days to establish the crux pitch, which is also the first one chronologically, then the difficulties decrease a little, but nothing comes easy to be honest. The rock is not the classic red limestone, here it is more greyish and the route faces north, so everything is smoother and more washed out. Finding places for hooks is not easy at all, so either you run it out until you reach a good edge, or you climb with the drill and try to drill a hole while holding on. Physically and mentally it is very difficult, but luckily there are four of us and we manage to organise our rest breaks well.

After 14 days of opening the route and 1 bivouac on the wall, we finally reach the top. The route is finished, just as we wanted, and the line is better than we could have imagined! Now all that remains is to try to free the pitches, but we're tired and time is running out. The crux is doable, but it won't be us who has the honour.

Caccia al Tesoro, or Treasure Hunt: a name with a double meaning. On the one hand, it was a long search for us, and we found our treasure (by opening this route). On the other hand, a real treasure is hidden somewhere along the route. It's up to those who repeat the line to come and find it!

- Filippo Colombo, Briançon