Pico de Orizaba
Mexico
Date: 12/08/2023
Partners: Alex Neal (Junior), Jeremy Miller, Krishna Gandhi
TH: Piedra Grande Hut (13,878ft)
Summit Elevation: 18,491ft (Mexico High Point)
Distance: 6.2 miles
Elevation Gain: 4600ft
Duration: 7hr 55min (5 hrs up - 3hrs down)
GPX
An excellent adventure south of the border with an excellent crew!
Timeline:
Day 1
12/6 PM: Arrive in Mexico City via Areomexico. Watch out for high ski bag fees.
12/6 PM: Stay at Airport Hilton
Day 2
12/7 5:30 AM: Shuttle from Airport to Servimont in Tlachichuca (3+ hour drive)
12/7 10:00 AM: Shuttle from Servimont to Piedra Grande Hut (2 hours?)
12/7 PM: Hike skis to 16,000ft (2.5 hrs RT)
12/7 PM: Eat and 'Sleep' at Hut... all night fart concert
Day 3
12/8 3:30 AM: Start hike to Orizaba summit
12/8 8:30 AM: Summit Orizaba
12/8 11:30 AM: Back at hut
12/8 1:00PM: Shuttle back to Servimont in Tlachichuca
12/8 PM: Street food dinner, Tequila and Feast of the Immaculate Conception Festival
12/8 PM: Overnight at Servimont
Day 4
12/9 9:00 AM: Breakfast at Servimont
12/9 10:00 AM: Shuttle back to Mexico City
12/9 PM: Stay downtown, Street food, Tequila Museum, Lucha Libre, Unsuccessful search for Karaoke
Day 5
12/10: Pyramids, Anthropology Museum, 2nd night in Mexico City
Day 6
12/11 Aeromexico back Denver. Mexico City Airport and Aeromexico check-in process was awful. Build some extra time into your schedule.
Getting to the Mountain
Checkout Summit Post for some great info on getting from Mexico City to Tlachichuca (the town at the base of Orizaba). The driver they recommended was awesome.
Jesus Antonio Juarez Guzman (Antonio)
044-55-39080-242 cell
[email protected]
Once in Tlachichuca, we used Servimont to shuttle us between Tlachichuca and the Piedra Grande Hut at 14,000ft.
Servimont was a great! Their shuttle was dependable, their gear staging area was spacious, their showers were hot and clean, the food was excellent and the sleeping quarters were comfortable enough. A short walk to the town center.
40 Years Earlier
More Orizaba experiences from Colorado OG Mike Carr
Tom and I (with our brother and a friend) spent the night on the summit in 1981 and telemarked down the next morning on icy, crusty snow. The same day we drove to the coast and swam in the ocean!
Soft leather boots, long skinny skis, three-pin bindings, heavy packs on steep icy snow after a long night on the summit. What could be better! š
We did Popo and Ixta volcanos on this trip as well.
Mostly slept that high to see if we could with vague ideas about future trips. The sunset and sunrise moutain shadow extending out on the plains to the horizon were especially striking. I later pushed my sleep record to 7,000 meters but that was distinctly uncomfortable.
Tom, Mark Lance, Art Burrows and others really pushed telemark gear development thru their racing efforts. The pickle bucket boot support was especially entertaining to watch but also led to the first plastic boot. I was never much of a telemarker so the conditions we had on Orizaba terrified me but Tom styled it down the fall line.
Sad to see the decline in the snowpack. Two of us were able to spend the summit night in a tiny snow cave and we skied almost back to the hut. No established trails/walkways so the labyrinth was a navigation nightmare. We had a rental car that we abused - we got it almost to the hut before bogging down in deep ash. 40+ years ago - where did the time go?
6.2m - 4600ft - 7hr 55min
Packing up for the bumpy ride from Servimont to the Piedra Grande Hut
Hop in boys!
Stoke is high
The road was slick, muddy and steep in spots. Our driver attempted ascending the direct route, however the steep mud forced him to back track and take a longer route to the hut.
Upon arrival we geared up and hiked 2k to stashed our skis and pointy stuff for the next morning.
The first quarter mile from the hut was toughest. I told myself that if I was breathing heavy I was going too fast.
Into the Labyrinth
Jeremy 'hunking' at 16k
Dropping the skis... stoke is dangerously high. L2R: Jeremy, Junior, Krishna, Me
Heading back to the hut after dropping the skis
Krishna preparing some ultra yummy dehydrated turkey chili that he made back in Colorado.
A dog (stray?) guards the nasty shitter
The next morning left the hut at 3:30am. Sunrise at 16k was incredible.
After picking up our skis and transitioning from trail runners to crampons, we made our way through the Labyrinth and to the base of the glacier
Junior in the alpenglow at the glacier's base
Sunrise mountain shadow
Above 16k the pace slowed dramatically. I was counting steps for the last 750ft or so. 20 steps... 10 second break.
It was cold booting in the shadow... we had all of our layers on. Big views up high.
Once on the ridge and out of the shadow things warmed up a bit. Still kept the layers on though
Orizaba's massive crater was impressive.
There was a slight smell of sulfur
Summit art
The crew stoked to be on the summit and even more stoked to ski. L2R: Junior, Me, Krishna, Jeremy
Making our way down the rock peppered ridge to where the snow got soft
The 2,000ft of skiing off the summit couldn't have been better. The soft snow let us open it up.
Looking back to our tracks
After transitioning back to crampons, we made our way through the Labyrinth and back to the hut
Looking back to Orizaba
Orizaba views from the 'Feast Of The Immaculate Conception' festival in town
Orizaba!
Krishna and Jeremy take a go at the boiled corn and mayonnaise. While the street food was mostly on point... I am not sure if they finished the corn.
We picked up a bottle of Tequila and made margs back at Servimont
Servimont sleeping quarters. Sleep in your bag. The blankets might not keep you warm enough
Servimont gear staging area
Servimont lounge
Back in Mexico City the Tequila flowed like wine
Don't miss the Lucha Libre
Dangerous... the night was just beginning. What happens in Mexico City stays in Mexico City.
The next day, Junior and I walked the Teotihuacan Pyramids outside of Mexico City
To get between Mexico City and Teotihuacan we used Mexican Uber... Didi. We got a flat on the way back. The driver's spare was also flat. Took us about 30 minutes to hail another ride
Once back in the city we toured the Anthropology Museum... badass