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Hardly Failing

Photos and Story By Wil Treasure
It's a trope of journalism that the best stories are about failure. If you look at the most successful stories in climbing the same theory seems to hold; Touching the Void, The White Spider, The Philosophy of Risk and many more are all about failure and suffering on a grand scale. Even the modern video content is about repeated failure before success, or the high consequence or likelihood of failure. We need stakes.
 
So, naturally, this is a story about failure. But no-one gets hurt. No-one even gets particularly cold. No storms occur and everyone gets their dinner. It's a single moment in time which describes the joy I find in climbing and the fact that failure is really just about framing.
Taghia is a wonderful place. Two and a half hours walk from the nearest road, itself a gravelly track through the Atlas mountains, you reach the barrier of limestone faces and gorges that mark the end of the valley. A few hundred self sufficient Berber Farmers live here. There's a primary school, a small shop and a couple of guest houses. Days are simple; children in the playground, people tending the tiers of fruit and vegetables patches by the river and walking herds of sheep and goats around the valley to make the most of the sparse pasture.
Picture
Houses in the village of Taghia run one into the other down the hillside. Sitting on your neighbour's roof to enjoy a pot of mint tea and a break isn't unusual.

​We arrived in the middle of March, with the north faces dusted with snow and the greenery subdued, but it was beautiful. We spent a week shivering up the faces before the weather warmed and spring arrived, the cherry trees blossomed and colour began to return. With the cold winds dying down we began to think of more adventurous objectives. We settled on a route called L'Axe du Mal, the axis of evil. It tackled one of the most spectacular walls deep inside the gorge. It was above our pay grade, but we figured with a few sneaky pulls of gear on the hardest sections we'd get up it.
Picture
March brings out the the cherry blossom in the valley.

We set off at 5.30am, bellies full of mint tea and instant coffee. The approach is an adventure itself. It took the best part of three hours to cross the hills and traverse the gorge on the Berber paths. Several sections are hammered directly into the rock faces. Eventually we were boulder hopping in the base of the gorge and the sun had risen high enough to light the tops of the faces. We stomped through snow patches in the cold depths of the gorge until the 600m west facing wall appeared, lit by the light reflected from the opposing wall.
Picture
Evening light on the huge 800m face of Tagoujimt N'tsouïan.
Picture
The shepherd's paths used through the gorges and mountains can be pretty exciting.

​L'Axe du Mal is certainly imposing. The face is slightly concave, steepening slightly with each pitch before busting through a boulder problem in an overhang at 350m. The wall glows golden in the afternoon sun, but a sombre terracotta in the morning shade. It's a sport route in the sense that it's bolted, but all adventure in practice. We were in the wall by 8.30am, getting a shock from what was supposed to be the easiest pitch. The bolts were spaced and the route follows the worn water runnels in the face. Jugs appeared occasionally, but for much of the route you are on your fingertips. The friction is amazing, the climbing intricate and often blank and confusing. The run-outs added spice, being 10m out from the last bolt and with no prospect of rescue should an accident occur certainly focuses the mind.

 
Duncan and I swung leads for 10 pitches, hauling a bag with food and belay jackets. The sun hit the wall in the early afternoon making the shade at the bottom of the gorge seem even darker. We climbed out above the shadows, every pitch a joy, every pitch hard. We reached the roof and both fell for the first time. Another pitch or two and we were done.
Picture
High on L'Ax du Mal F7c+ (5.13a). The water worn features are often small and difficult to read, but the friction is excellent and patient climbers will be rewarded with hidden crimps.

​We weren't at the top. It was unspoken at first. Climb with someone for long enough and you know what they're thinking. We had the same experience on a first ascent in Greenland a few years ago, when it was getting late, we'd run out of food and had no bivi gear, yet we both carried on. There was no need to say anything, just get on with the job in hand.

 
In Taghia it was the same, but different. We both knew we'd failed. We'd expected to fall, but the climbing had been so absorbing that it had taken longer than expected and the upper pitches were harder. Descent from the summit would be complex in the dark and a mistake would be a bad idea. We'd just climbed 10 of the most unrelenting and intricate pitches we'd ever done. Every inch of the climb was a joy. The situation incredible; exposure, sunshine, shadow and isolation. We cut our losses and abseiled down. The face was so blank and steep that every time we pulled our ropes they shot down past us, never catching or tangling. In an hour and a half of abseiling we'd undone nearly 500m of glorious climbing. A failure, but the best kind. If we'd had the same day on single pitch routes in Spain we'd be smiling for days. Out here in the mountains it's a smile that doesn't leave.
Picture
Retreating from L'Ax du Mal on Tadrarate. The 5.12 crackline of Berbere Rouge, soloed by Alex Honnold, can be seen in the background.

 We picked our way through the gloom in the gorge for three hours and found ourselves back in the village, a warm tagine and mint tea waiting. The stars are so bright that the mountains glow, hints of mist wash across the faces.
 
It's a failure on paper, but that's not the full story.
Picture
The west face of Tadrarate emerges from the depths of the gorge in the morning shade.

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  • Writing
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      • Themed Editions >
        • Adaptive Climbing Edition >
          • Adaptive Climbing Photo Feature: Paradox Sports
          • Advocating for Deaf Climbers: Sonya Wilson
          • Amputations: Leg Prosthesis for Climbing
          • Blind Ambition Builds a World Class Climber: The Story of Jesse Dufton
          • Climbing with Type 1 Diabetes
          • First Paralyzed Ascents: Rand Abbott
          • Mixed Climbing: My Answer to KT Syndrome
          • Paraclimbing Competitions: Althlete Interviews
          • Rock!
          • The Unreasonable Man
        • Big Wall Edition >
          • Book Review: Paul Preuss: Lord of the Abyss
          • Featured Photographer: Matt Spohn
          • Grading Commitment
          • Hanging with the Monkeys, and Getting the Monkey Off My Back
          • It Was His Time: Brad Gobright Interview May 2019
          • John Middendorf : A Big Man for a Big Stone
          • Sébastien Berthe Free Climbs the Nose From the Ground Up
          • Shit Happens – Or, Why You Need a Walkie Talkie
        • Developers and Guidebook Authors >
          • Developer - Mitch Lehman
          • Andrew Penny - A Blue Mountaineer
          • Kevin Powell
          • Rock Star Groupie
          • Tony Calderone
        • Exploring Our World >
          • AUSTRALIA - Photographer - Diego Perez
          • AUSTRALIA - Profile - Julie Anderson
          • Book Review - Climbing Rock
          • CHINA - From Yangshuo, to Getu, to Liming
          • FRANCE - Verdon in Winter
          • GREECE - Meteora
          • ITALY - Dolomites
          • MEXICO - La Huasteca
          • SPAIN - Artist - Karmelo Onate
          • UTAH - Maple Canyon: This One Makes You Taller
        • Honoring Diversity >
          • ARTIST: Shawn Lee
          • A Shift on Moonlight Buttress
          • Claiming a Space on the Mountain
          • Colorblind
          • Feature Photographer: Bryan Sillorequez
          • Is Diversity in America Diverse?
          • MOVIE: People of Climbing:
          • Profile - Favia Dubyk
          • The Lineage
        • Joshua Tree >
          • Bouldering: JTree Made Me Do It
          • Improv at JTree: Bad Bolts
          • JTree: Bolting Pressure Cooker
          • Joshua Tree: Heinous Approaches
        • Overcoming Boundaries >
          • Photographer - Brook Anderson
          • Profile - Louise Shepherd
          • Profile - Megan Banker
          • Profile - Shawn Axelrod
          • Rock Type 1
          • The Tape Job
        • Women's Edition >
          • Editorial - Women's Edition
          • Climbing is My Art
          • Mt. Logan Solo
          • Photographer - Michelle Ranee Johnson
          • Profile - Caitlin Schokker
      • Non-Themed Editions >
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        • June 2020
        • August 2020 >
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        • December 2020 >
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        • January 2021
    • Topics >
      • Adaptive Climbing >
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        • Quinn Brett Interview
        • My Journey to Adaptive Rock Climbing
        • Planning for Mt. Rainier: Adaptive Climbing
        • Resources - Adaptive Climbing
      • Alpine & Ice >
        • California Still Has Untouched Climbing Wilderness
        • Ice Solo
        • Mt. Ogden Spanking
        • Mt. Whitney Whipping
        • My Common Alpine Epic
      • CC Profile >
        • Profile - Shawn Axelrod
        • Profile - Megan Banker
        • Profile - Favia Dubyk
        • Profile - Debbie Fowler
        • Profile - Lindsey Hamm
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        • PROFILE - Marisa Michael - Nutrition for Climbers
        • Profile - Caitlin Schokker
        • Profile - Louise Shepherd
      • CoVID and Climbing >
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        • CoVID-19 Remakes Our Lives
        • Dear Memory
        • From Couch to Lifting Couches
        • How to Climb and Avoid the Corona Virus
        • Train the Mind: Mental Toughness Tips for Quaratraining
        • The 5.10 Commandments
        • Trying to Send this Route
      • Equipment (writings) >
        • A Rack Retrospective
        • Cam Ranges (+ Big Bros)
        • Carabiner Strength Ratings
        • Climbing Shoes Fit
        • Guide Book Follies
        • Rope Buying 101
        • Shit Happens – Or, Why You Need a Walkie Talkie
        • The One Item to Stockpile
        • Which Way Should I Carry My Trad Rack?
        • Why GriGris Suck
        • 8 Reasons I Carry a Full Rack on Every Trad Climb
      • Facebook Feature >
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        • Bouldering-Falling
        • Bouldering Grade Advancements
        • Grading Climbs at the Gym
        • It's a F-ing Chimney
        • Onsight vs Flash vs Etc...
        • Top 10: Increase the Climbing Grade When...
        • Trad Climbing is for Chicken Sh*#s
        • WTF 5.7?
        • 18 Climber Types: Which Are You?
      • Kids >
        • Family Stages
        • The Guidebook
      • Legends >
        • B - Joe Brown
        • G - Brad Gobright
        • G - Todd Gordon
        • H - Hugh Herr
        • H - Thomas Huber - In Another World - A Personal Climbing Journey
        • J - Saxon Johns
        • M - Tim Macartney-Snape: ​A Legend from Sea to Summit
        • M - John Middendorf
      • Mental-Physical >
        • Climbing Training Series >
          • Improving Hip Mobility
          • Rock Climber Mobility
          • Train the Mind: Mental Toughness Tips for Quaratraining
        • A Climb Worth Fighting For
        • Achilles
        • Everyone Around Me Is Better Than I Am
        • Fear, Pride, and Exploration
        • How Auto-Immune Disease Affected My Climbing
        • Mastering Joy on Easy Street
        • Mind, Body, and Soul
        • New Year's Resolutions
        • Of Cartoons and Quickdraws
        • Push and Pull
        • Sorcerer and the Kidney Stone
        • Take Risks - You'll Remember Them Later
        • The Art of Climbing Without Rock
        • The Devil's Game
        • The Taste of Climbing
        • 12-Weeks to Onsighting a 5.8
      • Other/Misc >
        • Assault on Schurman Rock
        • Book Club
        • Climbing, Community, and the U.S. Presidential Election
        • Climbing Drinking Games
        • Climbing Gyms: The Gateway Drug
        • Climbing Hands
        • Climbing in the Bare Essentials
        • Climbing Resolutions
        • Demented Dirtbag
        • Don't Take Granite for Granite
        • Dorothy, We Aren't on Havana Anymore
        • Guatemalan Worry Dolls Go Climbing
        • No Health Insurance Changed How I Climb
        • Snakes and Ladders
        • Starting Over
        • The Adventure of A Lifetime - So Far
        • The Bane of Northwest Climbing
        • The Pink Tricam
        • Things of Stone and Wood
        • Zac the Interloper
      • Places & Climbs >
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          • Consolation Prize
          • Flakes and Shakes: Flake Crack Revisited
          • From Yorkshire to Eternity
          • Tombstone Territory
          • Yosemite - What We Came For
        • Location Reviews
        • My Home Crag >
          • Climbing in the Upper Cumberland Valley, Kentucky
          • My Home Crag: Nowra, NSW, Australia
        • Travel Stories >
          • Blue Mountains - Bliss: Climbing in the Blueys
          • Buenos Aires, Argentina Crag
          • Colorado - Calling Pat Ament
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      • United States >
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          • Climbing Area Check List Part 1: Alabama to California
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            • Ferguson Canyon Review
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            • Ibex Review
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            • Maple Canyon, Utah Photos and Beta
            • Maple Canyon Review
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            • Moab - Main - Photos and Beta
            • Moab -Main - Review
          • St. George >
            • St. George - Prophesy Wall- Photos and Beta
            • St. George - Prophesy Wall - Review
        • West Virginia >
          • Seneca Rocks
        • Wyoming >
          • Ten Sleep
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