Entries from Mexico
Today we woke to what might be the clearest morning of the Mexican countryside one might ever see. With the massive populations of Mexico City and Puebla the view is usually obscured with smoke, volcanic fog, smog. This morning we could make out high rise buildings and had a crystal clear view of Orizaba.
The Team took four hours to ascend to High Camp, located at 15,500’. We had warm weather and heavy packs. Everyone is relaxing in their tents as afternoon clouds roll through.
We will have some dinner and prepare for our summit bid tomorrow morning. Should be a nice day if the recent weather holds.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
This is Mike checking in from the lower flanks of Ixta. Today we had a casual breakfast and a two plus hour drive to the National Park where our first climbing objective is. We are at a hut looking out on the snow covered peaks of Ixta and Popo. There has been lots of rain this week which means good climbing conditions. The Team has been taking in the scenic countryside in between some short walks to acclimate. We have our gear checked and are getting ready for a delicious dinner before turning in for the night. Tomorrow we head to High Camp to get ready for a summit bid. Fingers crossed for good weather and calm winds.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Hi, this is Mike with the Mexico Volcanoes program. Everyone arrived yesterday with all our bags and we spent the night in Mexico city. We loaded our vehicle this morning and toward the mountains. We had a nice, casual day today. Lots of rain and thunderstorms kept us from hiking La Malinche. The group is hanging out watching some football and we are going to sleep tonight around 10,000', the former training center for the Mexican Olympic team. We'll be heading over to Ixta tomorrow. We will be checking in every day from here on out. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Good luck. Hopefully the weather is good for your summits.
Posted by: Jon Jones on 11/4/2018 at 7:54 pm
Posted by: Mike King, Jenny Konway
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
We are all back safely in town after a successful summit of Pico de Orizaba! The entire team stood on top after a long day climbing up the Jamapa Glacier. We had thunder and lightning last night that turned into snow all the way down to the hut. The skies cleared around 12:45 am and we were out the door at 1 on a warm night. The Team is sorting gear for flights home in the morning and looking forward to a good dinner and restful nights sleep. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
We spent a casual day off in historic Puebla yesterday looking at murals, eating tacos and checking out the local pottery made in the area. There were bands and peaceful protests in the Square, surrounded by beautiful and ornate cathedrals.
This morning we woke early to meet our transport and head to Tlachichuca where we outfitted for Orizaba. Senior Reyes runs a climber's hostel that is housed in his family's historic soap factory. The mountain has been covered in clouds and there is some snow flanking the lower slopes. This has been an extremely dry winter for the area and new snow is a welcome sight.
For the remainder of the day we'll take a short walk up hill to see the Labyrinth, a scree and rock maze of ledges and chutes that makes up the first two hours on our summit day.
The Team is excited to be here and out of the 4x4 trucks that crawl their way up the dusty roads through corn fields and beautiful pine forests. Hopefully we will be calling in from the summit tomorrow morning. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather and clear skies!
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
Posted by: Mike King, Jenny Konway
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
Today was not going to be our day, because when it snows on Ixtaccihuatl there is apparently thunder and lightning. We spent a few hours at high camp with electrical storms pulsing through, while we held tight yesterday afternoon. Around 1 am there were clear skies all around and no wind to speak of. After climbing up the ‘knees’ of Ixta we stared out into a developing storm near La Malinche (our day hike from Day 2). watching the storm continue to spread out among the horizon, the guides decided that descending to camp and packing up would be the best call.
Even though we only had 1,500 vertical feet to climb the linear distance was too long to justify staying on the ridge, should the storm pick up steam.
With a slow descent through the ‘knees’ due to frozen scree and snow we arrived back in camp, packed up and headed to the trail head. As with most decisions, there is a moment of regret and asking yourself if you made the right call. Our walk down hill was sunny and bluebird that is until it wasn’t and the billowing dark clouds overtook the summit ridge.
We are headed to Puebla for the evening and tomorrow we will get to explore the historic city center. After a couple nights sleep in nice beds we’ll head out for our Orizaba climb, the third highest peak in North America. While a little disappointed, everyone is glad to not be in an electrical storm and is doing well.
RMI Guides Mike King & Jenny Konway
Posted by: Mike King, Jenny Konway
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
The Team packed up at the Altzomoni Hut this morning after a big breakfast and casual start to the day. We hiked up to High Camp, located at 15,500' over three hours and benefited from cloudy skies and a cool breeze. As we were leaving the Third Portillo, the clouds began climbing past us and soon snow was falling. The group did great today, carrying heavy packs in rocky terrain at high altitude. We'll spend the day resting and keeping our fingers crossed for clear weather. Tomorrow will be our one shot at Ixta and she can be cruel when conditions are stormy. The climbing itself is straight forward and we'll hope to be calling in from the top shortly after sunrise. Thanks for following along, we all continue to eat amazing food and are enjoying the beautiful scenery.
RMI Guide Mike King
On The Map
After enjoying our last showers for a few days, we packed up our things and headed downhill from the La Malintzi center. We enjoyed a delicious hot breakfast just about 30 minutes from the center, then continued on towards the town of Amecameca for a quick grocery shop and to grab any last minute items the team needed. Two more hours of driving got us to the Welcome Center for Ixtaccihuatl. Mike got us all checked in, then we continued uphill on a dusty dirty road to reach the Altzimoni Hut. After unloading our gear, we did a quick sort and packed our necessities for tomorrow's hike into basecamp. Dinner is being cooked up as we write this and the team is excited to dig in. Fresh tortillas, carne asada, rice, beans, guacamole and lots of salsas to choose from! Thanks for following along and we all hope you're eating as well as we are!
RMI Guide Jenny Konway
On The Map
Posted by: Mike King, Jenny Konway
Categories: Expedition Dispatches Mexico
March 4, 2018
Everyone arrived yesterday with all luggage in tow and today we set out for a hike on La Malinche. The three hour drive through the countryside is very scenic and due to how dry the weather has been the haze began to thin as we started driving by Ixta (our first climbing objective in a few days). After arriving at a former Olympic training site we hiked up through a dense pine forest, which gave off pleasant scents reminding people of home. We walked to about 13,900' before turning around due to heavy traffic above and rock fall hazard. The goal today was to stretch the legs and lungs a bit and dust off the cobwebs of travel days ad all those tacos we ate in Mexico City. Everyone is enjoying the trip so far. Tonight we will sleep at 10,000' in little cabanas to continue acclimatizing. Thanks for following along.
RMI Guides Mike King & Jenny Konway
On The Map
Orizaba success!
I'm happy to report that the whole team is back to camp following a successful climb or Orizaba, Mexico's highest point and North America's third highest point. The weather today was perfect for a climb and the team made the round trip from camp to summit and back in eight hours. Good job team!
Now we'll pack up our things and head down for a celebratory dinner in Tlachichuca. It's a long bumpy journey back but I think I can speak for the team that it is well worth the trip.
RMI Guide Chase Nelson
Congratulations TEAM!! Very, very impressive.
Posted by: Dale on 2/24/2018 at 8:11 pm
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Wishing for good weather for the team. Good luck for your summit on Wednesday!!
Posted by: Jon & Lynda Jones on 11/5/2018 at 9:43 pm
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