Seth here, checking in from the Hotel Colonial in Puebla. The group has just returned from dinner and everyone is headed to their rooms for a little shut eye.
The climb went well today and the weather was fantastic. We awoke just after one AM and hit the trail before three. We ascended 'The Knees' route on Ixta which involves several ups and downs along the way to the summit. We started with some steep rock then moved into some ridge climbing and crossed two glaciers to reach the summit. It was a spectacular day of climbing.
Everyone is looking forward to the rest day in Puebla tomorrow.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Hey! This is Seth checking in from the summit of Ixta. We came up from high camp in just under five hours. We had a great climb and we are taking a bunch of photos. We are going to turn around and head back to where we stashed our packs in the crater. We will then head back to high camp and finally onto Puebla tonight. Everybody is psyched and feeling good! We will check in when we are at the hotel.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Congrats on reaching the summit of Ixta! You just saved our son a bunch of money by not having to attempt it a third time! Stay safe and enjoy your time there!
Posted by: Brad & Lori Briggs on 1/22/2014 at 6:43 pm
Hey this is Seth checking in from High Camp on Ixta, that’s just over 15,000’ for us. We came up today from our last camp. We spent about four and a half hours on the trail, everyone is doing excellent. Tents are all set up and we are firing up the stoves getting ready to have dinner. Then we will talk about our strategy for the climb and have an early bedtime. We will be getting up in the middle of the night and will head out for the summit. We will call you when we reach that point. Hope all is well back home.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall and Team.
Good morning! We've moved on from La Malinche and are currently enjoying the best breakfast in Mexico at the Mission Tlaxcala. After breakfast we're headed for the village of Amecameca and then on to the base camp at Ixta. Our plan is to get an acclimatization hike in this afternoon and tomorrow head to high camp.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Taylor….we all wish we were back there with you. Can’t wait to see your photos…I hope Seth makes guacamole as well as JJ and Solveig!!! Climb on my friend!!
Posted by: Debbi LaPrevotte on 1/21/2014 at 4:44 am
Hey this is Seth checking in from La Malinche over here in Mexico. We just had a great day climbing up the mountain actually of La Malinche. We made it to just about 13,500' from our cabanas here at 10,000 feet. It was getting to be around 4:15 at that point so we turned around, descended back down here to 10,000' and just finished with a nice dinner and we're getting tucked in. There's actually TVs in the room here so we were able to pipe in the Seahawks-49ers game. We started a fire in the fireplace and we're gonna watch them. [Connection lost.]
Tomorrow the team will depart La Malinche and drive toward Ixtaccihuatl's Altzomoni Hut.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall calls in with a team update.
Buenas Tardes! The team is all here and excited to kick off the Mexico's Volcanoes trip. Everyone arrived today and we had our first team meeting in the evening. Some of the group went on to bed while the rest of us went out for a delicious Mexican dinner.
We made an early night of it since tomorrow we hit the ground running and head for our first destination, La Malinche.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
We are back from the mountain safe and sound. It was a wild morning and it kept rolling throughout the early morning. First, we woke up to a constant rain at the hut. Solveig and I stayed up and kept checking the weather for improvements. And alas at 2 am the weather cleared. The team was so excited to climb.
We donned our packs and began our ascent. It was a beautiful early morning on Orizaba. As we inched our way up to the lower glacier I began to notice the snow underneath me doing something unusual. It was settling with a giant whoomph. A clear indication of snow instability. Solveig and I conducted a few snow stability tests and it wasn't looking good. As a matter of fact the snow settling under my feet was the worst I felt.
We contemplated a bit and it was an easy decision. Orizaba was not safe to climb. It can be disappointing not making the summit but with what the team experienced they all understood. Safety is number One. And as Sr. Reyes mentioned as he picked us up...Orizaba isn't going anywhere. We will climb it another day.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Hi Everyone,
The team is at Sr. Reyes and we are all set to go. The sun is shining and we enjoyed great views of Orizaba on the drive in. We will now drive a 4x4 vehicle up to the hut, set up camp and prepare for our summit day tomorrow.
Wish us bueno suerte!
JJ, Solveig & Team
It is a day to explore the city of Puebla. The team is enjoying a day of rest and there's no better place to do that than in this colorful city. Some of the teammates are on the search for cowboy boots. Some of us are going to partake in a culinary class to learn how to make Puebla's signature dish...Mole Poblano! And of course, we will be sampling all the authentic cuisine we can.
The weather is improving so don't go too far. Tomorrow we begin our adventure on Orizaba!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Good luck tomorrow team, may you have great weather!
-Brad and Lori
Posted by: Brad & Lori Briggs on 10/24/2013 at 7:13 pm
Greeting from Massachusetts.
Phil’s favorite sister here. My big task on Wednesday was payroll. I’m tires just reading about your day. Hahaha
Can’t wait to see the pictures.
XO Jackie
Hey everyone this is JJ and Solveig with the Mexico team here on Ixta. First we do want to let everyone know that everyone here on the team is safe and sound and second, we haven't heard any news but we hope that everyone in Acapulco and the coast land of Mexico is ok with that hurricane. Here on Ixta at High Camp at 14,700', we have received the inland storm, I believe the remnants of what happened with that hurricane. We received over a foot of snow last night, heavy winds and no visibility. The winds have died down, it is not snowing any more. We still don't have good visibility. But everyone is still in good spirits. Needless to say, the mountain certainly said no to us for going to the top today but this is a day that is pretty obvious that the mountains are to be enjoyed and not conquered. We are making the best of it, everyone is in great spirits, having fun and smiling. Now our focus is packing up and getting down off of Ixta and into Puebla. Everyone says hello on the team and thanks for following along. We will definitely show you some of the sites and sounds from Puebla, Mexico and maybe some of what it looked like yesterday getting up to high camp. Everyone is doing great and we will touch base soon. Our next objective is Orizaba and we are definitely keeping our fingers crossed for better weather. Take care everyone. Bye.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide JJ Justman checks in from high camp on Ixtaccihuatl.
Congrats on reaching the summit of Ixta! You just saved our son a bunch of money by not having to attempt it a third time! Stay safe and enjoy your time there!
Posted by: Brad & Lori Briggs on 1/22/2014 at 6:43 pm
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