Climbing in Mexico

Back in 1994 Cory and I did a two week trip to Central Mexico to climb the big volcanoes east of Mexico City. We linked up with some local Mexican climbers to climb Iztaccíhuatl (Izta), at 17,802' the fifth highest peak in North America. After making that summit we rode a bus back to Mexico City then took buses to eastern Mexico near Veracruz to climb Pico de Orizaba, also known as Citlaltépetl, at 18,840' and is the third highest peak in North America. A third peak, Popocatépetl at 17,600' was on the agenda but since it was erupting at the time the Mexican soldiers wouldn't let anyone climb the mountain. Probably a good thing for us.

This was probably my greatest guy type adventure. Cory Hines and I did the entire trip carrying everything on our backs, taking local buses to get around and did the climbs without any guides or, for that matter checking in with anyone at all. Climbing in Mexico is pretty straight forward in that there are no rangers, no radios, no safety people, no nothing. When we climbed Orizaba we were the only people on the mountain at the time and if there had been any trouble we would have been entirely alone.

Iztaccíhuatl 17,802'

The top photo is Izta from a distance and the shot to the left is taken on the flank of Izta with Popo in the background. We were probably at an elevation of around 16,000'. It was a beautiful day with great views. Most of this climb is on rock with only the final 1,000' or so on snow. We did this climb in March which is a good weather window down there. Ironically, most of the snowfall comes with the summer rainy season so the best climbing weather is in the winter and spring.

We drove from Mexico City with our Mexican friends and started the climb from La Joya at 12,000'. La Joya is situated in the Paseo de Cortes which is a pass between Popo and Izta. Legend has it that on the original Cortes expedition he and his men came through that pass and first sighted the Aztec capital of Mexico. I guess as they say, the rest is history.

The same first day we climbed up to a hut at 15,500' to spend the night. Spending the night isn't the same thing as sleeping. At that altitude and not being acclimated all you can do is try and stay warm and keep breathing. Funny thing was that hut was full of mice and they kept running across my sleeping bag. Hell, I wasn't sleeping anyway. The next day after an early start we made the summit and climbed all the way down to La Joya. More pics here: http://picasaweb.google.com/robhib/Izta?authkey=Gv1sRgCJqAxYuEnYsU&feat=directlink

After our friend Maximilliano dropped us off at the base of the mountain in the village of Amecameca we spent the night in an interesting hotel then hopped a bus back to Mexico City and spent a night there.

Pico de Orizaba 18,840'

The next day we took a bus to the city of Orizaba then a smaller local bus Cuidad Serdan and spent the night in another interesting establishment. The next day was yet a smaller bus with major character to the villiage of Tlachachuca. This village is at an elevation of about 8,500' and is the closest town to the base of Pico de Orizaba that has any facilities at all. There is a local guy there named Sr. Reyes who makes a side income housing climbers in an old soap factory and providing transportation from the village up to the climb starting point at Piedra Grande at 14,500'. Sr. Reyes' main man Guillermo, who was about 4' tall, drove us in an old converted Dodge PowerWagon to Piedra Grande. On the way up we passed through the tiny village of San Michele at 11,200'. We we were told this is the highest permanently inhabited village/town in North America and the link below has a couple of pics of this place. Pretty grim place to live.

There was another climbing party coming off the mountain when we arrived and Guillermo gave them a ride back to Tlachachuca leaving us on the mountain by ourselves.

We started the climbing about 2 am and for the first several hours it was just a hard slog on a rocky path up to about 16,000' where the glacier began. We strapped on our crampons and continued up the ice. I have to say that at somewhere between 17,500' and 18,000' I was on my last legs. Altitude like that when you are not well acclimated does very strange things to your metabolism and thence to your brain. I became very emotional and varied between laughing and crying. To this day, continuing to climb on from there and reaching the summit is the most difficult thing I've ever physically done. We made the summit, took a few pics and headed down. One interesting thing is in the pics you see a lot of crosses. Each one of those crosses represents someone who has died on this climb. Oh yeah, on the way up you have to pass any number of crosses for more of those who didn't make it. Anyway, on the way down it started snowing and while the crevasses aren't very big it was a concern because due to the weather coming in we were high tailing it down as fast as we could manage. When we got back to the hut at Piedra Grande Guillermo was there with a whole new group of climbers from the Yosemite Climbing Guide group. It was snowing like the dickens and we are certain that for the next few days that group could do nothing but sit in that mouse infested hut and stew.

Guillermo got us back to the old soap factory and over the next couple of days we bused it back to Mexico City for the flight back home. Great trip!    http://picasaweb.google.com/robhib/Orizaba?authkey=Gv1sRgCJvJuNTFs6Dm-gE&feat=directlink

Goodbye McCall

Well, I hate to pass along sad news but we have sold our little house in McCall. It was a very good run for the five years or so that we owned the place but the time came that it made sense to consolidate back into one home in San Diego.

We really did have many great times in McCall and with Dick and Nancy still having a home on the golf course we will still have the opportunity to spend even more good times there.

Over the years we enjoyed a lot of golf, downhill and cross country skiing, snowshoeing, hiking, fly fishing, and generally just hangin out.

Here's a link to some more pics of our good times in McCall

More pics here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/robhib/McCallBest?authkey=Gv1sRgCOPcreDF9YLN_gE#

Tour of California

The largest bicycling race in the USA was held this past week in several locations in California with the final stage of racing here in San Diego County. A lot of the route includes many miles of roads that we are very familiar with due to camping, hiking, and motorcycling. My buddy John Edwards and I decided at the last minute to go check it out up close and personal by hauling our bikes to within several miles of the start, ride to the start in Rancho Bernardo then get back on the bikes and ride to the finish in Escondido. It seems that we were not the only San Diegans who had that idea because the estimate was that 300,000 people watched some part of the race live. Saying that there were a lot people doesn't quite convey how crowded it was. My guess is that anyone who had ever ridden a bicycle decided to come be a part of the action. That being said, the energy, enthusiasm and overall excitement was simply way over the top. It was a BLAST!!









We got see many of the riders up close including Lance Armstrong and the eventual winner Levi Leipheimer. Right before the start all the Asanta Team came right next to me as evidenced by these pictures of Lance and Levi.
















It was a fun day also because John was kind enough to loan me his super deluxe Merlin racing bike that weighs only 16 lbs. That really helped me get up some of the hills around Escondido. Here are a few more pics of this very fun day.

Most people who follow these kinds of blogs seem to like looking at pictures. I have been blessed with having remarkable friends and family and thought some of you followers of my blog might enjoy seeing some of my favorite pics that are reminders of great times we've had. If you're interested, just click on this link.

http://picasaweb.google.com/robhib/RandomShots?authkey=sLhrjMYO0pQ#

Boys Ski Trip '09

Well, we have successfully completed yet another Boys (read "Old Guys") Ski Trip. Once again hosted by my baby brother Denny from his ski chalet high in the mountains outside Park City, Utah we have brought four separate Utah ski areas to their respective knees.





The first day, using the freebie "Fly and Ski Free" lift pass Denny and I skied Park City and managed to find several good stashes of pow . . . the best turns being in the trees of Tenth Mountain and on Jupiter. We also found some good turns in the trees next to Shaft.





The next day we were joined by Pete and Mark along with Denny's son-in-law Dom and we hit the wilds of Alta. Needless to say, other than by accident we didn't see a groomer all day! We did most all the bowls, trees and chutes that were open. I'm not saying we all did them good but we got down 'um. This includes the High Traverse above West Rustler, East Greeley Bowl, lots of chutes off the Supreme chair and the trees off Wildcat. It was a blue bird kind of day that was very special.





The third day was at DV (Dear Valley to all you flat landers) and Pete gave us the personal tour of all his secret spots. We were joined by yet another of Denny's sons-in-law, Travis and two of his friends Grady and Rob. Funny thing, while on the mountain we also ran into one of Denny's daughters, Jillian. While girls are not allowed on these Boys only ski extravaganzas, we did let Jill take a couple of runs with us. Pete made us do all the fun runs like Daley Bowl, Son of Rattler and other unnamed scary places at DV.











The fourth day was Super Bowl Sunday and we got an early start at PC. We skied hard and fast and despite the fact that anything off piste was considered "technical" (for you flat landers that means crud) we still managed to get off trail and hike up Jupiter to ski the chutes and X Files. Another funny thing was we ran into Denny's other daughter Tammy and she did a couple of runs with us. We beat ourselves up pretty good before making a quick run back to the chalet for the Super Bowl. Oh yeah, Denny's hot tub was really popular each day after skiing. Mark's wife Peggy took pity on us and made a giant pot of turkey chili that really hit our respective spots.



The fifth and final day was at Brighton where Travis instructs alpine, telemark and snowboards. Yes, he does it all. Trav showed us around all the regular tourist spots then convinced us to hike up above the Great Western Express lift and go out of bounds on Clayton Peak. The view from there was quite possibly the best in the entire Wasatch. You could see Deer Valley, Park City, the tram at Snowbird, parts of Alta, Sundance, Brighton and Solitude. Of course, he then convinced us to ski down the back side of the mountain in Clayton Bowl, otherwise known locally as Lack a Waxie. We then had to hike back up to a saddle from where we could make our way down a canyon and through the trees to return to Brighton. Quite an adventure for this guy.

We had a great time and two days later I can still hardly hobble around the house. Five days in a row skiing is a PR for me and a lot of abuse for my old wheels.

For those of you who might be interested, here is a link to more pics and videos of this year's great adventure.

http://picasaweb.google.com/robhib/Boys09Best?authkey=lpPbOTx3yeM&feat=directlink