RMI Expeditions BlogRSS

Entries From Mexico 2-9-13

Mexico Volcanoes: Waterfall & Team Wrap Up and Head Home

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall | February 17, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico

The February Mexican Volcanoes trip has officially wrapped up.  This morning we all woke up out of our coma-like slumber and enjoyed our last meal together in Mexico.  After a shirt and sweet wrap up celebration we hopped back in our trusty van for the three-hour drive back to Mexico City.  We all said our final goodbyes curb side.  It’s been a a great trip with tons of excitement but now it’s time to head home.  Here’s a photo from the summit of el Pico de Orizaba yesterday.

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

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Mexico’s Volcanoes: Team Descends from Pico de Orizaba

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall | February 16, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico

Orizaba summit!  After yesterday I didn’t know what to think. We had driven through a forest fire on the way to the mountain and the forecast was for a snow storm to move in during our planned summit bid.  Things were getting interesting to say the least.  But as it turned out our luck was impeccable.  The forecasted storm actually did roll in, as a low level drizzle that put down the small fire whilst we climbed to the summit in perfectly clear conditions.  We had a long and tough day for sure but everyone gave it their all.  It was a great final climb on what’s been a fantastic trip.

RMI Guides Seth Waterfall & Solveig Waterfall

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Mexico Volcanoes: Waterfall & Team Summit Pico de Orizaba!

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall | February 16, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico
Elevation: 18,701'

Hey this is Seth calling from el Pico de Orizaba, third tallest peak in North America and tallest in Mexico.  We had a long but beautiful climb, great weather and we are hanging out in great conditions on the summit.  We’ll check in again when we get back to Piedra Grande.  That’s it.  That’s all.

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

On The Map

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Mexico Volcanoes: Waterfall and Team Prepare for Summit Bid

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall | February 15, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico
Elevation: 14,000'

Well, we’re at the hut on Orizaba getting ready to climb tonight.  It was an interesting drive up here, for sure.  It’s been very dry here recently and some forest fires have sprung up down low on the mountain.  Normally this wouldn’t worry me too much but one of the fires is within a mile of our access road.  There are firefighters working in the area and our local logistics company is on top of the situation so at this point it’s just a minor concern.  One thing that’s looking good is that there seems to be a weather system building which would help the fire situation out a ton.  The downside of that is it will make climbing more difficult if we are faced with a storm.

So that’s basically our situation… there’s a few things that are out of our control, so we’re just doing what we can to give ourselves the best shot at the summit.  We’re prepping to go up but not at the risk of climbing in a dangerous storm or getting stranded at the hut.  We’ll be making the safest call, of course.  I’ll call back early tomorrow and update everyone on our status. 

Wish us luck, we could use it!

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall & Team

On The Map

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Mexico Volcanoes: Waterfall & Team See the Sights of Puebla

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall | February 14, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico

Today was a well deserved rest day for the team.  After a long day of climbing yesterday we spent today relaxing and seeing the sights in Puebla.  Molé, the traditional sauce of Mexico, was sampled by everyone on the team and I know one person had it at every meal.  It’s definitely a favorite of mine.  Also, since it is Valentine’s day the Zocalo (town square) was full of people celebrating the holiday.  It’s a big one here in Mexico.  We capped off the day with a great dinner at the Mason Sacristía de la Companía.  Tomorrow we switch back to climbing mode and head to el Pico de Orizaba!

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

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Mexico Volcanoes: Waterfall & Team In Puebla after Successful Ixta Summit

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall | February 13, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico

Hi from Puebla!  It’s just after 11 p.m. and we just got back from dinner.  It was a long and great day.  We woke up this morning before 2 a.m. and started climbing just after 3.  The night was cool and crisp but windless which was really great for us.  Everyone on the team was very motivated to climb and we made good progress up to the top of the Ayoloco Glacier.  From there the good weather continued and just over 4 hours after starting we were standing on top of Ixta.  It was a beautiful day for climbing.  The walk down went very smooth.  We had a light breeze on the lower mountain (that’s the big weather story for us so far!) and when we got to the trail head we were greeted with tortas, cervesas and refrescos.  Now we’re all set up for a rest day in Puebla tomorrow.

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

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Mexico Volcanoes: Waterfall & Team Summit Ixta!

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall | February 13, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico
Elevation: 17,340'

Hey guys this is Seth.  We’re all on top of Ixta!  All seven climbers and three guides made it.  Beautiful weather. Had a great day.  Here’s the big cheer. [Team cheers!]  We’ll give a shout when we’re back down safe and sound at high camp.

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

On The Map

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Mexico’s Volcanoes: Team Ascends to High Camp on Ixtaccihuatl

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall | February 12, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico
Elevation: 14,750'

Greetings from high camp on Ixta!  We had a great day on the trail.  My day started a bit earlier than the rest of the team as I came up to camp to drop off some water early in the morning.  The rest of the group enjoyed bacon and eggs for breakfast before starting their hike at 9:30am.  It was very warm and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky for most of the day but we had a nice breeze to keep us from getting too hot.

We just finished with dinner and now everyone’s getting their gear organized for tonight’s we climb!  Hopefully the next time we check in it will be from the summit.

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

On The Map

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Mexico Volcanoes: Waterfall & Team at Altzimoni Hut on Ixta

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall | February 11, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico
Elevation: 13,000'

13,000!  That’s our sleeping elevation tonight at the Altzimoni hut.  We started the day with the best breakfast in Mexico at the Mission Tlaxcala.  Then we drove back to the west and around Ixta, with a few pit stops along the way.  Once we reached the town of Amecameca we loaded up on water and drove to the Altzimoni hut.  After getting settled the group headed out for a light hike.  After that we made dinner and now everyone is tucked in their bunks and getting ready to move to high camp tomorrow.  We will check back in from there.

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

On The Map

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Mexico Volcanoes: Waterfall & Team Acclimatize at La Malinche

Posted by: Seth Waterfall, Solveig Waterfall | February 11, 2013
Categories: *Expedition Dispatches *Mexico
Elevation: 14,636'

Hola!  We’re at La Malinche.  Everything was pretty smooth getting out of the city this morning and we had great views of Ixta on the drive.  Once we checked into out cabins at La Malinche we went for a great hike to acclimatize.  3.7 miles and about 3,500 feet up to a prominent ridge on the mountain.  After a few pics we reversed course and headed toward the dinner bell.  We’ll check in again tomorrow.

RMI Guide Seth Waterfall

On The Map

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