Mexico - Rest day

It is 8:30 am on Thursday morning. I'm sitting on the roof of the Summit Orizaba hotel. Pico de Orizaba is visible in the morning haze. I have less than 24 hours to be on the summit, 10k feet above me. No pressure.

We arrived at the hotel around 11:30 Tuesday night after descending from Ixta. Wednesday we spent resting, repacking gear, resting, eating, and resting.

Each day of this trip has had two students as "leaders of the day." Haro and I are the leaders for Friday's summit attempt. We sat in meetings with the guides for several hours on Wednesday, determining how to help everyone maximize their experience on the mountain. This included taking care of the hikers that will not make the summit, and allowing everyone with the potential to summit have an opportunity. Haro and I will take the reins as leaders from Gus and Tyler around 3pm this afternoon. We will get everyone horizontal, and then roust them out early enough for a 10pm start.

When we arrive on the mountain today everyone will set up camp and cook lunch/supper. I and two guides, Doug and Joe, will scout the route to the labyrinth. This should be 1000 foot elevation gain on relatively easy trail. The labyrinth is a maze of rocks and craigs for another 1000 foot of gain. After seeing the entrance to the labyrinth, I will turn back to camp. Doug and Joe will continue to the base of the Jamba glacier and camp there for the night. I will expect to see them again before 3am as I lead the "fast group" to the summit. With both guides we will traverse the glacier, climb to a ridge, and hike the ridge to the summit. The last 500 to 1000 feet is ice surface at a 35 degree slope.

After enjoying the 18,400 foot summit, we will return to the glacier, hopefully passing another summit group led by Marty, the third guide. Once on the glacier we will be training the rest of the group on the glacier skills we have just learned.

Almost anything can jeopardize our hike. This mountain is relatively close to the gulf and consequently gets a lot of bad weather. We are taking lots of precautions. So many I don't have time to describe them all here. As the start time gets closer, I realize how many things can go wrong. I'm praying for good weather, good decisions, and relying on a family atmosphere that we have built as a group over the last week in country.

I really like Mexico. The people are super friendly. The food is good. The country is interesting. Yesterday several of us got amazing sandwiches from a local hole-in-the-wall. One of my favorite things to do is get local food in a local setting.