Dizziness and breathtaking views on La Malinche
I arrived in Mexico City with just enough time to grab a bite and check into my hotel for the night. The morning after I went over to pick up my rental car, and got a real good introduction to communication in Spanish. A language I don’t master at all, and it seems very few master the ancient English language here in Mexico.
Most of my research for this trip was reading lots of different blogs and climbers logs on https://www.summitpost.org/. This was also what led me to spend the first few days acclimatizing in Mexico City and on La Malinche.
I’d never been higher than 4000m, and I was really stressed about how my body would react to Pico de Orizaba, especially since I was doing the climb all by myself.
The Mexico City traffic was congested, chaotic and fun. It took forever to get out of the city, but suddenly I was cruising on quiet highways, a Mexican radio channel set the theme as I rolled past countless cacti and vast pastures.
La Malinche mountain is only a few hours drive from Mexico City, and I was in no hurry. I stopped at a Wall-Mart and spent a few hours completing my shopping list for the rest of the trip. The store was filled with happy Mexicans getting ready for Christmas.
From the moment I exited the highway I got the most jaw-dropping view of the mountain I was planning to acclimatize on the following day. It was a stunning sight!
I continued along the road all the way up to Centro Vacacional which marks the beginning of the hike up La Malinche. My plan was to camp here for the night and get some more acclimatization, and as I rolled in towards the gate, it seemed obvious that I should’ve at least picked up some Spanish before I left.
Somehow I managed to communicate with the friendly guard, and paid for what I believe was parking and a spot for my tent for the night. I didn’t argue on the 100 pesos they charged.
The rest of the evening was spent strolling around in the thin air, enjoying the views. This campsite lies at ~3100m, and I could already feel the altitude. I was both worried and excited about what tomorrow would bring, but I knew that if I’d just take it nice and slow, I’d be alright.
I had a good nights sleep, and was ready as the first one at the gates at 7am. The national park is (apparently) regulated, and that means they’d like to have some sort of control over climbers. This involves a 58 peso fee that in turn gives you a bracelet of recognition.
I say apparently, because there’s no-one there to limit climbers before 7am, so it’s basically a free-for-all. I’ve read that rangers send people down if they’re at the mountain too late to summit and return before dark, but seeing how many locals were up on the mountain this day, I don’t understand how they could even begin to control the crowds.
The path starts out real gentle and easy in a lovely forest. I found it hard to understand that I already was at over 3000m. The sun had already risen, and the temperature was pleasant. I loved walking here so much that I forgot to focus on my pace. I almost rushed trough the woods.
After a little while, the path steepens, and I started getting glimpses of what’s to come. This trek is about 1300m of elevation gain over 6 kilometers, so it’s a decent hike, especially combined with the altitude.
As I came out of the woods, the landscape opened up around me. The sun was warm, the clouds drifted below me, and hundreds of Mexicans struggled towards the summit in a slow pace, carrying speakers and drinks with them. It was a surreal sight, I felt like I was in another world.
The path shifted, now seriously steep and consisting mostly of loose volcanic sand. I began to struggle, had to slow down, take breaks more often. I was feeling the altitude as the hike got real.
I took my time enjoying the surreal views. I’ve never seen or experienced anything like these views, this terrain, this landscape. It was so much more than I could ever have imagined. And even though I was short-breathed, I almost didn’t notice as I continued my slow ascent, soaking in the views.
As the mountain got steeper, the views got even better. And suddenly I realised that the mountain I was looking over to was no other than Pico de Orizaba!
To my other side I could se the erupting Popocatépetl and the sleeping lady – Iztaccihuatl. Oh how I wished I had the time to climb these beautiful mountains as well on this trip!
The path continued along a ridge of volcanic rock. From a distance I was really intimidated by what looked to be a loose, sandy ridge with no room for mistakes, but as usual, it got safer as I got closer. I could see some of the other climbers coming down, sliding down on their bums, scared of the steep sides of the mountain.
As I passed the sandy ridge, the terrain switched to rocks and ice. This new terrain required me to take big steps to get onwards, and I was totally exhausted by now. I started to get a throbbing headache and felt dizzy, and I knew this wasn’t a good sign. I had to slow down my pace so that I had a full breath for every new step. Not good.
Just after the rocky section and what I knew was a false summit, I could finally see the summit! The path follows an exposed ridge where I got a view down into the old volcanic craters of La Malinche. It was utterly amazing being up here.
The summit requires a bit of fun, but not exposed, scrambling. By this point I was so tired, I almost didn’t know if I could make it. There were no-one else to be seen.
And then suddenly a wild dog appeared out of nowhere, scrambled up behind me towards the summit. I was so confused, didn’t know where he came from, or what he did up here. I later discovered that these dogs are friendly roamers of the mountain, living off the generosity of kind climbers.
Now we were at the summit together, just the two of us. I was standing at 4461m, the highest I’ve ever been, and I had made it!
I took a long break on the summit, I was in no hurry. It was really good to just sit down and relax, eat and drink and get my energy back. At least I wasn’t dizzy when I rested, and I knew it would only get easier on the way down.
All together, the hike took just shy of 6 hours, but with the views, the thin air, the new experiences, it felt like I’ve been gone for weeks. I knew I would need to adjust my pace and take Pico de Orizaba a lot more serious than I took La Malinche.
On Orizaba, I could not risk getting altitude sickness, I couldn’t afford pushing on if I was in the same state as I experienced today. And I only had one shot to make it, I wouldn’t have time for a second attempt.
As I stumbled down trough the woods on my way back to the car, I was satisfied, proud, and shit-scared of what’s to come.