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Hey everyone.... my boyfriend and I, and possible a few additional friends, are starting to plan our Pico de Orizaba trip for next March. I'm finding tons of guide services online, but, the thought of hiring(paying) a foreign guide service in advance, without knowing if they are credible, worries me! Does anyone have any recommendations for a great/trustworthy and affordable guide? Thanks in advance!!

Servimont (run by Sr. Reyes) = amazing guide service, hands down! Wonderful, wonderful crew. Not sure how much research you've done, but Servimont is very frequently used and certainly credible.

We used them when we did Orizaba 2 years ago. I tried to answer some of your same questions I had in my Orizaba Ski Trip Report. Hope some of this helps!

(I moved your topic to the 'World - Other Peaks' section of the forum).

Didn't you guys climb Rainier unguided? If you were comfortable with that I can't imagine you would need a guide on Orizaba. Unless maybe for an alternate route or to learn about the mountain. That said, I agree with Caroline that Senior Reyes runs a trusted (albeit pricey) outfit in Tlachichuca.

We did do Rainier unguided and it was awesome. But the main reason we want a guide on Orizaba is to make sure that we are transported safetly to and from Mexico City airport to the mountain especially with all the problems going on in Mexico right now. Having them cook and bring extra water for us sure wouldn't hurt either.

Thanks USAKeller - I'll take a look at the link you gave. Sr. Reyes was actually the name I came across most often. Would you recommend actually using a guide, or doing unguided? We were fine on Rainier unguided, but it just seems like there are more logistical issues with a Mexico climb that would warrant a guide - food, water, transportation, lodging, etc... thoughts?

You don't need a guide...the route is very straightforward and getting to Tlachichuca is fairly easy with the bus system.

Definitely no need for a guide, logistics are easy and the mountain is very straightforward. That said, I put up this "guide" on Summitpost that might help... http://www.summitpost.org/a-colorado-cl ... ico/684957" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

marie123 wrote:Thanks USAKeller - I'll take a look at the link you gave. Sr. Reyes was actually the name I came across most often. Would you recommend actually using a guide, or doing unguided? We were fine on Rainier unguided, but it just seems like there are more logistical issues with a Mexico climb that would warrant a guide - food, water, transportation, lodging, etc... thoughts?

On our second trip we had the Reyes provide everything except a guide, fresh food (kept cold enough in a cooler for our couple days there), water (very cheap), fuel for our canister stoves, and our ride to and from the hut... We also brought a full size air mattress to sleep on in the hut and that was about the best decision ever. Unless you are doing a high camp think of it as a car camping trip followed by a 14er hike.

marie123 wrote:Thanks USAKeller - I'll take a look at the link you gave. Sr. Reyes was actually the name I came across most often. Would you recommend actually using a guide, or doing unguided? We were fine on Rainier unguided, but it just seems like there are more logistical issues with a Mexico climb that would warrant a guide - food, water, transportation, lodging, etc... thoughts?

I agree with others that the mountain is straightforward. The reason we used the guides was because my dad and family friend were with us and they didn't have as much glacier/snow climbing experience; they each were roped up to a guide. I personally didn't feel a need to rope up at all and climbed it by myself (in between my dad who was behind me, and Lance and Randy who were ahead). It made me feel more comfortable having them hooked to a guide. It was also my first international mountain climbing experience so having a guide to start was cool. To say the least, using Servimont was well worth not having to deal with the logistics of food, water, transportation, etc. (and you don't have to have them guide up the mountain) - well worth it!

If you don't want to prepay and can get to Tlachichuca, there are lots of folks with 4x4's who have also guided on the mountain.
Ask around for Paco Cabo, he is a good guy. Works as a paramedic near as we could tell with our terrible spanish and said he had guided the mountain many times. We only used him for transportation. He seemed to be able to get his shifts for his day job covered quickly when our schedule changed. His mom cooked us a really great mole dinner after our climb.
He picked us up on time and brought a toilet to install in the outhouse. Not sure if it is installed yet.
Seems like all the guides in town know each other pretty well.

Annie, I think we should get a guide. I know that we could probably figure everything out on our own... but having a guide would just make the experience less stressful. Either way, I'm really looking forward to the climb!

Have a trip scheduled for the end of December, New Years Day through Summit Orizaba.com. Haven't actually used them yet, but Maurice was very helpful. I'm going solo and agree about not having to worry about getting to/from Mexico City, and about food/water