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British trad-climbing legend Johnny Dawes has left Tafraoute with some of its hardest routes to date after a brief visit to the Oasis at the beginning of March. Not surprisingly, Johnny's uncompromising approach saw him jump straight in at the deep end, with ascents of a number of unclimbed desperates on the granite, including Rumpus (E4 6a) and Call of Duty (E4 6a) at Aguerd Oudad. After this brief warm-up Johnny went on to do battle with one of Tafraoute's numerous jaw-dropping offwidths, commenting that "this was a whole new level of difficulty" and vowing to return to complete the route "when he was climbing well again".

Above: Johnny 'warming up' on Rumpus (E4 6a) at Aguerd Oudad

Over on the quartzite of the Ameln Valley, it was the impressive blank shield at Dimlalen (nicknamed Marmalade wall by Johnny's climbing partner, Julie Hiam) that caught his eye. This stunning 50m wall, described as "unclimbable" by several parties in the Tafraoute new-route book combines some rather crumbly rock with an apparent lack of holds or decent gear. After one day cleaning the proposed line on abseil, Johnny returned a couple of days later with borrowed rope, harness and gear to complete Tafraoute's hardest quartzite climb - Shine (E7 6b), having a few nervous moments and completing half the route onsight and uncleaned, since the line "didn't quite go where he expected". A tremendous effort, completed in great style!