...made the crater rim, but not the summit due to bad weather on 12/21. the previous 2 days, the weather was beautiful... clouds rolled in around 12:00 and 4:00 each day but only stayed for an hour or so each time. however, on the 21st, they rolled in at noon as usual but never left and weather got much worse. had to pause occasionally and let the air clear to see the descent route. no clue what January weather will be like... unpredictable for sure, but not so bad as to eliminate a summit bid if you are prepared. next year when i summit, i'll take stakes & flags to mark the route between the summit and 16,500', screws & slings, and a bivy... and probably won't even need them! they would have been nice to have this time, though. good luck and happy new year.

marnold92701 -

Screws, huh? Icy conditions right now?

hi cp.... no clue what the conditions would be right now... unpredictable for sure. i could have used something to anchor my bivy to the slope or crater rim (if i hadn't left the bivy at high camp in the first place). i left all my gear at high camp, because the weather was so good when i started. happy new year! i'll post pics if/when i get the problems with kodak software figured out.

Gotcha. Thanks for the info.

look for info with Robert o "Oso"
Orizaba expeditions, or Oso exediciones on line, he is good, although I did not use his guiding services I had trranport arranged by him.
if you guys have any questions and would like some specific photos, please let me know I may be able to help.

I just got back from Orizaba and the normal route is now icy and worsening by the day, we had to climb the steeper ridge above the sarcofago over the dove`s breast and still came across some patches of blue ice. The weather was fair but it got quite cold up on the glacier (5 degrees).

were you able to summit, paco? i had lots of blue ice on the straight-up route on 12/21 before and after the first rock outcrop(s) (with occasional patches of brittle white ice) and it was a little dicey on the decent. where was your high-camp?

marnold92701:
we did summit, but taking the espinoza route instead because of the obstacles that you mentioned and the blue ice made our ascent a little slower. The conditions on the glacier keep deteriorating rapidly as the dry season progresses. We started from Piedra Grande without high camps. I`m uploading some pictures as I speak and will post a trip report of my recent tour of 4 of the mexican volcanoes soon.