At 5230 metres: climbing Iztaccíhuatl

Foto: Helena Prentis

By: Helena Prentis

To be frank, I thought that climbing Iztaccíhuatl, Mexico’s third-highest mountain, or as the legend says, the sleeping woman to the warrior Popocatépetl, was going to be relatively easy. The city of Puebla itself already has an elevation of 2250 metres above sea level and the National Park where we would start the climb begins at 3000 metres- what’s 2000 metres or so extra!

Well, I was wrong. Feeling reasonably excited on the drive over, being someone who is reasonably fit and enjoys the outdoors, I joined my friends in the ‘It looks so small close up’ comments. My enthusiasm began to fade when I saw the snow boots, ice picks and muscular thighs of the rest of the group, but my friends and I soldiered on. In the very Mexican fashion, we began the hike at 11:00 am, two and a half hours after the original time set, and at about 11:15 am my excitement had swift turned into dread.

For those planning on climbing Iztaccíhuatl, I feel I should add that the first climb which you have to do was for me the hardest, so don’t be discouraged. There were plenty of people of all ages and abilities climbing to various points on the mountain, once again proving to me how wrong the idea is that Mexico is a completely unhealthy place.

After the initial shock you have a reasonably pleasant climb, with a few hairy ascents on some very unstable terrain which will eventually lead you to the ‘refugio’, the metal hut which some climbers sleep in to acclimatise to the altitude before making their final ascent. Now comes the tricky part- at this point you are about 5000 metres, and there is now snow on the group, it was here when I cursed my poor choice of my gym trainers as foot wear. Using a rather terrifying ice pick to half drag yourself up the steep slope, for about an hour you play a mental game of ‘don’t look behind you’ until you reach the top, and the gorgeous view of Popocatépetl. The view at the top is truly spectacular and totally worth the climb.

Not only can you see four states, you can also see all of Mexico’s three highest mountains. After soaking up the view and the pride of you achievement, a very hairy descent follows which was made even more scary by the fact that the sun set about half way down- one tip would be to actually start your ascent on time, climbing down in the dark is not fun.

Once the descent is completed, your are filled with an overwhelming sense of achievement, and a desire to explore more of Mexico’s amazing nature; I would thoroughly recommend the climb to anyone, to enjoy the incredible scenery, learn about Mexico’s myths and to challenge yourself.