it's dry
 

A lot of usually rough pistes are in good condition at the moment because of the long dry spell - for example the Ouarzazate-Tazenacht short cut. Noticed the roadside pricky pear cacti are yellowing and dying.

I'm also told the classic Jebel Sarhro piste (MH4) is now fully sealed, as is the new high route west of Igli.

I'm told ME4 via the Korima Pass is sealed 40km out of Beni Tajite with the rest is graded and due for the same.
More Morocco Overland updates:
https://sahara-overland.com/morocco-...s-corrections/

I'm also told that doing MH13 in the book's direction, the road has collapsed before you get to the tunnel. A 4x4 won't make it.
This was last year. I imagine it unlikely to be repaired.

Peter Buitelaar and I did the track from the tunnel SW along the top of the escarpment to the P7103 on 16 February 2020, no problems, no sign of repairs either.

EDIT (18 June): If they were trying to follow the main track shown on both Olaf and OSM, I can state firmly that it is a figment of someone's imagination. Eight years ago I ended up in a series of river beds (bright red) trying to get through from the south. I later found I had actually gone a short way up the right track (green on map below) but I turned back because it was nowhere near the tracks shown on Olaf.

They'll maintain 1 route to the tunnel for access to the Phone masts at the top, been a while since I went that way so not sure which way was better used.

Also the Anergui to Cathedral piste is currently closed as the construct a new one along the route.

https://www.zroadster.net/tim/gs/IMG_1216e.jpg

I remember it well! (2006)


Do you know if the piste leading east from Anergui to Bouzmou was ever reopened?

Not that I'm aware of.

The piste from Bouzmou to about halfway between La Cathedral and Ahansal is open though. One to be careful of if the weather is bad or has been recently.

I managed the piste along the river to Tana, ok in 2014, longer ago than I thought since I went to the tunnel

Hi, it was me who dropped you the message Chris. You are right about the confusion to tana, but I made it there OK. The problem lay further along whilst just above the tree line. Unfortunately I was using maps.me so I don't have the waypoints where the road was cut. I have Google and bing aerialed it and I have narrowed it down to a couple of positions, most likely was 32.1583323, -4.9531982 hopefully if the current situation gets better I would like to get out again either November or Feb. This time I'll be approaching from the North just to be sure I get to see it this time....

A friend did the tunnel piste today, said its getting more difficult but there is a detour around the blockage

Landslide on R704 - Dades Gorge
 

Landslide in the Dades Gorge. https://www.facebook.com/19581610075...?sfnsn=scwspwa

I was due to arrive last night or today, Given the landslides, heavy snow fall and serious flooding reported today it would have been an interesting start to spring

MH7 road construction/improvements to the piste.

Photo from a few weeks ago around KM71, the tricky rough gorge east of Askaoun. Report is 2nd hand but they also reported a blockage further west and had to detour via Ammasine.

Theres been a blockage there for a while although its been a couple of years since I last drove the whole route. Report came froma camper van driver so I assume the washouts at KM76 have been improved as a result of the works

That is a big improvement. I hope it lasts as that mini gorge is clearly a funnel.
This is KM71 in 2017, only 7km out of Askaoun but over 30 to the other side.
The second pic was looking back (west).

Route news (October 2021)
 

MS1 Tafetchna
Only 14km of piste through the gorge from Tafetchna to Touna Niaraben where, if you want, tarmac leads south 25km to Beni Zoli and a bridge over the Draa to the N9 12km north of first Zagora fuel.

Kelaa/Boumalne Dades N10 bypass (41km)
At a roundabout about 35km west of Skoura, a new bypass cuts 41km south of the Dades and across the stony desert to another roundabout at the east end of Dades, by a Shell.
It’s a fast, traffic- and village-free alternative to the congested N10 around Kelaa; you can whizz through in less than half an hour. Google maps try and route you onto this now and on this occasion, they're right.

https://saharaoverland.files.wordpre...10/kellaby.jpg

Jebel Saghro MH4
As we know, the classic Tizi N Tazazart Jebel Sargho crossing was sealed in 2019. What took up to half a day from the Iknioun turn-off now takes just 35 minutes, through car or bike, it’s still an epic crossing, especially southbound.

Jebel Saghro MH23
MH14 and 15 remain a couple of great all-dirt crossings of western Saghro. And another, much less gnarly haul piste (blue, below) now starts opposite the Afriquia at the west end of Nekob and rises to run along MH14/15 for 9km down to the Tagmout basin. Here you need to get on the right track heading west over a col. MH23 crosses several more epic passes linked by axle-ground switchbacks to the vicinity of Bou Skoura mine where things ease up.
Back on the N10, there’s an Inov roadhouse just to the east.
It's 104km fuel-to-fuel.
https://sahara-overland.com/2021/10/...ghro-crossing/

https://saharaoverland.files.wordpre...2021/10/23.jpg

Other route news passed on by Noureddine at Loc:
• The once fashionable Mhamid – Tamtatouche track (MH3; 45km) is nearly halfway to getting sealed. You do wonder why they’re bothering.
• Less surprisingly the Agoudal – Tilmi High Atlas crossing (MH1) is getting the same treatment.
• The 45km section of piste between Ouarzazate west to Tazenacht (via Fint; MS14) is also now sealed (and they’ve finally started building houses on that residential development at the north end).
• They're improving the piste or making a road between Tighedouine (on the Zerkten detour off the N9 Tichka road) over to Ourika. I noted the new cutting on the other side of the valley when passing that way the other day.

Zerkten bypass