The morning we turned around at 3,900 metres
A group of six, all strong, all excited, 267 vertical metres from the summit. This is what that decision looks like from the front of the line, and why nobody asked for their money back.
SOUTH CWM 3,900 M
04:30 · THE REFUGE
We left on time and in good spirits — Hassan in front, me at the back of the line. The forecast the night before had shown wind picking up after nine, which is normal, and a front arriving in the evening, which is also normal. Six people, all of them fitter than they thought, all of them awake before the alarm.
06:40 · THE SOUTH CWM
The wind arrived two and a half hours early. That happens on this mountain — the cwm funnels it and you feel the change before you see it. At 3,900 m Hassan put the group behind a boulder and we watched the cloud come over the ridge from the west in about four minutes flat. Twenty metres of visibility. Loose spindrift moving across the scree.
06:50 · THE DECISION
He gave them the truth, and I translated it: we could keep going and probably reach the summit, and we would be doing the last hour of it blind, on ground where blind is how people get hurt. Or we could go down now, have second breakfast at the refuge, and be in Imlil with the whole afternoon to spare. Nobody argued. One of them, who had trained for this for five months, said the thing I now repeat to every group: the mountain will still be here.
WHAT HAPPENED AFTERWARDS
We were back at the refuge by eight, and the front hit properly at ten. Two of the six came back in October and summited in perfect light. Two are booked for next spring. All six are still in the WhatsApp group, which is more than I can say for some groups that did reach the top.
WHY I AM TELLING YOU THIS
Because when you book a trip with a summit in the name, you are also booking the judgement of the person in front. Ours is straightforward: a fixed turnaround time, the guide has the final word, and a free date change if the weather takes your summit. This is the same reason we start on Friday rather than Saturday — margin, so the mountain is walked at your pace and not at a schedule's. I would rather you came back than got a photograph.
IF WEATHER TAKES YOUR SUMMIT, YOUR NEXT ATTEMPT IS FREE — YOU PAY ONLY THE REFUGE NIGHT