We made a last minute change (for the better) to our acclimatization plan and instead of spending back to back nights at the Refugio (13,780 feet) we would come back to town to sleep below 10,000 feet after our first acclimatization hike. The old adage, hike high and sleep low. We thought this would give us a better shot at the summit given our fairly aggressive acclimatization schedule. 

On Friday January 31, David picked us up in his extremely lifted Ford Expedition and drove us up to the Refugio where we would start our first acclimation hike. The drive is about 90 minutes and we arrived at the Refugio by 9am. We started up the path in light jackets and approach shoes and reached 15,600 feet after a couple hours.

We took our time, had some water and lunch before heading back down to the Refugio. We headed back down to town in the car for dinner, groceries, and a solid night's sleep in the Airbnb. 

The next morning we arrived at the Refugio at 9am again with all the gear and food we would need for the next two days. These drives up to the Refugio were gorgeous in the morning light and we were able to get some views of Pico de Orizaba and the neighboring mountain of Sierra Negra. Pico de Orizaba casts a long shadow over everything in the area and we found out after the fact that its prominence (16,148 feet) in relation to other volcanoes in the world is second behind only Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro.

We hiked the same path up to 15,600 feet again. Brian and I scoped out some of the labyrinth while we had the daylight and ended around 16,000 feet. The labyrinth (as the name suggests) is a bit of a maze but it’s pretty short. It can be a bit of a “choose your own adventure”, but we learned the slightly longer route via the AllTrails map is safer and less technical than the direct route when there is less snow/ice on the ground. 

I felt great and much stronger than the day prior (the acclimatizing was working so far). We made it back to the Refugio and it was slammed with independent and guided groups. We were warned the weekends this time of year get super busy and I was happy we had been there early to claim our spots on the lower bunk area. 

We boiled some water, made ramen, packed the bags, and were down around 6pm. Brian and I opted to sleep inside and David and Kaitlyn opted for tents. We would find out later that in or out of the Refugio, it’s all loud.

I slept maybe 45 minutes and we were up at 12:30 to a bustling Refugio. No one in the group slept that well. The forecast looked ideal and we set up the trail for the third time. 

With all the climbing gear, layers, and rope, my pack was significantly heavier than the days prior. We took a break an hour in after the first 1,000 feet before proceeding up to the start of the labyrinth. The trail was super busy and we spent most of the early part of the day following up other groups in the narrow trail. 

We joined the queue in the labyrinth and started through some steeper, icy terrain with our crampons and ice axes. It was definitely cooling off and I opted for my heavy guide gloves. I got through most of the morning with a sun shirt, base layer, light mid, and shell. I was very happy I opted for the long johns under my soft-shells. 

The labyrinth was fun and easy to navigate, especially with all the other climbers in headlamps. The path flattened out a bit as we winded up through the rock and ice to the base of the Jamapa Glacier.

We roped up in two teams (Brian/Kaitlyn and David/me) and started zig zagging our way up. The glacier was dotted by the headlamps of all the other teams and I was still feeling great. About 1,000 feet from the top all the groups ended up queued in a single track up to the crater rim. I through my heavy puffer on. 

The sun started to rise just as we hit the absolute worst part of the day. Our rapid acclimatization seemed to hit me around 17,600 feet and I felt like was going to puke. The slog to the crater rim was horrendous. We enjoyed the warm sunlight at the crater rim and the long, beautiful shadow cast by the mountain.

The slog down the glacier was baking hot and I ditched all my heavy layers at the base of the glacier. I was a miserable, nauseous mess until we got back down to around 16,000 feet. Advils were popped like candy.

We made it back to the Refugio just after noon. In total it took us just about 12 hours to cover the 5 miles and 4,500 feet via the Jamapa Glacier north side route (right on the average). As rough as the top of the mountain was, I’m happy we pushed ourselves and tested a rapid acclimatization schedule. 

After forcing down a liter of water and some electrolytes we packed, loaded up the expedition, and David drove us back to the Airbnb. We repacked again, had our celebratory Tecate, and piled back in the Jetta for the ride back to Mexico City. What a day. To add to the travel exhaustion my return flight the following night to Tijuana was turned around halfway due to fog and we returned to Mexico City for eight hours. I was done.