benefits of using a guide (OMG)

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So much good info is here covering what to wear, pack, directions etc, I just wanted to share our experience booking with OMG, Orizaba Mountain Guides.
If you are not very accomplished at climbing you need a guide. This is a difficult climb. There is no substitute for the guides that are climbing every day, exchanging the info as they come off the mountain with the next guide going up. The weather and conditions change that quickly. Besides all that, they pick you up at the airport in Mexico City and bring you to where you do your first acclimation hike which is very important. They get to see your equipment and evaluate what your abilities are and you get to start to acclimate to the altitude.
Roberto Flores has a ton of experience and has put together a top notch group of people to give you the experience of your life.
Your first hike can be one or two of several climbs in the area, we did Malinche. We stayed a great cabins in the park and did the climb the day after arrival. There is a restaurant there, our guide took care of arranging for water and food for the climb.
After that we were transferred to the Flores compound. It is very nice and clean, they feed you and get you anything you need. If you are not supplied with anything it is provided without extra charge. The next guide goes through all your equipment with you, checking out the quality and safety.
The next day we went up to the hut, everything you read on this site can not prepare you for this experience. Luckily, OMG guides are also amazing cooks.
They made meals that were perfect nutritionally matched for the upcoming challenge. There are two of them, one stays back to keep an eye on all the extra things that you are not hauling up the volcano.
The day hike to the Labyrinth allows the guide to evaluate your abilities and a plan is set. We came back and relaxed till dinner time, ate and went to bed.
We were getting up at midnight to leave by 1am. It was a full moon night, clear and crisp. Juan got us up to the summit in 7 1/2 hrs.
Our experience seemed far superior to the other people mulling around the hut so I thought I would share the idea of not having to worry about those distracting things, but concentrating on the task ahead. In the end they drive you back to the airport.
The experience with OMG was the best. One thing, bring the best earplugs you can for the hut.