My second trip to Mexico was unlike the first spring break trip I took in College. Somehow this one gave me more anxiety than my first trip out of the states as a young adult. The reality being big expedition trips for mountain objectives often drum up anxiety because there are a lot of components to these trips and many things that can go wrong.

Traveling with a large group of mostly strangers to attempt big mountain objectives together isn’t everyone’s cup of tea as it presents logistics and team dynamic challenges. This was a fun group but admittedly these days smaller trips are way easier to organize! That said it was a memorable trip and a fantastic experience I wouldn’t trade — hey, I even repeated a big trip the next year!

We used Nomada as our service provider making friends with the owners and some lifelong memories thanks to their support! Highly recommended for anyone looking for a  guiding operation for volcanoes in Mexico. All our accommodations were handled including travel, meals, lodging and fun history and activities!

First we climbed Nevado which was a really fun warm up mountain. I can’t wait to go back and complete the entire rim loop!

Before your visit to Orizaba I recommend staying with Don Jaquin’s family at the Conchola house. They will take care of you and then some! Such a sweet family deserving of your dollars. They will cook and house you and then transport you up to the hut below the mountain. Such a humbling experience getting the opportunity to meet this lovely famly and watch some of their daily life like taking care of the birds and garden! Tlachecuca is hands down one of my favorite towns in Mexico. We had a blast celebrating the pre-holiday festivities as we were there just before Dia de los Muertos.

Don Jaquin’s team drove us up the 4WD road in the infamous yellow jeep featured on their website. We brought our sleeping mats and trimmed supplies since we were staying at the hut. That night we packed and prepped for our summit bid and the midnight alarm. We had one of the best meals I’ve had to date in the mountains courtesy of Vicente. Chicken, rice, carrots topped with Herdez Guacamole salsa. Went down like butter!

Once our bellies were full we dozed off trying to get as much sleep as possible at the noisy hut (hint not much). So much traffic that even the climbers outside tend to be loud and echo through the hut. We were on our feet geared up for the approach before we knew it.

Unfortunately my partner made the call to turn around just above the labyrinth and headed back with Jorge to the hut. I was sad he wouldn’t be joining me and ultimately made the call to stay down on the glacier instead of pushing to the summit without him. In hindsight I could have made the summit, but I also enjoyed the lovely sunrise views at Jampa and watching the team continue on. 

I watched them all top out on the crater rim before making the last push to the summit proper and then again as they slowly descended the steep slope. Once they were all back down we romped back down to the hut to celebrate their success and pack up to head to town for a taco party!

We had a blast celebrating back in town, one of the funnest nights! Full of yummy street food, listening to music and watching Dia de los Muertos festivities while celebrating snarfing tacos, drinking beers and taking turns salsa dancing. Such amazing humans and amazing friendships made on this trip! One of my most favorite to date!