Sunday, February 27, 2005
Where in North America can you find the best training grounds to prepare for an attempt on the most fearsome, high altitude summits such as the Mt. McKinley? In Mexico of course! Beyond its fabled beaches, Mexico offers many fine climbing expeditions, the Pico de Orizaba topping them all with its 5700 meters altitude.
As with the majority of Mexico’s highest peaks, Pico de Orizaba is a volcano, though not an active one, hence don’t dream of warming up camping next to hot lava flows. It is also the third highest summit of North America, and probably the only one reachable without a technical climb requiring months of training.
I figured that while living in Mexico it would be silly not to take advantage of the available mountains to enjoy the delight of breathlessness, sore muscles, blistering cold weather, and mice titillating your feet (the latter being a special treat of the Refugio Piedra Grande on the Pico de Orizaba).
Since I’m not foolish enough to believe that I wouldn’t end up visiting the depth of a crevasse if setting off on my own, I decided to contact a Mexican agency specialized in adventure trips: Rio y Montana. For only Pesos $2990 (plus tax) per person, for a minimum of 4 people, they will kindly organize your expedition to the Pico de Orizaba and make sure you come back alive to tell your friends and family.
Your next challenge once you have taken the plunge and signed with the agency is to train like there was no tomorrow. Being stuck in a sedentary lifestyle, I felt I needed to apply an exciting physical preparation regime consisting in: running more than 50 laps around the tennis court of my condominium and climbing 100 times the staircase of my house with a 15 kg backpack. I figure I will be fit enough to reach the mouth of the Orizaba crater without being carried on a stretcher for the last few hundred meters of the ascension.
Another problem relates to the fact that it’s easier to buy a fashionable swimsuit in Mexico City than a sturdy Gore-Tex jacket and high mountain boots. Thankfully, there are a few shops specializing in climbing gear in the capital of the Mecca of beach tourism, most notably Deportes Rubens where you’ll find everything to look like a modern Sir Edmund Hillary without having to empty your bank account.
The clock is ticking and on March 6th, if everything goes well, I should be contemplating the rugged scenery of Mexico at my feet, together with a group of three of my workmates with whom I will share what I hope will be an amazing and unforgettable experience. More about the Pico de Orizaba expedition will appear shortly in this blog – stay tuned!
