2024 started out strong on the heels of a year where much had been accomplished. I was hopeful to keep that momentum going. It did for a while, but then balanced itself out with many disappointments. STATE HIGHPOINTS My 50 state highpoint project stalled in 2024 with nothing new from where I left off in…
Tag: mexico
Traversing Mexico’s Sleeping Beauty
DAY 8 – Izta Summit Day Midnight came quickly as it always does. Not sure why we had to start that early again and our guides really didn’t have a good answer. We only had 4,000′ of elevation in 4 miles, very much like a typical day in Utah. Granted, we were starting from 13,000′…
From Citlaltépetl to Iztaccíhuatl
DAY 7 – Getting Ready for Izta After a successful summit of Orizaba followed by a day of rest and relaxation, our shuttle driver transported us from Servimont to La Joya in the Parque Nacional Iztaccíhuatl-Popocatépetl. This was a 4.5 hour drive as we looped around from the north and then down through Amecameca. I…
Acclimating for 18,000 Feet
DAY 3 – Acclimating at 14K After another fine breakfast from Servimont, we loaded up our gear and got ready for the drive up to Piedra Grande Hut. The road to this basecamp is about 16 miles up from Tlachichuca and took over 2 hours. It’s a rough and rutted route… a typical 4WD road…
Staying at Servimont, Tlachichuca, Mexico
One of my strategies in preparing for Denali is to test myself at higher elevations. The tallest peak I’ve reached so far is Mt. Whitney at 14,505′. Two times on that summit and a bunch of other 14ers in Colorado isn’t enough. I wanted to know how I’d do at altitudes greater than 14K. So…