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Of course on the most important day, I did not really take many pictures. This is mostly because for the summit we climbed through the night. Teresa was not up to climbing the mountain, so it was the 3 boys. We woke up at midnight, and were heading up with all the other summit hopefuls by about 1am.
It was not very long before we were at the ahead of all the other climbers.
Michael and Troy are a lot faster than me, they are 10 years younger and much fitter than me after all! Because they were faster, I pretty much ended up soloing the entire mountain.
The first part of the climb went fairly quick, we passed through an old glacier moraine, including a steeper part of it called the "labyrinth". Despite the name, route finding was easy, even in the dark. There were clear skies, and the many city lights of the Central Mexican plateau were sparkling.
After a couple of hours we starting climbing the glacier itself, at first it was mellow, and then became quite steep, as much as 35-40 degrees. It was fairly icy, a slip probably would be fatal on that slope, but there is not much point roping up, as there is not really any good pro, for either pickets or screws.
Then at about 17,000' I (and the others) hit what runner call "the wall". Although we were well acclimated, at that altitude it is physically not possible to move very fast. I could only take a few steps, then I would have to rest. Repeat.
At this point I am going to admit that I was very frustrated, and was ready to quit and turn around at several points. The temperatures were cold, maybe -15C, my toes were frozen. I could see the headlamps of Troy, Michael and a German climber up maybe 200 feet above me, but no matter how hard I tried, the lights never seemed to get closer! Also you cannot see the summit because of the angle so it seemed like the mountain never ended.
I was nauseous once, but was ok. I was feeling the altitude, but was not horribly sick. I am really glad that we took those days to acclimate!
I kept going though, telling myself to just take a few more steps. It was cold, lonely and strange climbing in the dark all alone on that steep icy glacier.
Eventually, the angle changes, there were some cut steps in the ice (from a guided party perhaps), and I crested the rim of the volcanoes crater. The sun was just starting to rise, I was so close to the summit, and the worst of the climbing was over!
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| Cresting the crater rim at dawn. |
I threw down my pack and rested for a few moments. I was still all alone. Eventually Troy and the German climber came by, heading down. Troy and vomited, and was feeling sick, so rushed down. Michael came as well, and waited for me on the rim, while I trekked over to the summit.
On the way over to the summit, I actually had a mini break down and cried a bit. I think the mental strain of having to try so hard, and actually not giving up caused some emotional strain on me!
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| Heading towards a false summit |
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| Shadow of the mountain |
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| Summit at dawn |
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| Other climbers approaching the rim at dawn |
I did not linger long on the summit, Michael and I headed down with German climber. The sun was shining, and we could finally see what we had climbed. Troy was waiting for us at the base of the glacier, and we headed back off base camp.
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| Descending the glacier |
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| Into the labyrinth |
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| Looking down at base camp and the hut from the Moraine |
We collapsed at camp, and waited for our ride to pick us up. It took me 9 hours hut-to-hut, a slightly below average climb - pretty good for an out of shape professor in his late thirties.
I am really happy I got to experience high altitude climbing, and I know that my body can handle it. Now I just need to get into better shape, so I can move quicker next time I go above 15,000'.
The end of 2016, I climbed 28 mountains this year, ending the year with Pico was a terrific way to go.
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| Tired climbers waiting for their ride |
Jan 1 - Jan 5 - Rest, Ruins, Izta and home
The Mexicans certainly love New Year's eve. The entire village was one big party all night. We were exhausted, so were in bed by 8pm. At one point in the night I heard 2 types of music, roosters, dogs, church bells, and fireworks all at the same time!
For New Year's we headed out to Cantona, one of the largest archealogical sites in Mexico, the ruins of a Mesoamerican city that once hosed over 90,000 people. The site was abandoned in 1000 AD, and was a fascinating tour. Monumental architecture, all without the use of mortar.
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| Entrance to the site |
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| Temple |
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| Mountain god? Tribute to Titanic? Troy? Who knows |
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| Ancient city |
We spend one last night at Servimont, then packed up and headed towards Mexico City to the Izta trailhead, a 17,000' mountain and the last thing we were going to climb.
Unlike Pico, the plan was to carry packs (VERY heavy, because we needed to carry water) up to a camp at 15,000'
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| Izta. Big, dry and sandy. |
Unlike Pico, the glaciers on this mountain are pretty much dead. So the mountain was dry, sandy and actually fairly hot. After getting dropped off, we ate some lunch, then started trudging up the sandy slopes.
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| Lunch! |
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| Popo -active volcano. 2nd largest in Mexico after Pico |
It was a grueling hike, and we set a camp at a saddle around 15,000'. We settled in for the night.
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| Camp |
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| Camp life |
We woke up at 5:30 to head up. After about 20 minutes, Teresa did want to continue, the altitude was really not doing it for her. I headed back with her to keep her company, while Michael and Troy continued on to the summit.
I am really glad that Teresa came along, she was so helpful especially acting as our Spanish translator. I feel really lucky to have a wife who was willing to come along on this adventure, even though mountain climbing is my dream and not hers. I am a lucky man to have such a supportive wife!
Teresa and I enjoyed sleeping in and we headed back down, evetually meeting up with Troy and Michael. We were picked up, then a night in Mexico city and home.
Amazing trip!
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| Best wife |
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| Sunrise 2017 - Hopefully another good year for me! |
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