Entries By joe hoch
Our time spent in Puebla amongst the dozens of beautifully lit cathedrals, vibrant colonial architecture and calming atmosphere is never enough. But our two nights in the lovely Hotel Colonial and a full day of rest were just enough for the group to refresh from La Malinche and Ixta.
After a laidback day of trinket shopping, napping and sightseeing, our group of newly relaxed climbers met for a dinner of steak and gold plated burgers last night above Puebla’s main square. The stoke was high and there were smiles all around and excitement for our final and largest mountain.
This morning we reloaded the van and set off for Tlachichuca and 18,500’ Pico de Orizaba.
Wish us luck!
RMI Guide Joe Hoch
New Post Alerts:
Mexico's Volcanoes January 18, 2025
After leaving La Malinche we drove towards Amecameca to gather last minute supplies before starting our climb to Ixtaccihuatl 17,340.’
We drove up a windy rode to the national park gate, then continued up a bumpy dirt road to La Joya, ~ 13,047’. There, we were greeted with warm soup and tacos (great fuel before a big climb!)
The team tidied up their packs -and spent the afternoon climbing to high camp ~ 14,500ft.
We ate ramen, fresh quesadillas and made a plan to have an alpine start of 1:30 am. The little hours we layed horizontally was just enough to rest our bodies and minds for the summit push. The morning shuffle included coffee, oatmeal, perfect weather and many constellations in the sky to keep us company. The climb was tough and long but all worth it once we gained the ridge in time for sunrise! From the summit we were able to see where we came from, La malinche, and our next goal, Pico De Orizaba!
The team now arrives in Puebla for some much-needed rest, site seeing and great food!
RMI Guides Lacie Smith, Joe Hoch, and Team
New Post Alerts:
Mexico's Volcanoes January 18, 2025
Well, it wouldn’t be an international climbing expedition without some unexpected adventures. So as we drove up a mountain pass outside Mexico City on our way to our first volcano, La Malinche, and our minibus motor essentially exploded, team Mexico Volcanoes took it all in stride.
Three hours of quality suntanning time later, our new van arrived, we gear exploded and were on our way.
We were greeted at our cabin resort with everyone’s favorite dinner, a tower of meat, cheese and grilled cactus. The Torre de Carne righted any troubles of the day, and everyone went to bed ready to get up early and climb 14,500’ La Malinche.
Our summit day dawned clear and beautiful and we made great time up the lower part of the mountain. People started to feel the elevation around 13000’, but the stoke was high, and around 12 noon our entire climbing team stood on the summit of La Malinche!
We celebrated at dinner with yet another tower of meat, and got ready for our next volcano, 17,159’ Iztaccihautl!
RMI Guide Joe Hoch
New Post Alerts:
Mexico's Volcanoes January 18, 2025
Last night, after a successful arrival, our Mexico Volcanos team assembled at our lovely Hotel Geneve in the Zona Rosa district of Mexico City.
We ran through intros and headed out to the local taco bar.
The team is stoked and ready to head to our first volcano, La Malinche!
RMI Guides Joe Hoch and Lacie Smith
New Post Alerts:
Mexico's Volcanoes January 18, 2025
Posted by: Joe Hoch
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Summit Success on Orizaba!
Our week of soggy climbs and long walks up closed access roads paid off yesterday. Around 9:30am, we all walked onto the summit of Pico de Orizaba!
When we woke around midnight, the gusty winds pushing us around in camp made a summit seem iffy. But as we left camp the winds died and we climbed under beautiful starry skies. The sun rose as we made our way up the Jamapa Glacier toward the summit, and gave us the classic pyramidal shadow of Orizaba over the valleys and towns bellow.
Everyone pushed hard as we passed 18,000 feet, and as we walked onto the summit, we were alone in the sun to take photos and take in the spectacular views of many of Mexico’s large volcanos.
Congratulations to Norbert and Etienne on their strong work this week, and a successful summit of the third tallest mountain in North America, and the tallest of Mexico’s impressive volcanoes!
RMI Guide Joe Hoch
New Post Alerts:
Mexicos Volcanoes October 5, 2024
Friday, October 11, 2024
After our rainy summit of Volcan La Malinche, our team was pretty excited to see sun pop up in the forecast. We headed toward Volcan Iztaccihuatl (Ixta) excited for our next summit.
At our regular food and water pit stop in Amecameca (my favorite word) our local guide Allan had some bad news. The rains from Hurricane Milton had caused the park service to close the road, and we would have a 9 kilometer hike to our normal parking/basecamp area. This was sad to hear, as it made a summit of Ixta a hard proposition. But we quickly brainstormed and decided we would trek to basecamp, then get as far up Ixta as possible. This would give us great altitude training for our biggest goal, Orizaba at 18,500’.
The next day we hiked through pleasant tall grass meadows and pine trees and camped at our normal basecamp at 13,000’. In the morning we woke to a ‘practice’ alpine start at 3:00am, and were finally greeted by stars and the moon.
On our climb to 15,500’ we watched a colorful sunrise and Volcan Popocatepetl puffing away across the valley. All in all a spectacular altitude training day.
Trekking back through the pine tree meadows, everyone was excited to get to Puebla for pizza, a nice night in a hotel, then to our final volcano, Pico de Orizaba!
RMI Guide Joe Hoch
New Post Alerts:
Mexicos Volcanoes October 5, 2024
We woke at our quiet mountain cabins on the side of Volcan La Malinche to a cloudy sky, but minus the rain we had experienced most of the trip.
After a quick breakfast we started up the trail, rain shells at the ready. Our forecast was for rain showers, courtesy of Hurricane Milton only 200 miles away. And as we neared 13,000 feet the rain started. But Etienne and Norbert weren’t too concerned with a little rain, and we pressed uphill, staying mostly dry in our Gore-Tex.
We summited in a light mist, with sun poking through. 2 climbers, 1 guide and 3 dogs(2 from our cabins, one from part way up the mountain, so not sure if she gets a summit).
We made it quick on top, and as we started downhill, Milton made its presence known, and we were soon in the heaviest rain I’ve seen outside of a tropical rainforest. But we kept our cool, and with tired legs and absolutely soaked through, we made it happily back to our cabins in the forest.
With a good night’s sleep and now dried out clothing and gear, we’re off to our next challenge, Volcan Ixta, with an improving weather forecast!
New Post Alerts:
Mexicos Volcanoes October 5, 2024
Posted by: Joe Hoch
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
October 6, 2024 - 11:38 am PT
After a breakfast with a great view of Mexico City at a little place we found, the Mexico Volcanos team is headed to the rustic cabins at La Malinche.
The weather has been a bit rainy, but we expect sun later in the week and we're excited to get on our first volcano tomorrow!
RMI Guide Joe Hoch
New Post Alerts:
Mexicos Volcanoes October 5, 2024
Posted by: Joe Hoch, Robert Whyte, Celeste Wilson
Categories: Expedition Dispatches North Cascades
Elevation: 10,781'
The August 29th Mount Baker climb with Joe Hoch, Rob Whyte, and Celeste Wilson summited 100% of clients and guides at 8am Thursday morning with beautiful sunny skies and views from Canada to Mt Rainier. They spent a half hour on the summit and descended to base camp and out.
Congratulations Team!
Posted by: Joe Hoch, George Hedreen, Will Ambler, Joey Manship, Mac Nolde, Evan Redman
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mount Rainier
Elevation: 12,900'
The Four Day Climb Led by Joe Hoch and George Hedreen climbed to 12,900' but were stopped by ice fall activity that coverd the current climbing route. The team is safely back at Camp Muir and will be returning to Paradise in the early afternoon.
