The weather on Toubkal this month has been very unpredictable. Several trekking groups have been disappointed to find that Morocco is not always the land of blue skies, and some have failed to summit. The snow had almost melted off at the end of April, but there were more storms and a significant dump of snow at the beginning of May.

I ran up to the Toubkal refuge this weekend (21 May) to see what remains of the snow and if winter conditions still persist.

There is still a bit of snow visible in the gullys of Ras-Akioud behind the refuges, but nothing visible on the main Toubkal ascent path from the Refuges. I couldn’ t see higher up but i imagine there may just be one or two small patches remaining.

With temperatures soaring in Marrakech this week the small amount remaining in the gullys should soon be gone. We are well and truly into the summer trekking season now, unless things change again. I have seen snow right down in Imlil in May once before, so no guarantees.

Don’t forget to bring plenty of water if you are walking in the Atlas Mountains now in summer conditions – the sun can be relentless and shade is very rare.

The image quality is a bit bad, it was early morning with the sun just breaking over the skyline above Toubkal.