After two successful summits of La Malinche and Ixta, team Mexico Volcanoes took our show back on the road to the small town of Tlachachuca to prepare for our climb of 18,500' Pico de Orizaba. 

Our perfect sunny weather continued as we gear exploded and sorted on the lawn of our Mexican outfitter Servimont. After a quick lunch we loaded into the 4x4 trucks and 1964 Dodge Powerwagon that take us to our basecamp. A couple bouncy hours later, we unloaded, dusted off and set up the tents for a quick sleep. 

11:30pm dawned calm and star-lit, and we made quick work of the lower part of Orizaba. As we neared 17,000 feet, the sun came up and gave us the spectacular and classic pyramidal mountain shadow that Orizaba is famous for. 

As we climbed higher, it became clear that rumors of a very icy summit section were true. We watched as multiple teams above us on the steep summit headwall found more of the bullet-hard ice we’d found lower on the glacier, and winds strong enough to put them down on that ice multiple times. 

We had a chat as a group and concluded that our 18,000 foot high point (highest for all but the guides!) was certainly the best spot to turn around. It was a hard decision as Orizaba was our biggest goal. But ultimately we all agreed that safety on this huge exotic mountain was number one. 

We descended into a hot sunny afternoon and enjoyed our final evening with a delicious dinner, then made our way to the airport in the morning to some fond farewells. 

Until next time Orizaba!

Thanks to the team for a great trip and way too many memories to list here! 

RMI Guides Joe Hoch & Sam Hoffman