We are camped in tents at 14,700' high camp on Ixta. We have had clear mornings, then some clouds, and light precipitation in the evenings. Our forecast remains fine- 70% chance of rain diminishing in a couple of days. The hurricane in the area is not affecting us. Tomorrow is our summit day. Wish us luck!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide JJ Justman checks in from Ixta High Camp.
John P., I hope you have fully recovered and are feeling good! Your classes are behaving fairly well for the substitute. Tell Dave his class enjoyed the exam.
Love,
Sarah
Posted by: Sarah Reznikoff on 10/23/2013 at 1:06 pm
Good luck today Peter - enjoy & be safe! Love & miss you. Xxx
It feels good to be in the mountains! Our team is nestled in the Altzomoni Hut near 12,000 feet! Of course we enjoyed a great breakfast fit for Kings and Queens before we arrived here. After a brief stop to do some last minute food shopping we arrived at camp early afternoon.
The rest of our day was filled with final packing preparations for our endeavor to make high camp on Ixta tomorrow. Everyone is doing fantastic. The weather is a little dreary but it's not stopping us from having fun! And just because we are in the mountains doesn't mean we have to act like it. Instead of freeze dried food, Solveig and I prepared a fresh Mexican carne asada dinner for the team. The fresh guacamole was a hit. It was devoured in seconds!
RMI Guides JJ Justman and Solveig Waterfall
Hi! This is Solveig Waterfall checking in from our Cabana at the La Malitzi Resort at the base of La Malinche. We had a great acclimatization hike this afternoon and made it all the way to 13,000ft! Everyone did great and the weather held off nearly long enough. At the first sounds of thunder we began a hasty descent back to relative safety below tree line and then motored all the way back down to our cabins under heavy rainfall. Everyone is in great spirits after a delicious dinner and we are all cozied up drying out clothing and boots next to the fireplace enjoying the sounds of the continued rain and thunder. Quite the first day here in the mountains of Mexico!
Tomorrow we will travel to the Altzomoni hut near the base of Ixta and begin preparations for our first big climb. Crossing our fingers for an improvement in the weather!!
RMI Guides JJ Justman and Solveig Waterfall
Here we are! Once again in Mexico City with another great climbing team. Yes, we are about to head into the mountains. However, one of the greatest parts about international travel is experiencing the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of the beautiful countries we visit.
I'd like to disclose the name of the restaurant we had our orientation dinner. However, I cannot give away our secrets. How was it you may ask?....Amazing!!! And guess what! It only gets better!
RMI Guide JJ Justman
Hey there, this is Adam Knoff and JJ Justman- Team Mexico. We're happy to say that we had a successful climb of Pico de Orizaba today with beautiful weather. But we did it the old-fashioned way, we earned it. It was not an easy climb. Seven hours just climbing up the mountain and four hours coming down so eleven hours round trip of constant movement. We're all very relieved to be back at Senor Reyes' compound where we will be having dinner and relaxing for the evening before flying out tomorrow. All is well and we're happy to be coming home to our loved ones. This is Adam and JJ signing off. Adios.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
RMI Guide Adam Knoff checks in after the team's Orizaba summit.
Hello everyone, this is JJ and Adam with the Mexico Volcanoes team. We had a great day of rest yesterday in Puebla, but we're back to business. We are currently sitting in Tlachichuca at Dr. Reyes' facility. We're busy organizing gear and getting ready for our 4-wheel drive adventure up to the hut on Orizaba. We had a good day getting in here, everyone's rested up and feeling good. The weather is absolutely beautiful and we believe that is going to continue. So knock on wood and cross your fingers, wish the team good luck, but hopefully by tomorrow, we will be on our way down from the summit of Orizaba. Take care everyone and we will touch base tomorrow hopefully from the summit.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide JJ Justman checks in while the team prepares for Orizaba summit.
We began our summit day on the "princess" mountain of Ixtaccihuatl with an early alpine start. We left the climbers' hut at 2 am with our headlamps on and darkness all around us. We soon realized this mountain wasn't going to be a " warm up" for the taller Orizaba to come. After a strenuous climb covering a huge linear distance, we reached the top six hours after starting out from high camp. I was really impressed with everyone's efforts. This climb was a great confidence builder for the group, especially those who broke personal altitude records. During the hike down everyone seemed to be congratulated by the forming of nice foot blisters but all pain was forgotten in Puebla after a few cervezas and a great meal.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
Hi David Odell - we hope you are having a great time on this Mexican adventure. We are thinking about you and praying for a safe time. Blessings and love, Pat, Chrissy, Melissa and Leo
Posted by: Chrissy Odell DiNovo on 3/9/2013 at 9:13 am
Congrats to all! Nicely done Bill and Kevin. I’m having a wee dram of the Laphroig 18 year old right now in your honor.
Hey everyone, this is JJ Justman with the Mexico Volcanoes climbing team. We are looking up at Ixta right now and the reason why is we are safely down from of successful summit of Ixta. The team did great today. Definitely a little tired but we had a beautiful day climbing to the top of Ixta. So wanted to give a shout out to all our family and friends. We're loading up the van and we're gonna have a little bit of R&R in Puebla for the next day and a half. Well deserved. But again, the team did absolutely outstanding. We'll touch base when we are in Puebla but everyone is safe and sound. Having some cokes and gonna get some fresh quesadillas on the way. But hope everyone's doing well back at home and we will talk with all of you very soon. Ciao from Mexico.
RMI Guide JJ Justman
RMI Guide JJ Justman after successful Ixta summit.
Hello everyone, this is Team Mexico. JJ Justman and Adam Knoff as guides. We are at high camp on the mountain of Ixtaccihuatl. This is our first real mountaineering challenge of the trip and we are sitting comfortably at 14,500 feet. We are taking a different route than the normal route that other teams generally take because the mountain this year is so dry. We have a great view of the upper mountain from where we are sitting and have a new route picked out that keeps us on ridge lines to keep us safe from rockfalls. We're very excited for tomorrow's summit bid and will keep you posted on how that all unfolds. Stay tuned for more action tomorrow. Hasta manana.
RMI Guide Adam Knoff
RMI Guide Adam Knoff checks in from Ixta's High Camp.
This is Kevin’s wife… Your March 4 breakfast and dinner sounds fabulous. Kevin said he would be roughing it, but now I think he’s really on a spa vacation with Bill.
John P., I hope you have fully recovered and are feeling good! Your classes are behaving fairly well for the substitute. Tell Dave his class enjoyed the exam.
Love,
Sarah
Posted by: Sarah Reznikoff on 10/23/2013 at 1:06 pm
Good luck today Peter - enjoy & be safe! Love & miss you. Xxx
Posted by: Maria on 10/23/2013 at 7:12 am
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