Entries from Mexico
Travel day to Altzimoni hut.
The roads were great as we drove from La Malinche to Amecameca to do a little final food shopping and check out the colorful local market.
Then we finalized our approach to the Altzimoni hut and spent the afternoon sorting our gear, setting up tents and taking a walk to scope our route on Ixtaccihuatl.
Tomorrow we will move to our high camp and prepare for our summit attempt.
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Today we left the hustle of Mexico City and drove to the high altitude training facility of La Malintzi for our first taste of the thin air. We hiked through the forest, climbing until we broke above treeline and gained our high point on the ridge of La Malinche at around 13,000 feet. We were strong today and after a little siesta and dinner are bedding down to rest up for tomorrows journey to the Altzimoni hut, our jump off for Ixta.
Buenas Noches and happy birthday to Christian and a big Valentine's Day hug to all the sweeties up North.
Last night our entire crew met in the lobby of our Colonial-era hotel in the heart of Mexico City, right on the Zocalo or main square. We all introduced ourselves and began the process of turning into a team by all going out to a local restaurant where we ate great authentic food and were serenaded by a squad of Mariachis.
This morning we had a quick breakfast before finishing up our packing and heading down to meet Rogelio, our long-time transportation guru here in Mexico. He will help us travel to La Malintzi where we will begin our acclimatization process by hiking up to 13,000 feet on the old volcano of La Malinche.
Here we go!
RMI Guide Jake Beren
Happy Valentine’s Day. Be safe and have fun.
Posted by: Teresa on 2/14/2011 at 5:31 am
Have a great time… and Happy Valentine’s Day!
Posted by: Gena on 2/13/2011 at 9:39 pm
After a big day on the mountain, we stood on the top of Mexico's highest peak. Everyone did a great job and really earned the magnificent views of Ixta, Popo and La Malinche. It was a great night for climbing, shooting stars above, lit villages below, light winds on route and a great team. Excellent work. Back in Tlachichuca we all slept well for some reason and had our last meal together as a team. In our courtyard we could see Pico de Orizaba and the heights we reached yesterday at the same time of day. Now it's off to Mexico City to catch flights back home and watch the thousands of pilgrims riding bikes and trucks as well as walking to celebrate Mexico's favorite Lady of Guadalupe. Glad we get to drive. Thanks for a great trip everyone and safe travels back home.
Hello, this is RMI Guide Jake Beren calling to check in from our Mexico's Volcanoes program. We are happy to report that we reached the summit of Orizaba today at 9:00 a.m. local time. Our team did a great job on the climb.
We are headed back to Tlachichuca to celebrate and enjoy our last night in Mexico. Tomorrow we will return to Mexico City for our outbound flights.
After an excellent rest day in Puebla where we explored the cobblestone streets, museums and pyramids we packed up and hit the road. In Tlachichuca we finalized our mountain equipment and enjoyed a great lunch at the climbers' compound run by our friend Dr. Reyes. Loading the truck and piling in saved us a long approach to the mountain. Once at the hut we had a big dinner and hit the sack. Tonight we will try our luck on Pico de Orizaba.
Big day today!
We summited Ixta this morning around ocho in the morning with our entire crew. Everyone did very well, including a random puppy who joined us from our night at the Altzimoni hut and stayed with us the entire way to the top. We were treated to amazing weather, barely any wind and clear skies above, the lights of Amecameca and Mexico City to the West and Puebla to the East. As the sun rose it cast a shadow of the Lady Ixta and illuminated our next climb, Pico de Orizaba. Quite a beautiful day on the mountain, now to be complimented by a celebratory dinner in the Districto Historico here in Puebla where we will relax for a day and rest up for the next adventure.
We hiked about five hours to our high camp today while brushing up on some mountaineering skills such as ice axe arrest, cramponing and roped travel. After dinner and our summit chat, it'll be off to bed in anticipation of our summit bid in the morning! The team is doing well, feeling strong and excited for the morning.
Wish us luck!
Hola from the south! Today we left La Malinche and drove to the town of Amecameca where we picked up the last of our supplies for our attempt on Ixta. Leaving Amecameca we wound our way thousands of feet above the town, past Christmas tree farms and corn stalks with an eye on our mountain for the next few days. We rallied our bus up the road of fine moondust to the Altzimoni Hut, our launch pad for tomorrow. We spent the afternoon packing and topped it off with a big dinner. Now its off to bed to get some rest before our move to high camp.
Greetings from La Malintzi, the former Mexican Olympic Team training grounds and our first chance to taste a little altitude. Today we left Mexico City and arrived here, quickly getting ready for our hike up to 13,800 feet. We walked through dry forests before leaving the trees behind and gaining the ridge of La Malinche where we were able to see our future objectives, Ixta and Pico de Orizaba.
Tonight we will get some rest and start our journey to Ixta.
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Happy Valentines Day Christian and hope your birthday was fun - miss you!
Posted by: Deb on 2/14/2011 at 1:14 pm
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