Around about April 2004 or so, my mother and I had traveled to Nevado de Toluca one morning in an attempt to climb it. Unfortunately, significant snow had fallen during the night and we woke to a newly white giant. More weather was forecast.
Arriving to the crater, where we found two charming, if horribly littered, lakes, we set out cross-country, foregoing the standard ridge route, and started up the steep crater walls on mixed snow and scree directly below the top. Midway up, a storm rolled in and my mother, who began trailing begain, called out that she was descending. I continued on.
Eventually, visibility reduced to near-zero and I decided that it was unlikely I could safely find my way to, and later from, the summit. I headed down...and we eventually left Mexico.
Returning a couple years later, Rick Kent, Mike Cressman and I were joined by Glen, whom I'd met in Ecuador, where he was living at the time and working as a mountain guide. Under good conditions, though Glen was sporting a cold, we all summited in fine style, taking the standard ridge route.
On the way up, I broke off from the beaten trail and took a more direct line that featured a fair amount of class 3-4 scrambling. A big mountain with charming lakes, awesome views, and a high, alpine feel, there's a reason the mountain (or the crater lakes, at least) are popular with the locals!
*Photos courtesy of Rick Kent
Nevado de Toluca (15,420 feet)
