Climbing Links

The Ascent of Pico de Orizaba - North America's 3rd Highest Mountain

On January 20th, 2001, 54 Candles team member Howard Jones left for for Mexico City. From there, he joined five other climbers and set out for the small town of Tlachichuca in the state of Vera Cruz. That night, they watched as Popocatepetl, Mexico's nearly 18,000 foot volcano staged a massive eruption and sent a gigantic cloud of ash toward them. It was a spectacular beginning to what would be a successful climb of Pico de Orizaba's 18,409 foot summit. It was a great experience and great training in preparation for the 54 Candles expedition.

Click on the small pictures to enlarge the image.

January 22 - Popo erupts violently sending an ash cloud 30,000 feet in the air and heading directly toward the climbers staging area in Tlachichuca. The Reyes Family guides are late getting into the compound after spending more time than expected recovering the bodies of two climbers that died on the mountain. A rather ominous start to our climb.

January 23 - Six anxious climbers board the truck that will take them to Camp I at 10,200 feet. The plan is to climb from this level in to properly acclimatize to the high altitude of Orizaba. It proved to be a very wise decision. In the course of the next week, numerous climbers were brought to their knees by the altitude. Medical authorities confirm that sustained activity above 18,000 feet is not possible for humans and the body gradually deteriorates.

January 24 - Viewed from Camp I, Pico de Orizaba looms more than 8,000 vertical feet above. Morning temperatures at Camp I are now below freezing. Departure for Camp II will begin once the pack animals arrive to carry the camp equipment and food supplies. Camp II is set at 12,200 feet and morning temperatures are now down into the low teens.

January 26 - Camp III is set at 13,970 feet. It is here that the climbers enjoy a little "luxury". A steady stream of running water from the Jamapa Glacier. It is here too that two "huts" have been constructed by the members of El Club de Cien, the Mexican alpine club. They weren't exactly on a par with the Ritz, but provided a welcome shelter from the high winds at times.

January 27 - The first of two consecutive acclimatization climbs to 16,000 feet. "Climb high - sleep low" is the adage of many experienced climbers. The crater rim sits about 400 feet below the summit and can just be seen in this picture looking up over the icy face of the ridge containing the tongue of the glacier. Later, this will become the view from Camp IV - "High Camp".

January 28 - An early morning departure from Camp III gets us to "High Camp". At nearly 16,000 feet our lungs are short of oxygen, but our eyes are full of magnificent views. Unfortunately, the little bit of glacier run off that we found on our previous day's climb has come to a stop with the arrival of a cold front, so we're forced to melt snow for water for the pending push for the summit.

January 29 - Nearly six hours after leaving high camp on the push for the summit, the sun begins to rise. The shadows of four climbers are cast across the Jamapa Glacier at about 17,000 feet. This was about the half way point from high camp to the summit. It wasn't long after passing through this point that Howard had two of his three liters of water fall from his pack and scream a couple thousand feet down the glacier. The result was a long climb with a serious shortage of water.

January 29 - As the climbers passed through the 17,600 foot level, the sky had cleared and the views were becoming nothing short of spectacular. A 14,000+ foot peak in the distance seems little more than a small mound. Back at Camp III and Camp IV, heavy clouds had enveloped those that waited below. They had no way of knowing that skies were reasonably clear close to the summit and began to worry about the fate of the climbers. All they could do was wait and hope.

January 29 - Noon. Howard Jones kneels on the summit at 18,409 feet. Summit day had lasted approximately 16 hours. It's an incredible feeling to set a high goal and to attain it. It involved many hundreds of hours of running, packing, exercise, research and an investment of time and resources. There are those that would question the sanity of one that goes to such an extreme just to stand for 15 to 20 minutes on the summit of a mountain like Pico de Orizaba. Was it worth it to Howard Jones? Absolutely no question about it! Give it a try.