A week ago today Kevin and I stood on top of Pico de Orizaba, the highest mountain in Mexico standing at 18,500 feet above sea level. Before I get into the climb I want to thank the people who made it possible for me to get to this mountain and have the opportunity. The first is Zero Vapor. Michael and Tim build incredible websites (including mine) and I can’t thank them enough for their support. The other is Paradox Sports. Without Paradox Sports I would not be able to climb these mountains. 

Mexico was a fun adventure. As I chronicled in pervious blogs we had an chance to sight see around Mexico City for a couple of days before heading to the mountain. On our day of departure from Mexico City we walked to the basement of the airport and hopped on a bus for a couple of hour trip to Puebla. Progressively as we left Mexico City the city gave way to country and I felt like I was beginning to see the “real” Mexico. Before I go much further I wanted to highlight the Mexican bus system. Let me tell you that their roads suck but their busses are nice. On the way home we actually got on the nicest bus I have ever been on including free WiFi on the bus. The United States could take a lesson from their system. DENVER ARE YOU HEARING ME?

We arrived in Puebla we got on a different bus and traveled to the village of Teotihuacan. This bus was still as nice as anything I have ever been on in Denver. We rolled through several villages and it was interesting to see the Mexican way of life. I can tell you that a 6’1” 200 pound pasty white boy gets a lot of stares in these villages but I was treated like family by everyone I came in contact with. I was warned about the violence that is taking place on our boarder with Mexico and how dangerous Mexico is. That was not my experience. I never felt any danger for my safety. Our total bus travel from Mexico City was about 5 hours.

The Citlaltepetl hostel with the Cancholas family is the place to stay if your doing this trip. The hospitality we received was unmatched. I have to tell you that I have had that I have been luck enough to stay in some really fancy hotels (crappy ones too) and I have never experience the hospitality that we received at this hostel. I would highly recommend Mr. Joaquin. Maribel’s cooking is really good! After leaving there I really felt like I have a family in Mexico.

We woke up in the morning and Joaquin gave Kevin and I a ride in his 4x4 Jeep up to a hut at 13,800 feet. The hut was less hospitable than I though it would be. Don’t get me wrong the Cancholas family continued to care for us up there including making great meals. The thing that made the hut hard to deal with was the other people in the hut. There were several different nationalities and skill levels up there. Between the farting, snoring, wheezing, puking, pots and pans banging from 12 am - 2 am. I did not sleep the first night. My advise for anyone endeavoring to summit this peak would to be bring a tent. I am sure that you could get away with a light 3 season tent up there. The toilet situation up there is interesting as well. It will make a great entry in my book... “The Places I have Pooped.”

Kevin and I were like two races houses chomping at the bit to start working on this project. Within 30 minutes of arriving at the hut Kevin and I packed a small day pack and headed up the trail. We just wanted to get a bit higher on the mountain and begin to  figure out the route. We were both surprised as we approached 15,800 feet on a couple of inches of snow at how well we were feeling. We spent a good amount of time on the mountain that afternoon and were in high spirits about our chances of standing on the summit. On the way down we laid out or plan for the next day. We committed to standing on the glacier and stashing a few pieces of gear for our summit attempt. The theory was that our packs would be lighter right out of camp and set us up for the best shot at the summit.

After no sleep that night Kevin and I got out of our sleeping bags at 6am and were on the mountain about an hour later. Both of us were really surprised at how fast we were able to move. We reached the steep snow of the Labyrinth an hour and 40 minutes after leaving the hut. We strapped on our crampons and began to tackle one of the technical aspects of this mountain. One hour later we found ourselves at 16,800 feet above sea level and at the base of the glacier. We had a discussion about pushing to the summit due to how well we were feeling. However, we knew that the summit would soon be covered in clouds. We knew that our best chance at a clear summit would be first thing in the morning. That afternoon we had a real good time on the way down. We made a lot of new friends who were acclimatizing and took some great pictures. We stashed our gear and fired down to the hut for an afternoon of relaxation and preparation for our summit attempt.

I woke at exactly 12:22 am on summit day. As I looked next to me I saw Kevin standing next to his sleeping bag foaming at the mouth ready to get out of that hut. It was awesome to see Kevin’s focus as we were preparing for summit day. After the 30 plus 14ers he has summited this year it would take a monumental event to stop him from summiting this volcanic giant. We scarfed a breakfast of instant oatmeal and coffee. and were out the door by 1 am. We had set some “split times” for where we wanted to be and were absolutely blowing those times out of the water. We had reached the base of the glacier by 3 am and began the steep ascent of the glacier. In all honesty I think that the steepness of the glaciated peak surprised both of us. The previous day it looked to be a lower angle than what it actually was. Close to 18,000 feet as the sun began to rise, we felt the full force of the steep glacier. For the first time on this trip I really began to feel the altitude as well. Despite all of that we were strong and pushed to the summit. What a summit it was!

When I was a kid I remember the first time I was on an airplane. I remember flying above the clouds and the felling that I had looking down. It is remarkable to walk above the clouds and look down on them. To see the earth laid out before you. We were able to see the shadow of the mountain as it sprawled out in the valley. It was an emotional summit as we remember people in our lives who do not have the ability to scale mountains any more. We remembered those who have been forgotten and discarded by society. I certainly hope that this trip helps people to look at what they can do instead of what they can’t do. It will be a pleasure to visit Mount Saint Vincent’s and share this story with those kids. Using a “Kevinism” I hope that this can change some trajectories.

We stayed on the summit for over an hour. Fully engaging in the process and taking in all of the sights and sounds. Kevin is masterful and documenting his trips though photography and I am sure he took 400 pictures. The walk down was euphoric. We were both tired and ready to get down but the high of summiting permeated all conversation. We arrived at the hut as Joaquin arrived in his Jeep. Within 10 minutes we where headed down the mountain where tequila, cerveza's, and good food waited for us.

From that point on the conversation switched to “whats next.” Although nothing is set in stone stayed tuned. Kevin is on a mission to get above 20,000 feet and I would love to join him. Maybe Aconcagua??? We will see...