Hi there this is Seth checking in from the Houston airport. The team awoke in Tlachichuca this morning after lots of slumbering last night. Everyone was pretty tired after a whirlwind couple of days.
After checking out of the Hotel Colonial in Puebla we drove to Tlachichuca, packed our bags and headed up to high camp. Once there we had time for an afternoon stroll and then it was off to bed. Just a few hours later we made a 1am start for the summit. Although a few of the climbers decided that it was best that they stayed at the hut while the bulk of the group went up.
Orizaba is an 'in your face' kind of climb and it's steep right out of the gate. After a couple of hours of trail and scree we reached The Labyrinth. This section can be trickery but for us it was straight forward. Steep ice and snow was the order of the day. Geoff, Alejandro and I anticipated this and had carried extra ropes to 'fix' the steep section. This took a little bit of time and we appreciated everyone's patience as we tried to make the climb as safe as possible.
Once we made our way through that section we began the long march up the Jamapa glacier. Everyone was pretty tuckered out when we finally topped out 7 hours and 15 minutes after starting. There wasn't a puff of wind while we were at the summit and the sun was shining. It was the nicest day I've ever had on that mountain.
Everyone had climbed strong and doubled down on the descent. We climbed down the glacier and then Geoff and Alejandro guided the climbers down The Labyrinth while I pulled the ropes. We returned to high camp just over 11 hours after starting out.
Now we're all disbanded and heading to our respective homes. It was a great experience and quite the uphill adventure!
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Hey this is Seth calling from Tlachichuca. All is well. We've made it down off the mountain and all the way back to town with no big surprises. We had our closing celebration dinner and everybody is just basically crashed out. There is some snoring going on upstairs at the Reyes Compound right now. We are sad that the trip is ending tomorrow, but everybody's excited to be going home to their family and loved ones. It was a great day to finish off an awesome trip here in Mexico.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
Hey there. This is Seth checking in from Piedra Grande, our high camp on el Pico de Orizaba. We had a good day coming over from Pueblo. We checked out of the hotel nice and early and drove over to Tlachichuca at the base of Orizaba. Packed our stuff, had lunch at the Reyes Compound, and then proceeded to drive up to the hut here at high camp. Once we got up here, we took a little hike. It was cloudy and right before the sun went down, the mountain finally showed itself. It was rearing up nice and high. We just finished with dinner and sorting a little gear and packing for the climb tonight. We'll be taking off right as it turns tomorrow, a little after midnight, maybe 1:00. We'll be going for the summit. Crystal clear skies right now and just a beautiful night, and everybody is tucked in and getting ready to climb. We'll check in, hopefully from the summit in the morning. Hope all's well back in the U.S.A.
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall
RMI Guide Seth Waterfall calls in from Piedra Grande.
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.
Taylor…..YOU DID IT…How was the weather??? Lots of snow?
How was it different from Oct? Deb
Posted by: Debbi on 1/25/2014 at 2:19 pm
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