After Izta we hung out in Puebla, relaxing for a few days. We even had the whole family out in an old cantina owned by some friends of Vicki and Miguel for a few adult libations!
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| The whole crew (CW from left - Dylan, Thomas, Tania, Aranza, Miguel, me, Tamara, Vicki, Miguel, Christian, Cheko) |
Eventually, it was on to our main goal - Pico de Orizaba...
We had a bit of confusion on bus availability to Tlachichuca, so we just hired another Uber to take us directly to
Servimont, our base for climbing Pico de Orizaba. We arrived at Servimont early Friday afternoon and were the only inhabitants of the place. We explored the grounds, but generally just lounged around in the sunshine. There was even an old climbing wall to keep Dylan and Thomas occupied.
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| Pico de Orizabo |
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| Outside the Servimont "compound" |
One of the many benefits of using Servimont was the included breakfast and dinner meals. We were joined at dinner that evening by Dema, a climber from the Ukraine, who was planning to climb alone. Later in the meal we were joined by a couple of American guys, who introduced themselves as Micah from Denver and Randy from Castle Rock. We now had a team of six for Pico.
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| Servimont Lodge |
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| Servimont Lodge |
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| Thomas and Dylan in hurry up and wait mode |
After a great breakfast the next morning, the six of us loaded up in the camper of a Ram 4x4 to make the rough, dusty, two hour drive from Tlachichuca to the climbing hut, Refugio Piedra Grande, at 4275 meters. Unlike the refugio on Izta, this hut was a bit more rustic. A big open area with three levels of "accommodations". Since it was early, we figured we'd better grab an open spot, so we got to cleaning an area for our sleeping bags.
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| Micah and Dylan on the second floor with Dema holding a makeshift dustpan |
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| Looking from the far end to the entrance |
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| Refugio Piedra Grande |
After getting situated, the six of us took off for an afternoon hike to acclimatize a bit. We left the hut via a covered, concrete aqueduct, skipping over the many holes, before starting up the steep, loose, switch-backed trail. Man was it hard to breathe!
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| Looking up at the glacier from the steep trail |
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| Looking back down (D Fadgen photo) |
As we continued higher, the wind moved the clouds in and out, keeping the temperature relatively cool. We eventually reached at altitude of roughly 4750m where we got a view of "The Labyrinth". This section is a mixture of steep rock and snow/ice couloirs in irregular patterns and was supposedly the toughest section of the climb. Didn't look too bad in the daylight, we'd see (or not) what darkness brought.
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| The Labyrinth |
Refugio Piedra Grande was hopping when we returned a couple of hours later. All the "sleeping slots" appeared to be full and a large group was setting up tents just outside the hut. We were debating on a start time, but seeing the self arrest practice going on on a dirt slope right outside the hut convinced us we needed to leave earlier than everyone else.
After a quick dinner of steamed tamales (leftovers from breakfast a few days prior) and avocado, we hit the sack at 8:30 to try and get some sleep.
The six of us woke at 11:30 and by midnight we were slowly marching up the aqueduct in the bright (blood) moonlight. We were excited to be the first group out.
We stopped at our previous high point, below the labyrinth, to brew up some coffee and eat the pastries we'd been hauling. I'm not sure what the temperature was, but it was definitely below freezing and there was a light breeze. We had a great view of the many headlamps heading our way as we sipped hot coffee trying to stay warm.
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| D Fadgen photo |
We put on our harnesses, crampons, grabbed our ice axes and entered the maze called "The Labyrinth". What looked easy the previous afternoon appeared much more difficult in the dark (duh!). For the most part, the six of us stuck together as we wound up, over, and around. This was all great fun at 17,000 feet!
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| All smiles at the base of the labyrinth |
After an hour of wandering through the Labyrinth, we popped up over a ridge and were at the base of the Jamapa Glacier at roughly 5050m. We stopped here for another extended break and were joined by a guided group of 7 or 8 climbers.
The guided group formed into two rope teams and started up the glacier. We waited a few minutes and started after them, not roped up. We headed up the glacier for a bit across the hard snow before we found the well worn boot track that steeply switched back and forth to the crater rim.
We reached the rim just as the blood moon was setting on our right and the sun was rising to the left. Awesome sight! It was 7AM, colder than hell, a bit windy, and the summit was in view.
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| Cold but happy to be above 18K feet! |
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| The guided group ahead of us |
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| Getting ready for the summit at the crater rim |
From the rim, it was just a short walk and another 30-40m elevation gain to the summit at 5650m (18,490 feet).
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| Summit selfie - Dylan, myself and Thomas |
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| Dema on the summit |
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| Randy (left) and Micah (M DeHenau photo) |
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| This the the view we came for |
We didn't linger on the summit too long. It was too damn cold! I was pretty beat by this time, so asked Dylan to put me on a rope for the glacier descent. As we headed down, we had to move around the (mostly delirious) folks headed up.
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| The hordes of Sunday climbers heading up (D Fadgen photo) |
Before too long we were off the glacier looking for a spot out of the wind. Once we found that spot, we all took another extended break to fuel up.
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| Dylan taking a break |
Then we came to down climbing the Labyrinth section. Rather than just putting our crampons on, facing inward and just going down a steep snow/ice couloir, we all farted around trying to find an easier way. This wasted considerable time, and eventually some of us final resigned to putting our crampons on.
Once through the Labyrinth, it was just a knee busting stroll through the loose volcanic rock back to Piedra Grande.
I joined Dema, Thomas, and Dylan at the hut a little before noon, with Randy and Micah showing up a little later. I was one whipped guy!
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| Looking back up at the summit of Pico de Orizaba |
Luckily for us, the Servimont transport truck showed up a short while later, and we loaded up and made the tortuously slow drive back to Tlachichuca.
After a shower, a couple of Tacos el Pastor and a few cervezas, we were feeling pretty good.
Overall, it was an excellent climb with my son, his buddy Thomas and some great new friends, Dema, Micah and Randy!
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| Waiting for the bus to Puebla |
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