Conquering the highest peak in Mexico

Citlaltépetl “Star Mountain”

Daily journal entries and photos from the trip: Volcano Madness

Orizaba is also called by its Aztec name Citlaltepetl, which means “Star Mountain.” It is the highest summit in Mexico and the highest volcanic peak in North America. It is considered to be currently in a dormant state.

Pico de Orizaba is also one of The Volcanic Seven Summits Of The World, the highest volcano on each continent. The ascent of Pico de Orizaba is apparently similar to climbing Mt Elbrus in Russia, which is still on my list (now due to the war, I’m not sure when I will be able to do it).

After conquering the summit of Iztaccihuatl 5,215 m at 5.10 am on the 24th of March 2022, which took us 3,5h instead of predicted 6h 😛 Juan – my amazing mountain guide, proposed to climb Pico de Orizaba a day ahead of our schedule, with only 24h rest. He thought that my acclimatisation and body battery were good enough to go for it; another important reason was to avoid weekend crowds on the mountain. To be honest ‘avoiding crowds’ was my main reason to try to summit Pico the day after summiting Iztaccihuatl.

I’m not fan of having people in very close proximity behind me, I prefer to stop on the trail and give them a way, than have them breathing on my neck. I like to walk at my own speed, stop when I need to, without affecting others with my actions.

How we got there?

The drive from the colonial town Puebla (where I stayed after the summit of Iztaccihuatl) was pleasant, I was tired so looking out of the car window and admiring the landscapes was relaxing. We drove to San Miguel Zoapan in the region of Puebla – located 190 km East of Mexico City, where the top local logistics office with International Alpine Guides and their amazing lodge  is located – Orizaba Mountain Guides. On the way to the lodge we stopped with Juan for some yummy tacos and horchata, and some cheeky ice cream. I love eating in small local places, out of tourists’ beaten tracks. The food, flavours, noise, people … everything adds something to it.

My first glimpse of the angry mountain – Pico de Orizaba el hombre enojado

Just a few kilometres before we reached our final destination I saw Pico de Orizaba for the first time. I felt seriously intimidated by this peak, he looked mean and angry,

I said to Juan: ‘Pico looks angry, he will kick my ass’, and he did!

I was thinking about Mexican folklore, about the Izta and Popo legend, my experiences in the Paso de Cortez where I took part in the ritual in front of both of volcanoes. I was blessed by Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatepetl and they had a special meaning to me. They emanated with warm and welcoming energy, but now I was standing in front of the Pico de Orizaba – Citlaltepetl, the jealous lover, forced to witness the everlasting love of Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatepetl for eternity and he made me feel totally opposite, I was scared! (Read my story about Popo and Iztaccíhuatl legend, as it might give you more insight to why I perceived Pico like this)

Orizaba Mountain Guides – San Miguel Zoapan

Climbing Pico de Orizaba

Climbing Pico involves a vertical elevation gain of about 1,400 m in one go. The route has three main sections: the scree, the Labyrinth, and the Jampa Glacier. We started from the camp at the Piedra Grande Hut (4200m) at 1.50 am. First part was steep rocky moraine, only on a few occasions I had to scramble not as on Iztaccíhuatl which involved much more scrambling. At 5.20am after 3.5h we reached the base of  de Jamapa Glacier elevation around 5000m. It looked impressive and scary. Juan told me: ‘don’t look up too often, it will seem that the summit is close but it’s nowhere close’.

It took us 40 min to organise ourselves, I had to change my hiking boots for climbing boots, put my crampons and harness on. Juan had to prepare the rope etc. We were getting cold. Juan’s feet were cold, my hands were freezing. I had to use the hand warmers, we put on our dawn jackets. I definitely need to improve the speed of changing my gear.

Roughly at 6 am we started climbing the Jamapa Glacier. It was very icy and it took me a long time to get used to crampons and my big boots. My first steps were unstable and unwieldy. I felt like a child who is learning to walk. I definitely need more practice! So more mountain expeditions! 🙂

For the first time in my life I saw numerous small crevasses … scary as you don’t know how deep they can be .. The size of the glacier gives a very deceiving impression, it feels like you’re making very little progress all the time, it feels like it’s not gonna ever end!  At some stage I felt THAT’S IT, I can’t do it anymore, it’s not gonna end ever. My lower back was hurting, I ate half of a protein bar, as my last meal was at 5 pm on a previous day, and as soon as I had a few bites I started getting cramps in my stomach, it really seems like I can’t have any food on days that are so active.

My last steps

I said to Juan, I don’t think I’m gonna make it!  He stopped, turned around and said: “it’s only 20 minutes left to the summit, you are strong, you can make it” and he gave me a massive hug. He pointed out Iztaccíhuatl and Popo in the distance, and suddenly it reminded me about the day of the ancient ritual in Paso de Cortez in front of the Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl that I was lucky enough to take part in (read more). I carried with me the magical yellow top that I was gifted during the ceremony. I promised myself that I would take it to the top of Pico de Orizaba. I put my hands out and asked the mountains – Izta and Popo for the strength and energy to finish this climb. You might not believe in myths, legends and spirituality and ancient rites but I do!

The last 20 min felt like forever, at 9.30 am we were standing on the top of the Pico de Orizaba. I just went on my knees, I couldn’t believe that I’m actually there. It was such an emotional day, I just couldn’t hold back my tears. After all that I’ve been through, I was actually there standing on the top of Pico – it felt almost surreal!

As LAURA Y YURI said:
‘When you feel like you can’t anymore, hold on a little longer, the hard time will pass’