Due to reasons mentioned here this trip has unfortunately also been cancelled.
So...
Nature is a brutal mistress and apparently she has been in one of her moods
again. Cotopaxi has within the last 48 hours been erupting making it impossible
to get near it, and a state of emergency has also been declared in the
vicinity. So I received a mail from the travel company saying that due to this
they were forced to cancel the trip. Instead they would move us to another trip,
same time and similar in altitude and location, but away from all the
excitement.
What is it
with me and natural disasters in places I am going to?
Fly to
Mexico City via Amsterdam. An advantage here over the trip to Ecuador is that
we don’t leave until noon (no more checking in at 0400 in the morning!). Arriving
we spend a day in the city.
We will
leave Mexico City and drive out to see Teotihuacán 50km NE of the city. Spend
some time looking (and climbing) the pyramids, walking Avenida de los Muertos
and being hassled by hagglers. After the visit we leave and drive app. 110km
and spend the night at the Toluca hut at 3250m.
Today we
will climb the Toluca volcano which is 4640m tall, Mexico’s 4th highest
mountain. The path to the summit (crater edge) will be done by following a path
so the technical level will be limited. Coming down again we will drive to the
Amecameca village at around 2300m where we spend the night.
The next
goal of the trip is the Iztaccihuatl volcano, Mexico’s 3rd highest
mountain. We will drive to the Alzomoni hut at 3900m via the small village La
Joya. In the afternoon after arriving at the hut we will do a small 3-hour walk
to a small peak between the hut and Izta giving us a view of the surrounding
moutains.
Today we
will be moving our camp up to the Ayoloco hut at 4725m. This day seems to be
the most challenging day on the trip due to the hut being exposed to the wind
and we have to carry all our gear ourselves during the ascent. The views from here are beautiful and
apparently the sunsets are supposed to be something special.
A 10
hour walk today where we climb and summit Iztaccihuatl (hopefully) at 5230m. From
the summit you should among other things be able to see Mexico City and
surrounding areas. There are a few different routes we can take depending on
the strength of the group but in the end it won’t change much time-wise. Coming
down again we drive to Puebla City.
We’ll
drive app. 150km to Tlachichuca where we’ll swap over to 4-wheel drives and
continue on to the Piedra Grande hut at 4260m on the northern side of Pico
Orizaba, our final goal. The volcano is the tallest point in Mexico, and 3rd
tallest on the North American continent (only surpassed by Denali and Mt.
Logan).
A short
3 hour walk today in conditions that could be dry and rocky, or there can be
snow, or even ice. We will ascent to 4700m to the final camp on a plateau with
a beautiful view of the volcano.
Starting
the summit attempt before dawn to spend as much time on the snow before the sun
worsens the conditions. We will be following the Jamapa glacier with an average
incline of 35° which means we will be roped together on the entire walk.
Reaching the summit at 5746m we will be able to see the Mexican Gulf to the
east and the central plateau to the West. Coming down again we will drive back
to Tlachichuca where we spend the night. The day is estimated to 10-12 hours so
not much longer than when climbing Iztaccihuatl, but the temps will according
to the description be very low.
Transfer
back to Mexico City
30th
of November – 1st of December
Flight
back to Copenhagen via Paris. Late departure from Mexico so no need to get up
early.
