Hiking the highest mountain in Mexico at 5636m - Pico de Orizaba

January 2020

As I was googling about Mexico before my trip there, I naturally typed in “the highest mountain in Mexico” as well. I found out that the mountain named Pico de Orizaba has its peak at 5636 meters above sea level and might actually be climbable without proper mountaineering experience.

My previous (and so far only) high altitude experience was in Nepal (and Tibet) with maximum elevations about 5400 meters. I felt mentally ready to take things up a notch and go higher. Climbing Pico de Orizaba would be my first proper mountain peak above 5000 meters.

The chances are that if you are reading this post, then you are interested in making this or similar trip yourself, so I will try to answer some questions you might have based on my personal experience.

Preparation
Preparation
1
Cerro del Ajusco 3937m
Cerro del Ajusco 3937m
2
Volcan Nevado de Toluca 4645m
Volcan Nevado de Toluca 4645m
3
Iztaccíhuatl 5230m
Iztaccíhuatl 5230m
Booking a guide or going solo?
Booking a guide or going solo?
The climb to the peak
The climb to the peak

Preparation

Climbing a 5000+ mountain is not a walk in the park and should not be taken lightly. There are many risks involved with going to these heights. One of the most important ways to avoid getting acute mountain sickness (AMS) is to be properly pre-acclimatized. When I was trekking the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal it took me 10 days to get to the highest point of the trail at 5400 meters. I could have easily went faster, but I was only gaining about 500 meters in elevation and hiking only 3-6 hours each day just to let my body get used to the altitude. And I was feeling super good and easy at 5400 meters.

Because the climb to Pico will be done in one night/day and is not part of a bigger trek then it is important to do some acclimatization before. Mexico City itself is already at 2250 meters from sea level so it is actually a good starting point.

What happens if you don’t do that and come from sea level straight to mountains above 5000 meters? I found it out in one of my previous hikes before Pico de Orizaba. But more about that later.

Cerro del Ajusco 3937m

There are 2 ways how to acclimatize – you gain elevation really, really slowly (500 meters a day) or do day hikes up and then come down and sleep at lower levels. So I planned to do three hikes before Pico de Orizaba while gradually gaining elevation.

For the first hike in Mexico, I chose Cerro del Ajusco. After a metro and a bus ride, it was necessary to walk a bit along the highway and the starting point was already there. The climb to the top goes through lush forests and only takes a couple of hours. It was really windy and cloudy on the day I went there so unfortunately no good views from the top. Usually it should be possible to get some nice views over Mexico City from there.

Nevado de Toluca 4645m

Hiking in Nevado de Toluca is another popular day trip from Mexico City. Getting there with public transportation was not the easiest. It took a couple of different buses to reach the start. There are also “taxis” in the beginning of the hill that take people close to the crater.

We took the shared taxi to get closer as most of the other people and reached the crater. Nevado de Toluca is still an active volcano so it is possible to see the colourful sulfur and some smoke . There are two crater lakes on the floor of the basin at about 4200 meters. The highest point of the crater edge is at 4600 meters and our plan was to reach that. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to go there since apparently we did not have proper equipment. Some security guards told us that we need to have helmets and poles, etc. We actually saw some people in the distance without helmets and I have heard from others before that no special equipment is needed for this peak.

Anyways, the volcano itself is pretty amazing and being at 4200 meters was already good enough for my acclimatization efforts.

Iztaccíhuatl 5230m

A couple of days later I headed out for the third hike in the region. This time I booked a guide since it was going to be a more complicated climb. Since there is small glacier close to the peak you need to use crampons which I had never used before and it was necessary to stay in base camp and climb at night. All things consider it was a sensible decision to go with a climbing operator who provided all the equipment, knowledge and guiding.

Iztaccihuatl is a dormant volcano and the third highest mountain after Pico de Orizaba and its neighbouring twin Popocatépetl. As Izta is sleeping, then Popo is still active. It is possible to see smoke coming from its peak pretty often. I also managed to witness it during my climb. Because of its activeness it is not possible to climb Popo.

Climbing Izta was definitely a challenge. Waking up 2-3 am and most of the time climbing in the dark. This was the first time in my life as well to use crampons. I was starting to feel the altitude effecting me and coming back down was harder than expected. But man.. the views! Just incredible!

I was joined by two locals for this climb. They came from the Yucatan peninsula, where they live, to climb Izta during the weekend. Both of them seemed really fit and one of them said that he runs marathons and does triathlons. So they must be easily capable of climbing the mountain right? Well, it turns out that no.

Three of us were sleeping in the same tent in the base camp at about 4000 meters and one of them started to feel really sick during the evening/night. He was throwing up over me from the tent door and obviously was not healthy enough to even start the hike. So we started the hike at 2 am with 2 guides and the other guy. It didn’t take long until I could see that the other guy was not feeling good. He was stumbling around and his pace got really slow. So just after 2 hours of walking he needed to head back down with one of the guides.

Booking a guide or going solo?

If you are an experienced mountaineer then of course it is possible to go on your own or with your own group. Pico de Orizaba requires knowledge and experience in roped glacier climbing with crampons. I am not too sure about necessary permits so you might need to check it out.

If you are someone like me who just likes to go on some hikes and climbs from time to time, then definitely book your trip with a climbing operator.

There are plenty of different guides who can offer you the service. I reached out to 4-5 different ones for quotes. Some of the possible options:

I personally booked with HG Mexico because I got the best and most suitable offer from them. I booked both Izta and Pico with them for 700 USD total. It included all the transportation and necessary equipment. For Iztaccíhuatl hike, there were also 2 locals joining but the Pico de Orizaba was just me with a guide. I am totally satisfied with their service and can highly recommend them.

The hike to Pico de Orizaba peak

After a day of rest I was picked up in Mexico City, where we started the drive towards Pico de Orizaba. After changing the cars for a 4wheel drive truck we reached the lower base camp already about 3-4 pm. We settled in, had dinner and went to sleep early to wake up 1am to start our way up the mountain. It was a long way up scrambling through the loose rocks.

After sunrise when I thought that the peak is going to be pretty close, the real struggle started. Every step up was exhausting and I felt like taking a break every two-three steps. At the same time, it was a blissful feeling to be right in that moment. Every step had to be taken cautiously to avoid slipping. Also, the wind was stronger than I had ever experienced before in my life. It was similar during the Izta climb. I could only focus on the next step at all times and was feeling totally in the moment.

After a couple of hours in total agony we finally reached the highest point in Mexico at 5636 meters above sea-level.

I think I was really feeling the altitude while descending as well and it was definitely as tough as the ascent.