Things have changed considerably since I climbed Orizaba in December of 1984! There was no Servimont in those days, we just slept in the back rooms of La Antigua Flor, which was a store run buy the Reyes Family. Dr. Reyes was a young man then, and he and my partner and I had a lot of fun together. The building of LA Antigua Flor had been a fort during the revolutuion, and we could wander around on the roof and look throught the rifle ports in the parapet. It also sported the only hot shower for many miles. The water was heated via a home-made furnace that you stoked with newspaper and corncobs soaked in diesel! The big hut had no paint in it then, and the windows had been blown out by storms and replaced with sheets of corrugated metal, so it was very dark inside, and was populated by a few big rats. The smaller hut was a domed affair a little ways uphill from the big hut. The approach to the glacier was very straightforward. You just climbed up toward the base of the Sarcofago cliffs and followed 2 narrow gullies to the slope that led onto the ice. We left the hut at about 4:00 a.m. and were on top at around 2:00p.m. On the way down we walked until we were below the only noticable crevasse, then took off the crampons and glissaded all the way to the end of the glacier! In all our climb was about 10 hours round trip, with lots of stops to enjoy the view of a big storm forming in the Gulf of Mexico. We enjoyed a sunny summit above a sea of clouds down around 15,000 feet.
It looks like things are a bit more civilized, and although global warming has taken much of the ice and snow (I'm standing on several feet of ice in my summit shot) it's still a beautiful mountain. Congratulations, and I hope this spurs you on to bigger things the way it did for me. Great job!
thank you for the wonderful comment. Reading it makes me wonder what it will be like in another 25 years? I am glad we got to climb it while the glacier is still intact and capable of having crevasses, no matter how small.
Part of this trip was to determine if I had reached a fitness level that would get me up an 18000ft peak. Now that I know I can... I can't stop looking at bigger mountains!
Can I ask what kind of camera you used, and if an SLR, what lens? Your shots look much crisper and have better depth of field than your typical handheld
I originally climbed Orizaba in 1976. Tlachichuca looks a lot different now. Sr Reyes was there though, but no Servimont. I'll try to hunt down some pics and post them up.
I am glad you liked it, talking with you at Servimont was a blast! How did your trip up the mountain go? I hunted down the book, but haven't bought it yet, JB99 and I are looking at visiting Equador 1/2010 and I am not sure if I want to read it before or after that trip ;) btw, sorry it took so long to reply, i suck at checking these things sometimes!
Stu Brandel - Mar 24, 2009 8:30 pm - Voted 10/10
Truly BeautifulA wonderful trip report of what looks like a fantastic trip. Great photos too. Well done.
centrifuge - Mar 25, 2009 11:43 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Truly Beautifulthank you! It was an awesome trip, my first international trip and it could not have gone better =D
gimpilator - Mar 29, 2009 12:15 pm - Voted 10/10
Thank You!It was a great pleasure reviewing your report and photographs. This peak is high on my list and my level of interest has just been increased.
centrifuge - Apr 1, 2009 9:02 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Thank You!thanks! it is an incredible mountain and is without a doubt worth the trip :)
MountainHikerCO - Mar 29, 2009 12:55 pm - Voted 10/10
Nice ReportWell written, nice pictures. Your report brought back memories of my Mexico trips. I hope to go again some day. My GPS read 18,499' on top.
MoapaPk - Mar 29, 2009 1:47 pm - Voted 10/10
becoming a partFrom the title, I thought you had buried someone there!
centrifuge - Apr 1, 2009 9:03 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: becoming a part;)
I'm not so good with the titles!
JB99 - Mar 29, 2009 10:54 pm - Voted 10/10
Well done buddy...Nice description of the trip, I just got around to adding mine on here as well. Your pictures do justice to the actual views, hard task but well done.
rickford - Mar 30, 2009 11:26 am - Hasn't voted
takes me backgreat report!
Curtissimo - Mar 30, 2009 3:37 pm - Voted 10/10
great report!nice pictures and brings back good memories.
cp0915 - Mar 31, 2009 12:10 pm - Voted 10/10
Great TR!Wonderful photos and write-up. Thanks for taking the time to post this!
Haliku - Apr 1, 2009 9:53 am - Voted 10/10
Well done!Its now part of the Planning & Getting there section of the Orizaba page. Cheers!
centrifuge - Apr 1, 2009 9:04 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Well done!awesome!!! thanks this makes my day
HuecoRat - Apr 1, 2009 11:40 am - Hasn't voted
How things change...Things have changed considerably since I climbed Orizaba in December of 1984! There was no Servimont in those days, we just slept in the back rooms of La Antigua Flor, which was a store run buy the Reyes Family. Dr. Reyes was a young man then, and he and my partner and I had a lot of fun together. The building of LA Antigua Flor had been a fort during the revolutuion, and we could wander around on the roof and look throught the rifle ports in the parapet. It also sported the only hot shower for many miles. The water was heated via a home-made furnace that you stoked with newspaper and corncobs soaked in diesel! The big hut had no paint in it then, and the windows had been blown out by storms and replaced with sheets of corrugated metal, so it was very dark inside, and was populated by a few big rats. The smaller hut was a domed affair a little ways uphill from the big hut. The approach to the glacier was very straightforward. You just climbed up toward the base of the Sarcofago cliffs and followed 2 narrow gullies to the slope that led onto the ice. We left the hut at about 4:00 a.m. and were on top at around 2:00p.m. On the way down we walked until we were below the only noticable crevasse, then took off the crampons and glissaded all the way to the end of the glacier! In all our climb was about 10 hours round trip, with lots of stops to enjoy the view of a big storm forming in the Gulf of Mexico. We enjoyed a sunny summit above a sea of clouds down around 15,000 feet.
It looks like things are a bit more civilized, and although global warming has taken much of the ice and snow (I'm standing on several feet of ice in my summit shot) it's still a beautiful mountain. Congratulations, and I hope this spurs you on to bigger things the way it did for me. Great job!
centrifuge - Apr 1, 2009 9:11 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: How things change...thank you for the wonderful comment. Reading it makes me wonder what it will be like in another 25 years? I am glad we got to climb it while the glacier is still intact and capable of having crevasses, no matter how small.
Part of this trip was to determine if I had reached a fitness level that would get me up an 18000ft peak. Now that I know I can... I can't stop looking at bigger mountains!
SFMountaineer - Apr 3, 2009 12:29 pm - Hasn't voted
great reportFantastic
Can I ask what kind of camera you used, and if an SLR, what lens? Your shots look much crisper and have better depth of field than your typical handheld
centrifuge - Apr 3, 2009 5:03 pm - Hasn't voted
Thank you!I took 2 camera's with me, the point and shoot was a Canon SD1100IS. I also took a Nikon D80 with a Tamron AF17-50mm F/2.8 Di-II lens.
Hombre - Apr 4, 2009 9:43 pm - Hasn't voted
Good ReportI originally climbed Orizaba in 1976. Tlachichuca looks a lot different now. Sr Reyes was there though, but no Servimont. I'll try to hunt down some pics and post them up.
Juantxi - May 28, 2009 12:27 am - Hasn't voted
Well done report!!Nice trip report.I hope you found the book.The author's name is Maria Coffey.Happy trails!!
centrifuge - Aug 9, 2009 6:17 pm - Hasn't voted
Re: Well done report!!I am glad you liked it, talking with you at Servimont was a blast! How did your trip up the mountain go? I hunted down the book, but haven't bought it yet, JB99 and I are looking at visiting Equador 1/2010 and I am not sure if I want to read it before or after that trip ;) btw, sorry it took so long to reply, i suck at checking these things sometimes!