Entries By christina dale

Hey, you blog followers and RMI Family, this is Christina, Grayson and Alan with our amazing team on the summit of Ixtaccihuatl. We are all happy, warmer right now that the sun is coming up. All is well here in Mexico.

RMI Guide Christina Dale

On The Map

The team is in fine form today as we loaded our heavy packs onto our strong backs and hit the steep trail up from La Joya to Campo Alto Ixta.  We all moved under the hot Mexico sun as a tight unit of perfectly timed rest steps.  A small dog, we later named Ixta, decided that our group is great company and came with us all the way to 15,500 feet.  Now we have our tents up and are treating ourselves to an hour of rest before firing up the stoves and making a hot dinner. We’ll be turning in early because we’ll be back up in the middle night for a climb to the top!

RMI Guide Christina Dale

On The Map

This morning we left La Malinche for the Altzomoni Hut at 13,000 feet on Ixta. The team was able to stock up on water and last minute snacks in the town of Amecameca before we begin our two-day attempt on Ixta. We’ve got all of our equipment sorted for our move up to our high camp at 15,000 feet tomorrow.

RMI Guide Grayson Swingle

On The Map

Today the team left the lively Zona Rosa district of Mexico City bright and early to make our way to the mountains. A beautiful drive through the Mexican countryside took us up through a cloud layer that blanketed the City to sunny skies above.

Once we arrived at our home for the night, La Malinche, the team began our first big step towards getting our bodies acclimated for the peaks to come by hiking up to 13,700 feet. Here, we got our first views of the surrounding volcanoes including our next objectives Ixta and Orizaba.

Tonight we will enjoy a much deserved authentic Mexican dinner, sleep at 10,000 feet and try to catch a glimpse of the Lunar Eclipse.

RMI Guide Grayson Swingle

The team all met yesterday in Mexico City where we took walks during the day and were impressed with the city.  We met for a fun dinner with lots of tacos and laughs.  We all are looking forward to traveling around Mexico, climbing the high mountains, and tasting the best smoked chipotle sauces.

RMI Guide Christina Dale

There is nothing like the mountains shadow on clouds below as the sun turns everything pink.  We were fortunate to experience sunrise on the summit of Orizaba this morning after spending the previous 6 hours slowly rest-stepping and pressure-breathing our way to 18,500 feet.

RMI Guide Christina Dale

We loaded up all our gear and added 10 liters of water to our already four gallons and hit the trail for High Camp.  It was slow going with heavy packs ,loose scree steps, and not much atmosphere above us but all went well.  We made many friends along the trail who are all rooting for the tall blond lady team.  Tonight we will hopefully get some sleep and wake up at midnight for the summit bid. 
Think warm and speedy thoughts!

RMI Guide Christina Dale

Sue and I spent one of my favorite nights I’ve ever had in Mexico, camping on the slopes of Orizaba last night.  We slept on a floor of pine needles surrounded by blue bunch grasses.  Yesterday we hiked from the town of Tlachichuca to a camp at 12,000 feet on the forested side of the mountain.  We had a fire and watched cows till the sun set leaving us chilled and ready for bed.  This morning we lounged around our precious camp with enough time for two cups of coffee.  Then set off for Piedra Grande, the typical starting point for climbers on Orizaba.  We are grateful for the extra days of acclimatizing and time to enjoy this countryside.  Tonight we bed down at 14,000 feet hoping for some good rest. 

RMI Guide Christina Dale

What an amazing hike we did today.  Starting in the dense trees of the national park (which are open in Mexico), we headed up past horses grazing and children laughing to 12,000 feet where we met some really nice people who were excited to joke with us.  We kept our slow and constant pace all the way to 13,500 feet where the trail became rockier and the air lighter.  After a break of dried fruit and protein bars we headed to the summit of La Malinche at 14,500 feet.  We were in a light cloud so no great views but it felt got to be up there and not too winded.  Here’s a picture of Sue at the high break.  Feeling happy and proud, we chitchatted all the way down to hot showers and enchiladas!

RMI Guide Christina Dale

We are perched on the side of La Malinche this evening settling into our nice but chilly cabin.  We took a walk this afternoon to see how our bodies feel after being rudely moved to 10 thousand feet and it felt great.  Tomorrow we’ll head up 4,400 feet to the summit and hopefully get nice views over to Pico de Orizaba, our next objective.  Quick shout out to Norm from the mountains of Mexico!

RMI Guide Christina Dale