Toubkal, 4167m was my second high altitude winter climb.

This was a whole lot different experience to my Mexico adventure!

Sunny and bright weather was following us on route at all times. Beautiful scenery and relaxed environment made this climb more of a cultural experience.

My amazing guide also appeared to be a member of a council for the area and the climb was full of tea breaks, rich debate and conversations. I learned about fascinating lives of Atlas mountain people and their unique ways. We openly discussed cultural differences and political aspirations of the area.

I was pleased to learn about education centres built for women, who are mainly illiterate if they are in their 30s or older and plenty social projects happening to help Atlas mountain communities deal with the hardships of living in the mountains.

What I took from this trip was that people in the area no matter how much or little they had (very little to Western standards) were contempt and happy about their lives.

This made me thinking that happiness does not come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognising and appreciating what we do have.