This is a chronicle of my failed attempt to summit Pico Orizaba in Mexico.
I recently learnt that Pico Orizaba is the highest mountain in Mexico, and the third highest in North America.
In my research I learned that this mountain is not a very technical climb. The climb is divided in two sections: From a hut at 14,000 ft to the base of the glacier, and from that point to the summit. The first section is simply a hike on a trail, while the second is on a steep snow hill where you have to use crampons, snow axe and, preferably, you climb harnessed to each other.
That second section is the one that requires some technical knowledge, because it is necessary to at least have an idea of how to use the crampons and it is also essential to know the correct how to use the axe to self-arrest.
Elevation is a very important fact in this mountain. The hike begins at 13,900 feet, which makes it way more demanding than any physical activity at sea level.
This heights don’t require oxygen tanks, like Everest, but throughout the planet, the higher the elevation, the less oxygen there is. Think about when teams need to play in high cities. It is hard for them, precisely because of the height they might not be used to.
I have a friend in Atlanta, Alexandra, that has been with me on a couple of mountain hikes: one to the highest in the contiguous United States, Mount Whitney, and a very famous rock in Yosemite Park here in California, Half Dome. On the trip Whitney, she had to return from the basecamp we set at 12,000 feet because her son had a nosebleed the night before, while the excursion to Half Dome was completed without major difficulties. That walk is not mountaineering as such, but it is a very long hike that’s done in a single day; It’s like 19 miles round trip.
On April 19 of this year (2023) I was chatting with her about other things, and I told her that I was finding out about Pico de Orizaba in Mexico. I asked her if it was something she’d like to try, and she said yes, she would love to try it.
The next thing was just about the logistics, buy tickets and do it.
I continued with my research, and everything I read told me that it would not be much more complicated than «my» mountain, Mount Shasta, which is about 5 hours from my house.
Crónicas de Mao 