Monstrosity does not begin to explain how big this mountain is.
My preparation for this climb was suboptimal because my assumption was that it was going to be my easiest climb to date, but little did I know this mountain had another plan for me.
Pico de Orizaba is the third highest peak in North America (after Denali and Mount Logan) at 5,636 meters high (18,500ft). It is a dormant stratovolcano which happens to be in a perfectly cone shape. The cone shape means the hike is uphill the entire time with no flat ground anywhere along the hike to the summit.
In January of 2022 I decided to do this climb with my sister given that we had started the mountaineering journey together a few years back in Mount Baker, and it felt right to embark in another adventure with her again.
Our journey started January 21st at 6:00am when we were picked up by our guide, Alejandro Cruz (Cato), in our Mexico City apartment. That evening prior we checked the weather one last time and it warnings of frigid weather were posted for hikers to take extra precaution. In a bit of a panic, my sister and I began practicing sleeping inside the same sleeping bag to contain heat better. We nervously laughed as we tried our best to fit next to each other, we failed.
That morning we drove for 3 hours to the town of Tlalchichuca, Puebla. We arrived to the Orizaba Mountain Guide Hostel (OMG), owned by a very large local nicknamed Oso (the bear). Once settled, 5 local women prepared us a delicious breakfast before we departed on a 4×4 suburban driven by Oso’s right hand, Juan, to base camp called El Refugio at 4,260 meters high (13,980 ft).
After a bumpy 2 hour drive we made it to camp where we quickly pitched our tents and took a acclimatization hike from 13,000 to 13,500ft before a 4:00pm dinner and a 5:00pm bedtime.
After we closed our eyes, the life of base camp started to come alive. At 5:00pm climbers arriving after work started setting up tents, at 6:00pm another group arrived, and so on until about midnight when the bustle got even louder by hikers preparing for the grueling day ahead.
Our sleep time became solely rest time given that tent next to us had an impromptu get together with new friends. I guess this is life in the mountains, no one comes for a good night rest.
Ashley and I managed to close our eyes at 11:00pm and around 1:00am our alarms went off. A few yawns after, Ashley and I started gearing up with as many layers as we could given that the weather was looking rather cold and windy at -20 degree celsius and 30km winds.
At 1:30am we headed to the cook tent and made ourselves a coffee and a bread with Nutella. After our gear check and our oximeter check, our climb officially had begun.
Looking up after taking the first steps, the headlights of earlier climbers lit up the mountain like a Christmas tree. The incredible drive of these hikers attempting a once in a lifetime challenge made me shiver. I felt a sense of pride to be part of this elite group of hikers that I did not know, but all shared a common rule: the unspoken rule that we had each others back.
We first started through a rocky patch followed by the labyrinth which where massive rocks surrounded by snow, snow! I never though I would see snow in Mexico, let alone several feet deep of snow.
After a short 2 hours I started feeling what I assumed was altitude sickness, I needed to throw up and there was nothing I could do to stop the feeling. I stopped our guide and waited for the altitude sickness to subside, thankfully it did, I inhaled a few power gels and kept going up.
About an hour later I asked our guide how we were doing, and he recommended us to stop for food and water, after all food is fuel in the mountains. No food = no performance. I could not eat or drink because I felt like it was going to all come out. I took a tiny sip of water and kept focusing on each step.
At this point it was 4 hours since we left camp and I felt weak and like I wanted to turn back. I started questioning why I was there, why did I want to push myself so hard if I was already burning the candle on both ends back home with my 4 kids. The negative voice in my head began to take over until a few minutes later I kept repeating what my dear friend Lisa said: “It is only when things get tough that you show who you really are”. Somehow tough love helped me through the moments of self doubt.
Ashley was the strongest one among us, she kept going up in silence and with focus, she could see I was struggling and she tried to talk to me numerous times, but I couldn’t even gather the strength for one word answers. We kept going.
At 6:30am we arrived to the skirt of the glacier as the sun started coming up. The red and orange rays painted the sky like fire, we stopped for a few minutes for a picture, although for me it was 2 minutes to gather myself and catch my breath, I couldn’t get any words to come out.
Since we were going into glacial terrain we geared up with crampons, hooked ourselves to the rope, got our ice axe out and started the glacier portion of the hike. At this point we had been climbing straight up for 6 hours and the only thing I could think about was how upset I was for not training harder. I kept going as we entered the 5,000 meter altitude range.
Powering through slowly with our rest step, we managed to make slow but constant progress, we checked the time and it was 11:00am and were about 200 meters from reaching the summit. We sat and admired the Mexico from the tallest peak, the roof of Mexico. It was then when I felt a sense of pride and joy I hadn’t felt in a long time.
We walked further while barely moving from exhaustion. We were the last group on the glacier as the recommended turn back time is around 10:00am. After a few minutes some dark clouds started to roll in with heavy winds. We turned around short of reaching the summit.
About 5 hours into our descent, my knees were aching, my legs were burning and my head was dizzy. That was the moment I decided to retire from mountaineering, I was mentally and physically exhausted. I even threw a few names of who I was going to donate my gear to. The morning after I woke up I decided to come out of retirement, the feeling of accomplishment was too marvelous.
I have found mountains to be phenomenal teachers. They push you, break you, they challenge you, they seduce you, they allow you to get lost, they allow you to find yourself, all while sitting still.
People ask why I do this and the answer is in what comes days after. The days after a hike are usually followed by a gush of unstoppable life lessons turning me into a state of metamorphosis. It is then, when the name of your next mountain comes to me, and the story repeats itself.
The mountains have taught me that it might be hard, it might be exhausting, it might take all of what you have and then some more. However, one foot in front of the other is what I have found will make me succeed in the mountain and in the real world. Step by step, one at a time, right, left, right, left.
Maybe one day when I am long gone, my children will look at the mountain, point to it and tell their children: “My mother once climbed that mountain” and feel a sense of pride in their heart.
*This mountain has claimed many lives because of the lack of information, professionally trained guides and poor gear. Negligence from unauthorized guides have cost the most lives on the mountain. The route does not require technical training, but the steep terrain and precipices makes it dangerous without proper guidance. Hector Ponce the Leon was the fabulous guiding company we hired and could have not been more professional.