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Good morning. This is RMI Guide Eric Frank from the summit of Pico de Orizaba. We are enjoying the views looking out over the valley in Mexico. A little cloud cover is creeping Into The Valleys, but we are about 1,000 feet above it up here. It’s been a really nice morning of climbing, a little cold and a little windy, but we were able to get it done nevertheless. We are going to hang out for a few more minutes then get packed up and have a safe descent. Then we will go down and celebrate what's been a great week of climbing.

RMI Guide Eric Frank

On The Map

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier and the Mexico Volcanoes team reached the summit of Pico de Orizaba, 18,491', early this morning.  The team will return to Tlachichuca to spend the night and celebrate their great week of climbing.

Congratulations to the team!

After all of yesterday's excitement, the team gathered for a celebratory dinner followed by margaritas, then went to bed. We slept hard after a long day's work and greatly enjoyed the comforts of our Tlachichuca amenities. This morning we were awakened by the crows of many local roosters, letting us know it was time to head home. We drank our hot coffee and ate delicious frittatas, then loaded the bus and headed for the airport. We said our goodbyes and headed off to our gates, feeling like we'd been together in Mexico for much longer than just nine short days.

Thanks again for following along and we hope you've enjoyed sharing the journey with us!

RMI Guide Jenny Konway

Just before 6am today the Mexico Volcanoes expedition stood on top of Ixtaccihuatl.  Yes, that is an hour before sunrise.  You could say we left an hour too early or you can recognize that this group of climbers is strong and motivated.  We battled a cold breeze all morning, but people put their heads down and persevered.

This time of year Ixta is dry, which makes climbing more difficult.  The footing can be loose and we have all been thoroughly sandblasted.  Needless to say it was an exhausting day.  Within minutes of boarding the bus, more than half of the crew was asleep... a nap fueled by sandwiches y cervezas.

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

On The Map

Hi, this is RMI Guides Jenny Konway and Eric Frank calling in from the summit of Ixtaccihuatl with a full team. We reached the summit at 7:45 this morning. We are hanging out, taking some photos and we'll head back down soon. The team is psyched.

On The Map

Our day started with a 7am wake-up call, followed by hot coffee, eggs and some of the best papaya we'd ever had. While we enjoyed our breakfast, we took in the view, as Popocatepl put on a show for us, spewing large clouds of ash and smoke into the morning sky. 

We finalized our packing, loaded our gear into the van and headed to the trailhead to start our hike to high camp. The team did a great job, arriving at high camp in good spirits and in good time. After setting up tents and getting moved in, we all took a well deserved break before coming together for dinner. Once we'd had our fill of soup and quesadillas, we discussed our plan for tomorrow's ascent, said good night and headed to bed.

Wish us luck as we head out tomorrow for our hopeful summit of Ixtaccihuatl!

RMI Guide Jenny Konway

Following another fantastic Mexican culinary experience (breakfast tacos) we hit the trail from Altzomoni towards high camp on Ixta.  Everyone arrived in good spirits and are settled in at camp.  An early dinner tonight will set us up nicely to get some rest and have an alpine start tonight.

Conditions on the mountain are dry and the weather is breezy.  We are all feeling optimistic about tonight's climb.  Hopefully we will be calling from the summit early tomorrow morning!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

On The Map

Some Rainier climbers are fortunate to have enough mountainous terrain in their area to train on realistic terrain for their upcoming climb.  However, many are completing their training in locations far from the mountains and with limited access to hiking trails. In these places it takes a little more creativity to functionally train for mountaineering.  Fortunately, no matter where you are, we all live in the midst of an almost unlimited network of pavement.  Road biking can be a great tool for getting a lot of variety of training done, with the added bonus that it is a low impact activity on your joints.  Depending on the type of training you are trying to accomplish, there are many ways to use your road bike as a tool: • Long Endurance: Road bikes are a great way to get that long, 3 to 4 hour workout done on the weekends.  Look for different loops that you can do with a variety of terrain, and try to keep your heart rate in Zone 1 or Zone 2.  On a road bike, often times this means using an efficient gear to spin a good cadence or tempo, rather than mashing high gears for a bunch of hours. Keep in mind that 3 hours of spinning on a bike may not provide the same workout as a 3 hour hike on mountainous terrain so you may need extend your rides a little if you feel like you're not getting the workout you desire. If you aren't sure where to go in your area, check out apps like Strava or EveryTrail, which let you share your rides with other users, compare your times, and get ideas for new rides in your area! • Fartlek Intervals: If you have a loop or ride around you with some rolling hills, your ride can turn into a natural interval workout, known as Fartlek Intervals.  Up the intensity up each hill, and recover down the backside or across the flats.  Similarly, use telephone poles, signs, road junctions, or other landmarks to setup a series of intervals if your terrain isn’t as suited for climbing. • Speed: Along similar lines to intervals, you can do a series of short sprints or speeds (this can be really fun if you are riding with a group of buddies, and someone calls out a finish line at random that the whole group races for) that helps build your fast twitch muscle structure for those short bursts of quick steps that you encounter climbing. • Strength: Biking works many of the same leg muscles that we use climbing, namely the quads, hamstrings, and calves.  While a lot of good road cyclists often focus on riding an efficient gear at high rpms, if you want to do a series of strength exercises, try to a type of interval where you push a higher gear than you normally would for a minute or two, then back off. Repeat this for several repetitions. Think of it as a sort of leg squat. As you get stronger, you can increase the resistance for this exercise.  This may not be that aerobically challenging, but remember the point is strength, rather than aerobic threshold with these.   As with any workout, you will be far more successful if you set out for each workout with a focus and purpose, rather than to just go for a ride each day. The variety and quality of the training that you can do on a bike is great, but remember that it doesn’t replace the need to put a pack on for some of your workouts and do them with weight on your back, just like you will have on the climb. Similarly, road biking is great for reducing the strain on your joints, but remember that during your climb, you will climb (and DESCEND!!) 10,000 feet and your joints need to be ready for that. So if riding is better suited to your area, use it as a great tool to get a ton of training done, but don’t forget to get out on your feet, boots on, with a pack on your back. Mix it up and stay excited about your training!  Questions? Comments? Share your thoughts here on the RMI Blog!

Our attempt on La Malinche yesterday was turned just above treeline, but we still attained our goal of getting some mileage and elevation in.  The National Park Police were stopping all groups from continuing, citing recent weather trends (afternoon thundershowers).  My assessment of the weather differed from theirs, but their stern faces projected a certain air of authority.

The team is on the road again this morning, this time from the La Malinche resort to Altzomoni.  On previous trips with the same bus driver, Augustín, there was a Shania Twain album stuck in the CD player.  However, that problem has been rectified and this morning we are getting re-acquainted with 90's and early 2000's hip hop and R&B. 

We will make a quick pit stop in Amecameca for snacks and water before heading to the Paso de Cortes.  The anticipation is growing for our first big objective, Iztaccíhuatl (Ixta).  Given the weather we have observed for the past couple of days, it appears to be shaping up for a great climb!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

On The Map

Once again we find ourselves on the road in the hands of the most talented bus driver in Mexico, Augustín.  This time we are in route to Pico de Orizaba, the third highest peak in North America and our main climbing objective for the trip.

Our rest day in Puebla yesterday was moderately uneventful.  If anything wild happened, I certainly was not made aware.  We woke up to a peaceful protest just outside of the hotel for which a couple members of the team decided to take part.  Other rest day activities included: cathedral tours, a search for new gaiters, the Pyramid of Cholula, and rooftop bars.  For the final event of the day we had a group dinner at the famous El Mural de Los Poblanos.  Important topics were discussed and a variety of opinions were shared, however it is still unclear whether knocking on a watermelon can truly determine its quality.  Alas, there are just some things we cannot know.

Next on the agenda is our arrival in Tlachichuca.  A short pack and repack session will be followed by lunch in the Servimont hostel.  From there we board 4x4 trucks headed for the Piedra Grande hut at 14000' on Orizaba.  We will finish our preparation for climbing, eat a dinner that includes fellow RMI Guide Mike King's favorite chicken in the world and try to catch a few hours of sleep before our alpine start tonight!

RMI Guide Dustin Wittmier

On The Map