Mexico 09: Climbing Pico de Orizaba (5636m) on 27-28 Sept 09

first some maps and pictures from wikipedia ...







     




















... and then the fotos made with my own camera



after one week in Mexico City, a four-hour bus ride via Puebla to the village of Tlachichuca (2600m),
and then by jeep (4WD!) 20km further to the Piedra Grande mountain hut (4260m)
























there were no other climbers on the mountain that week, the weather was foggy,
the ascent planned during the night, with parts of the trail (called `the labyrinth') confusing
and with a long climb on the steep Jamapa glacier, so I hired Lupe as my guide



dusk at the hut -- will the skies clear up for the night? -- will the mice come out when dark?






take-off at 2 am in a starry but windy night, a half moon hidden by the mountain;
at 3:30 am entering the labyrinth (mixed ice and rocks), soon on crampons, passing the `sarcophago' on the left;
reaching the foot of Jamapa glacier (~5000m) at 4:30 am and roping up;
then an endless and progressively slower drudgery up the 45% slope, gradually colder but on nicely hardpacked snow;
suddenly reaching the crater rim (~5600m) near dawn at 7 am!









the very windy ridge to the summit (5636m) takes another 15 minutes









the Large Millimeter Telescope 1000m below on top of Sierra Negra



the sun is up and creates a mighty shadow to the west;
close to its tip you find Popocatépetl (left) and Iztaccíhuatl (right), and Malinche further to the right



7:20 am: finally having arrived at the summit, dodging the wind, dazzled by the sun and gasping for air



15 minutes later, starting the long descent ...















8:30 am: back at the foot of the glacier (~5000m), the sarcophago in the morning sunlight









and down through the labyrinth again, then across lots of loose scree, until the decayed aqueduct comes into view






back at the hut at 10:15 am: in the zoom the glacier appears much closer than it actually is






it is also called Citlaltépetl = star mountain



but the Nahuatl speakers of the Orizaba area call it Iztactépetl = white mountain



and at 11:30 am it becomes invisible again...






impressions from the bus Puebla - Mexico City:



Popocatépetl (5426m) is off-limits since 1994 because of ongoing volcanic activity



Iztaccíhuatl (5230m), which I climbed on 17-18 Sept 2007 with Teresa and Alex



recovering from the climb in the pleasant city of Puebla