Details of the ascent of the 7 Summits Club group Quetzal to the Orizaba volcano in Mexico

Valery Myasoedov, a guide of the 7 Summits Club, reports from Mexico:

Greetings from Mexico! Details of the successful ascent of the Quetzal group to the summit of the Orizaba volcano. In the afternoon, after a short acclimatization trek, we had time to rest and even sleep. In general, the acclimatization was successful, and our attitude was the most determined. The route from the South is not often used by Orizaba. So, our Mexican guide Julio, who goes to the summit twice a week in the season, was here with us for the first time this season. All the other ascents he had were from the North. The route from the South is mainly an ascent along a loose trail and some sections of large stones. In places, the trail is not obvious, which brought its own difficulties. The last 200 meters is a loose slope, covered with small and medium-sized stones, and a rock hazard. We were the first on the route, so there was no chance that someone would drop rocks on us.

 Going out at midnight at night did not affect our well-being in any way. In my opinion, the difference of 9 hours with Mexico is beneficial here. When it's midnight here, it's 9 a.m. in Moscow. The body does not have time to fully adapt to a different time zone, and it is not necessary to struggle with sleep, as in Kilimanjaro, for example. We are at a good pace, we climbed to the top in 7 hours and 15 minutes. The sun was already shining. We took a bunch of photos and videos. To be honest, we were not even very tired. The descent took only 2.5 hours. But, it should be noted that the pre-summit 200 meters on the descent require special concentration and attention, since the slope is quite steep, 25-30 degrees. After a light snack, we moved to Zoapan, where we were served a delicious lunch with wine, and then to Puebla. Sorry if the report turned out to be boring… But I promise you interesting news from Zoapan later. And a photo report from Puebla, where we have an excursion part of the program today.