Pico de Orizaba (Volcán Citlaltépetl), commonly known as Pico de Orizaba, is the highest mountain in Mexico and third-highest in North America, reaching 18,491 feet. After climbing Sierra Negra, we headed back into town to eat lunch and pick up our gear for the 2 hour drive up to Piedra Grande where we would be…

Sierra Negra is a subpeak of Orizaba and was our next acclimatization climb. Sierra Negra is located within the Pico de Orizaba National Park. The mountain is the site for two of the world’s premier astronomical instruments, the Large Millimeter Telescope and the High Altitude Water Cherenkov Observatory. We drove from Puebla to the little…

After climbing La Malinche, we dropped back down to the colonial town of Puebla at 7,100 feet. We stayed in a really cute boutique hotel. And had more mole for dinner! The next day we packed all our gear in the van and then headed off on foot for a walking tour of Puebla and…

La Malinche is an inactive volcano and the 6th highest mountain in Mexico. The Tlaxcaltecs named the peak Matlalcueitl, which translates to “[Lady of the] Blue Skirt”, a goddess of rain and song, believed to be the local equivalent of Chalchiuhtlicue. The Spanish named it simply Sierra de Tlaxcala (“Tlaxcalan Range”). The current name, Malinche…

Today was the official start of the trip and after a great breakfast buffet, we loaded onto the van to head to the the same park and meet our local tour guide, Arnoldo. I think he is in his 80’s but didn’t miss a beat as we powered through the museum. He obviously loves what…