we're attempting to put together a last minute trip to climb ixta and orizaba in march. does anyone have any recommendations of good places to stay and companies to use to get to the trailheads which aren't too expensive?

also, what about sierra negra? i'd like to climb since it's a 15er and right next to orizaba. unfortunately, it's on the other side from piedra grande. has anyone climbed the two together and have a reasonable suggestion for logistics? thanks

jamie

You could PM SP member pacojgarza- he climbed both Sierra Negra and Orizaba. I stayed in Puebla at Hotel Colonial which was nice ~$50US. I used the Cancholas as an alternative to Sr Reyes in Tlachichuca. I was glad to avoid Mexico City. I would also recommend visiting Teotihuacan (especially during the week in the morning when few people will be there) if you are interested and have time. If you are renting a car like I did you can pick up supplies (including white gas) and permits in Amecameca on your way to La Joya where you can camp for free. The park entrance ticket costs $1US.

Good luck!

Woodie

alright, thanks woodie. when you say you were glad to avoid mexico city, are you stating that you flew into puebla or somewhere else? if so, do you remember what airline you took, rough price, or anything else of use.

also, where is teotihuacan? is there something in particular which sticks out about the town?

jamie

I flew into Puebla from Denver via Houston. I think I used Continental, I don't remember the price of my ticket. Teotihuacan is a UNESCO world heritage site and is an ancient city which predates the Aztecs. It is about an hour and a half to the Northeast of Mexico City. (You don't need to go through Mexico City to get there and it is an easy drive.) There are two large pyramids there including one to the sun and one to the moon. You should defintely research this before making plans. These ruins are very impressive.

Woodie

I second what Woodie stated. Not to plug a report of mine but check out my Orizaba trip report if you haven't already. The info on the Orizaba/Itza pages will also help. Cheers!

One piece of advice for transportation> We took a taxi from Puebla to Tlachichuca that cost ~ $60 bucks. On the way back to Puebla we got on a bus and it cost us ~$1.50/person, so I would recommend using a bus. The bus station is ~ 2 blocks from Sr Reyes location. All of the buses we rode in Mexico were clean, comfortable and reasonably fast.

temples to the sun and the moon? that sounds interesting. are those the ones with thousands of steps to the top? that might be pretty vague.

how much did everyone's trips cost(ballpark)?

also, itinerary-wise, we'll be acclimizated beforehand landing on saturday the 24th. do you believe that climbing iztaccihuatl on monday the 26th and orizaba on thursday the 29th is reasonable?

haliku- on another thread you mentioned that you didn't need a campguard on ixta because the huts were locked. what did you mean? you couldn't get into the huts? you'd needed a key? or something else entirely different.

jamie

shanahan96 wrote:haliku- on another thread you mentioned that you didn't need a campguard on ixta because the huts were locked. what did you mean? you couldn't get into the huts? you'd needed a key? or something else entirely different.

Not a thousands steps but some pretty cool archaeological ruins to check out.

As for Ixta I was with CMS on that trip and they booked the hut at the radio towers which we locked up while on the moutain. I'm not sure how to book it or if you even can. Cheers!

If you find yourselves tackling the Izta climb from Amecameca, we stayed at the hotel San Carlo. This hotel is right next to the permit office. Not bad for $10/person/night. Also, we met a taxi drive named Guadilupe(Sp?) in the town square. A great guy, was there on time early in the morning and waited 2 extra hours, for free, as we underestimated the descent time. This was a Jan 2007 climb.

your acclimitizing sounds reasonable to me
Additionally,


1mvertical's experience sounds similar to my Jan98 trip. We took a bus to Amecameca, and managed to not get off. . .we made itback in 2 mins. . And the whole trip to the mountain, on it, and back was smooth. It's a big trail with lots of people! we packed up summit day and hid our stuff under rocks. Our taxi driver even stopped to pick my girlfriend flowers. The taxi was $20 round trip. We also gone done early, so went to the refugio, which was interestingly empty.
It was Very straight forward and fun, not expedition style at all: more like an alpine wknd. Tennis shoes and light crampons is what I'd suggest. The conditions were arid, and there was really no Crevasses on Izta's main route. Thus I wouldn't bring a rope and the like either!! We kept stuff in our hotel whilst up on the MT. If it weren't for the drive/logistics, this could be done as a day trip i think. The logistics are easy. This was my first international trip EVER , and thus also my first international mountaineering, and I was able to manage it myself, fine. The altitude gain is the crux.
GO light and make it a tourist thing.

Good point. I think the only part where crampons were needed was getting onto the glacier. Kind of steep and slippery. A set of Yak Trax would probably get the job done and save some weight. At 2:30 pm, our summit time, it was 42-44 degrees(F) at the summit. Kind of scary warm...

Forgot one thing, we were able to stash gear at the hotel San Carlo. They have a closet in the lobby, and the desk guy will watch it for you. Works well if you don't want to leave expensive stuff in your room.

I think our taxi was rather more than $20.0, but I can't recall the exact price. But we didn't really shop around. But the man 1mvertical speaks of was a good guy.

1mvertical wrote:Forgot one thing, we were able to stash gear at the hotel San Carlo. They have a closet in the lobby, and the desk guy will watch it for you. Works well if you don't want to leave expensive stuff in your room.

was there a fee for gear storage while climbing izta? also, do you have an e-mail address or some way that i can get in touch with someone about a reservation?

jamie

If you stay at Hotel San Carlos, then you can store your gear for free there in the "under the stairs" closet. The hotel is unassuming, but it is convenient to everything and has beds to sleep in, perfect for our purposes! I would recommend taking crampons and an ice axe. With good conditions on the mountain you may not need them and can probably get away with lighter shoes and Yak tracks, but then again conditions are not always good.