Saturday, October 22, 2016 - 8:07 am PT
This is Mike with the RMI Mexico team. We are currently standing on top of Pico de Orizaba. We woke up around midnight and the weather was wet and rainy, we didn't think we were going to get it. When 2:30 am rolled around the clouds parted. Everyone is doing really well up on top. We are taking some photos and taking in the sights from the highest point in Mexico will give you guys a shout once we are down safe and sound. Talk to you later.
RMI Guide Mike King
RMI Guide Mike King calls from the summit of Pico de Orizaba, Mexico.
The Mexico Team is resting comfortably at the Piedra Grande Hut on Orizaba. Yesterday we had a nice day off in Puebla, everyone took advantage of the good food, area surrounding the Zocalo and some visited a car museum.
Leaving Puebla this morning we took in more of the countryside and ended up at a century old soap factory turned climber's hostel run by Sr. Reyes. We met his 93 year old father and enjoyed a nice lunch after sorting our gear for the climb.
Our drive up here is on a fairly rough road through pine trees and the grassy lower slopes of Orizaba. We are currently at 14,000' sitting in a light cloud with views of the mountain from time to time.The team will wake around midnight and hopefully have good weather to climb.
Keep your fingers crossed that we get a chance to summit Orizaba!
RMI Guides Mike King & Steve Gately
This morning around 12:30 we woke for our Ixta summit day. We had a relatively clear sky above us with a bright moon, but out to the east was a small cloud bank with some lightening radiating through the clouds. We got ready to climb since the storm looked to be moving away from the mountain.
As we approached our first break the storm clouds began to creep our way with the lightening increasing in the distance. The guides turned the group around and made the call to pack up camp and head to lower elevations. The team responded and broke camp quickly, transitioning into downhill mode. Carrying heavy packs in rocky terrain at night isn't easy and we all arrived tired but thankful to not be up at Ixta's high camp.
Upon reaching the trail-head all signs of the storm had disappeared, clear above visibility unlimited. Some frustration and confusion pulsed through the team members and guides. When you're in the mountains it is important to take the information available to you and make a conservative decision. Sometimes the storm rolls in and sometimes the skies clear.
We spent the morning resting and sorting gear for the next few days. Like clockwork, the skies turned grey, hail fell and thunder rolled high on Ixta. Our shuttles arrived to take us to Puebla for the next 2 nights.
The Team will enjoy a day off in the historic district and then we are off for Orizaba, the 3rd highest peak in North America.
RMI Guide Mike King & Team
RMI Guide Mike King checked in from Mexico. Today the team made their summit attempt from High Camp but were forced to turn around at 16,000' on Ixta due to a major electrical storm on the horizon. The team descended and returned to the Altzomoni Hut where they packed up their gear, loaded vehicles and continued their descent. They will travel to Puebla today as scheduled and explore this beautiful colonial city.
We look forward hearing more from them soon.
RMI Office
The RMI Mexico Team is nestled in their tents at 15,000' after a heavy move day to our camp. We woke early to beat the heat and afternoon storms. Our route today took us to the base of the "knees" on Ixta over four hours. The camp is dry so we had some porter help carrying water for two days.
We enjoyed views of the expansive golden bunch grass as the hills and rock features making up the lower flanks gave way to volcanic rock and scree. Being in and out of the clouds allowed for cooler temperatures and the team climbed well. We will head for the summit tomorrow morning if the weather holds. Coverage has been troublesome for longer dispatches, we'll get a longer one up from our day off in Puebla.
RMI Guide Mike King
The Team has arrived at the Altzomoni Hut on Ixta, 12,000'. The goal today was to pack for our approach to high camp, get a walk in to continue acclimating and relax. While our drive today included a few detours, a late breakfast and some electrical storms, the team is doing well. So much of climbing in the big mountains can be' "hurry up and wait". Patience is tested, storms blow in making everyone stir crazy and it becomes easy to let the scenery just pass by without taking in your surroundings.
Our drive to the hut took us through beautiful countryside with acres of corn being harvested and up through dense forests of evergreen trees and shrubs. After passing through rolling pampas filled with grass we saw Popocatepetl, the neighboring volcano who watches over Ixtaccihuatl. Popo was on display today with steam and ash rising from it's caldera.
Tomorrow we will move up to 15,000' and hope the weather cooperates for a summit attempt on Wednesday.
RMI Guide Mike King
Following your progress, plan to follow in your footsteps next month (Nov.5-13). Wishing everyone strength (mental and physical) as well as good weather!
Today we left Mexico City for the rolling hills of La Malinche National Park on a clear and beautiful day. Our climbing objectives, Ixta and Orizaba were on display with a light covering of new snow as our shuttle merged in and out of the maze of toll roads.
The goal for today was a hike to 14,000 ft to stretch our legs and lungs. On the ascent we passed numerous locals hiking and packing up camp sites from the weekend. As we got to tree line there were large dark clouds billowing over Malinche's summit. With rain and lightening on the horizon we turned around at 13,000 ft and headed back down through a dense pine forest to our cabanas where will stay for the night.
The team is doing well and excited to get on Ixta tomorrow afternoon.
RMI Guides Mike King & Steve Gately
October 15, 2016 - 9 pm PT
This is Mike, the entire RMI Mexico team arrived with all their gear and high spirits! We kicked the program off with a good dinner and meeting. Tomorrow we will head 75 miles east of Mexico City into rolling hills of Tlaxcala to the base La Malinche. This is where we begin our acclimatization program with a day hike and spending the night at 10,000 ft.
Thanks for following along.
RMI Guide Mike King
The Four Day Summit Climb led by RMI Guide Casey Grom and Robby Young turned at 13,800' due to high winds and route conditions. The team has has started their descent and are en route back to Camp Muir.
Congratulations to today's team!
It's been a mixed day of weather here on the flanks of Ixta. The group awoke to clear skies and pleasant temps this morning, but an ominous forecast threatened that the good weather would probably not last.
We loaded our packs after breakfast and began climbing toward our high camp at 15,000ft. Slowly the wind began to pick up as we gained altitude until it was blowing 25-30mph when we arrived at camp. It was an easy decision to leave our tents packed and we opted instead to move into the nearby Refugio De Los Cien.
We are currently spread inside the Refugio listening to the wind blow in strong gusts. Every so often someone builds up the courage to venture outside to go to the bathroom but is quickly forced back inside.
We have our fingers crossed for improving weather, but the conditions right now don't give us much hope for a summit bid tomorrow.
RMI Guides Geoff Schellens and Eric Frank
Good Luck ALEX S and team wishing you all the best in your summit attempt…
Jeff and the Gang from the TH53 Project in Northern MN
Posted by: Jeff Hall on 10/21/2016 at 3:12 pm
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