Closer to you, my Lord

The good thing with el DF is that there are plenty of volcanoes within an 80 km radius from the center, more than enough to satisfy the urge for mountains for the height-addict like me!

I was in particular immediately attracted and fascinated by the Iztaccíhuatl (aka. Ixta). At 5,230 m above sea level, it is the third highest peak in Mexico, only 200 m lower than his famous neighbor: the very active Popocatépetl (access forbidden since the 2000 big eruption).

What first stirred up my curiosity is the Aztec legend. Courtesy of Wikipedia: Iztaccíhuatl was a princess who fell in love with one of her father's warriors. Her father sent her lover to a war in Oaxaca, promising him his daughter as his wife if he returned (which Iztaccíhuatl's father presumed he would not). Iztaccíhuatl was told her lover was dead and she died of grief. When Popocatépetl returned, he in turn died of grief over losing her. The gods covered them with snow and changed them into mountains. Iztaccíhuatl's mountain is called "White Woman" because it resembles a woman sleeping on her back, and is often covered with snow. (The peak is sometimes nicknamed La Mujer Dormida ("The Sleeping Woman").) He became the volcano Popocatépetl, raining fire on Earth in blind rage at the loss of his beloved.

I felt like the Ixta has been teasing me ever since I came in Mexico: I first tried my luck with this ascent last October, but it was the moist season, it started snowing and I was ill-prepared so I had to give up… for the moment! The Ixta is sometimes visible from the center of Mexico City, like a constant reminder of my failure to climb it… Few months later, while on the plane on my way to Peru, the air was crystal clear, I had a perfect close-up view on it. The Sleeping Lady had put on her most beautiful white snowy dress and disclosed her charms to me.

I had to go back, and reach the summit, this time! With two mates, we got all the gear we needed and waited for the snow cap to melt down sufficiently to allow us making it without ice axe or crampons.

The plan was:

• Leave the DF Friday after work hours (i-e at 2pm, yes, Friday rulez in my company :), arrive at La Joya trailhead (4,000m) few hours before dark, and start the first part of the ascent until a shelter at midway (4,800m), as a nice warm up for the next day’s ascent.

• Spent a good refreshing night, get acclimated to the altitude overnight and wake-up at dawn raring to go, take a pleasant walk to the summit, take few pictures and come back sun tanned, happy, and invigorated by the fresh air.

But actually it went like:

• Get jammed in f*cking endless Friday afternoon Mexico jams and arrive really late at the trailhead, actually shortly before dusk, but still stick with the plan and start the first part of the ascent.

• Get frozen when the night fall and that the temperature drops more than expected. Get lost in the dark because it is just not easy to find one’s way in the dark at 4,500m. Walk the wrong path downhill before realizing and turning back.

• Arrive exhausted at 10pm at the shelter. Set up the camp quickly and spent the most horrible night: first symptoms of altitude sickness (persistent headache, difficulty to breath regularly), cold (although I got good clothing and sleeping gear). Almost didn’t sleep at all. At dawn that was it, I decided to give up one more time and get back.

• But… Force chug a large can of Red Bull, swallow 1000 mg aspirin, wait for the first sunbeams to warm you up a bit, get your friends teasing you on… and finally change your mind and decide to stay in the race!

Out of 3, 2 of us eventually made it to the summit at 5,230 m. I have to admit it was really not piece of cake. I had to struggle before each new high pitched slope not to turn back. But it was all worth it: one’s doesn’t get to step everyday on a 5,000 m high crest path above the clouds, with a 360 view as far as 150 km. A bit of an on-top-of-the-world feeling… The most tiring part for me was the 1 km long glacier just before reaching the last crest before the summit.

But once on top… What peacefulness what serenity, what a majestic view… From the top we were able to distinctly see as far as the Orizaba summit, 150 km away… The long descent on the way back was just a knee killer!

I want to go back. But this time with a different schedule, more gradually and with more steps to acclimatize. I’ll hit the Ixta one more time by April/May when the weather is the nicest…



Courtesy of Vincent for all the pictures were I appear.