Three hours & 15 minutes from the resort to the summit. Initially in a pleasant pine forest, then to the eroded treeline, where deep crevices in the dirty track splintered the trail, then up to the scree-sloped and tedious crater rim leading to the summit, its cross, a mangy dog sleeping on the graffiti’d, littered top.
This is a fine summit. The expansive views to distant Orizaba and Izta are wonderful.
Spending quite some time soaking in the views and the vibe, Rick and I headed over to a nearby false summit along the crater rim, where we saw another cross atop the craggy protrusion.
This was the first climbing trip to Mexico for Rick and Mike, and my second. Mexico is a fine place with awesome food, culture, scenery, and lovely people.
And the mountains aren't half-bad either!
*Photos courtesy of Rick Kent
La Malinche (14,575 feet)
Sierra Negra (15,354 feet)
With DB and Henry the Mountain Man, we arranged a ride through our Puebla hotel, a charming place I've stayed at on two different Mexico climbing trips. The driver, a likeable guy who spoke no English, took us all the way up the steep, sandy road to the locked gate. From there, we left him with some food, as he'd be waiting there for our return.
Hiking up the easy road, the views grew, our moods blossomed, and my love for the mountains was once again invigorated. What a terrific, albeit developed, mountain Sierra Negra is. Near the summit compound, which encircles a cluster of buildings, a bunch of antennae, and a massive telescope, we met Manuel, a security guard who gave us a personal tour of the facility.
We managed to get a few decent photos from the summit, but in typical early afternoon mountain fashion, clouds rolled in and soon we were immersed in a gray that did nothing to phase our enthusiasm for the place.
While walking the road back down was a less-than-inspiring endeavor, the surrounding area was beautiful. The forest was thick and green, the views from this tall mountain were sublime, and of course, giant Orizaba sits right next door. This, the dry side of Orizaba, has quite a different look from the glaciated side my partners and I had climbed only a couple years earlier.
Nevado de Toluca (15,420 feet)
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
Iztaccihuatl (17,159 feet)
My third climbing trip to Mexico, a place I'll return to again and again, it was time to hit up big, rolling Iztaccihuatl, a mountain bearing a name I'd mispronounced a hundred times.
From a camp on the ridge just above stinky La Joya, I'd explored to the hut at 15,500 feet the evening before to get a GPS track and a feel for the route. Returning the next morning, with a 3 a.m. start with DB and Henry the Mountain Man, we continued on up. They slowed much as we neared the top, though DB and I were able to summit as a storm moved in. Despite the threat, the storm never did much and our return to break camp and then hike down to La Joya was uneventful.
This is a nice mountain, and the route far more interesting than the standard route I'd done on Orizaba a couple years earlier.
Pico de Orizaba (18,490 feet)
The highest peak in Mexico and the third highest on the North American continent, I found myself sick with AMS as I hit the summit alone, the first of seven people to eventually make the top that day. Rick Kent was only a few minutes behind me, having taken a slightly less-direct variation, and Mike Cressman summited a bit after Rick. 
Taking 6 hours from the hut to the top, and only a couple hours on the way down, a solid nap back at the hut refreshed me.
A terrific (though easy) mountain that had particularly icy conditions for early January.
Wouldn't wanna take a slip!
*Photos courtesy of Rick Kent
