Pico de Orizaba

[Giant hills]

Sorry to kill with the 1,000 questions,but is there any peaks you'd recommend I have for sure under my belt before attempting orizaba?

[MountainHiker]

Those that have climbed it, did you have any problems sleeping in the hut or tenting outside and having gear stolen? I've been told to hire someone to stay at camp and watch your tent as you hike.

My strategy with the hut was to minimize the dollar value of anything left behind. You want good gear on the mountain, but there's no need of expensive gear for a night in the hut. Keep in mind you're not backpacking so weight isn't an issue. No need for an expensive lightweight down bag, take a cheap bag. Unless you absolutely need hot coffee in the morning there's no need for a stove or cook-wear. You can buy pre-cooked whatever you want to eat and pack at a grocery store along with all the usual grocery store items available here. The only food items to bring from the US are more specific items like Gu. You don't have to or want to melt or filter water. Buy big jugs at the grocery store. If you're hesitating on how many jugs of water to buy, buy the bigger number. For wake-up caffeine buy bottles of coffee or chocolate milk. Remember to buy chips for after the hike. All you need to leave in the hut is a cheap bag, mattress and water / food for afterwards and minimal clothing / other items.

[Trotter]

families and teenagers came up there to the hut for picnics and partying while we were there this year. Nobodies stuff got stolen, but there was always a climber or one of the drivers/ cooks hanging around in the hut. If you are super worried, put your stuff up on the 3rd floor of the hut sleeping platform, nobody can see up there from the ground.

Don't need guide, but you may or may not want one.

Definitely get some acclimitization and good fitness before the hike. Its not the toughest hike in the world, but I heard it has only a 50% success rate for summitting. The weekend we were there, it was about 40%. Winds were really high and snow/ice conditions in the labyrinth sucked.

[mikefromcraig]

Sorry to kill with the 1,000 questions,but is there any peaks you'd recommend I have for sure under my belt before attempting orizaba?

No because Orizaba is not a technically challenging peak.

I guess you could find some place in Colorado to practice a self arrest but other than that you don't need any special experience.

[Woodie Hopper]

St Mary's is a decent place to practice if you're from the Front Range. When I was getting into alpine climbing I also practiced on Shavano.

[AndyJB444]

Anyone want to go for a summit and ski descent this fall??

[TaylorHolt]

Sorry to kill with the 1,000 questions,but is there any peaks you'd recommend I have for sure under my belt before attempting orizaba?

There aren't any specific Colorado peaks that I'd say you "have to do" before Orizaba. The standard route doesn't have any technical sections that require an advanced skillset. Route finding is important through the Labyrinth (our group scouted this area the day before our summit), and basic comfortability with crampons and axe are important on the upper section of the mountain.

If you don't have a lot of experience with crampons, I'd recommend routes like Angel of Shavano, Boudoir Couloir (Horseshoe Mtn), and Hopeful Couloir (Mt. Hope). These routes are best done in the next six weeks before the snow melts too much and the avy danger is low early in the day; find a partner to go with who has a lot of snow experience. St. Mary's Glacier is a popular practice spot as others have mentioned.

[nyker]

Giant Hills,

The Orizaba climb is definitely worthwhile, very cool ascent. I was there this past December/January for my second trip focusing on Mexico volcanoes.

In terms of getting in shape, focus on aerobic fitness and getting comfortable with ice axe and crampons on 40 degree snow/ice in appropriate boots.
If you speak Spanish, that would clearly make your experience easier down there.
If you don't speak Spanish, then recruiting someone to help with logistics, car rental, hiring a driver and/or guide can all help depending on your preference.

Like many higher peaks, acclimatizing is key to success on this mountain. There are a couple of outfitters who have huts at higher elevations to help this process.
Roberto and hit team at Orizaba Mountain Guides would be a great option. You can just pay for the lodge/hut/food and/or hire a driver if that's all you need if you don't need a guide.
He and his team are great people with good knowledge of the area and the Mountain.

As discussed, the route is pretty straightforward, but the entire route is above 14,000ft, so consider this. You can also start the hike from 10,000 feet in Zoapan for a longer
approach geared to help acclimatize.

There are many options through the Labyrinth, some easier and harder and whether and where there is snow/ice present will dictate which route you take.
There has been a lot of erosion on the mountain in recent years, so the terrain might change materially in coming seasons. Given the level of snow in Jan, we opted
to go straight up the gulley which was a good albeit steep snow/ice ascent right up to the lip of the glacier.

Above the hut, the route is all above 14,000ft with the glacier climb starting above the Labyrinth around 16,000ft +/-. The weather was also very cold and windy. Bring headgear, goggles, buff, balaclava and
warm gloves. The climb on the glacier was entirely on snow in January, there was little crevasse risk, very different than the more complicated terrain on Mt Rainier or similar Cascade Peaks.
The route is only one part of the trip though - there are other factors to consider in making this an enjoyable trip.

Sleeping: The hut will be noisy and tough to sleep. I stayed in a tent. On a quieter week, maybe the hut would be fine, but there were 25 people in it when I was there with
a lot of music at night, and people getting up all night. One night the wind drowned out most noise, but that made its own challenges in sleeping.

Can you go alone? Sure, but I wouldn't advise that and try to go at least with someone with a good amount of experience if not on Orizaba, then similar peaks.

If something happens high up or you develop AMS at 17,000ft and you have no communication with anyone else you'll be in a tough situation and a long way from anywhere.
The road to the hut is a long 90min ride on a rough 4x4 road that gains ~4000ft. I'd recommend hiring a driver for this at least. These drivers are skilled and know the road well.

If you have issues with the altitude at camp (~14,000ft) and need to go down quickly so you should have your transportation options well understood
before heading there. In Jan, there was a solo climber there who fell and twisted his knee requiring a Guide (to volunteer) from another expedition to climb up from the hut to
rope him up and bring him down safely, after others informed people at base camp what happened. Had the Guide not been there, who knows what would have happened with the injured climber.

For me coming from NY and not being able to get to higher altitude all year beforehand, the altitude was hard this time and took some time to get acclimatized.
Doing it again, I'd find a way to get to 13,000-14,000ft the week before going down..OR go to Mexico earlier and reclimb some of the smaller 15k ft volcanoes.
La Malinche, Nevada de Teluca, Sierra Negra and Izta would all be good training climbs. Izta is a great climb in itself.

For your training in the US, any good snow climb on a 13er/14er in Colorado or the Sierras that will get you +2,000-4,000ft on snow will be a great training hike/climb.
Mt Shasta would be great, so would Mt Whitney taking the "chute" option on the MWT. Rainier would also be good, though the climbing is different from Orizaba and more
involved.

Lastly, and I need to emphasize this, is to stay healthy. You can be an endurance machine with all the right gear and perfect conditions, but if you get some GI
issues and can't leave the latrine or dehydrate yourself, you're done before you start. Eat bland foods there before your climb, minimize alcohol beforehand, try your best
not to get a cold/flu in the weeks leading up to your trip and get sleep while there.

Good luck!
Rob

For some shots of the terrain and details, see my trip report here:

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... trip=17593

Earlier trip:

https://www.14ers.com/php14ers/triprepo ... trip=13213