In May, Javier “Pitxi” Gonzalez (Spain) and I went to Taghia to put up a new line on Jebel Timghazine. On our first day we started up the Akka N’Trafawt canyon with full haul bags, laboring through a few points of aid and fifth-class scrambling, and eventually groveling our way up inside the waterfall above Apache Canyon. After a half hour of wading through puddles in flip-flops and avoiding rock missiles sent down by goat assassins high above, we reached a large mushroom-like feature in a corner, with an overhanging squeeze chimney above.

Over two rainy days we fixed ropes on the first three pitches. We then pushed to the eighth pitch on our first day of sun. At this point we found a mysterious line of new fixed ropes leading sideways from a ledge left of a cave at the base of the route Princesa Mismir. These fixed ropes allowed us to escape the wall and set up a base camp in the cave, walking to and from Taghia using a Berber staircase built by herders who graze their goats on top of Jebel Timghazine.

We got completely soaked by an African slush storm on our next climbing day and were forced to retreat to the cave to dry off by the fire. Two Berber shepherds shared our fire and energy bars until we all decided to make a break for Taghia during a lull in the storm. After three more days of rain and sickness we were finally able to push for the top on spectacular reddish-orange, vertical faces. We aimed straight for a giant butt-crack feature above.

On my birthday and our last full day in Taghia we found ourselves at the top of pitch 13, still a couple of hundred meters from the true top of the wall (this is the ledge atop the last pitch of Princesa Mismir). To this point, we had installed 88 bolts, over 13 pitches and 500m of climbing, in six climbing days. We didn’t have time to free the whole route, but we estimate the grade to be 7a A1+, with obligatory 6b free climbing. We call it Beréber Style.

Ryan Adobe, U.S.A.