Mountaineering Iztaccihuatl (5220m)

I live in NYC & wanted a quick trip/rapid ascent of La Malinche & Iztaccihuatl. Carlos was my Guide for La Malnche & Oben was my guide for Iztaccihuatl. Both guys on each ascent were excellent and knowledgeable. Although, I speak Spanish, they both had good English skills and the overall experience was professional and awesome. I made the summit on both mountains and would use Mexico Travesias again in the future.

I booked the two-day Izta summit tour with MT. I was met at the predetermined time by my assigned guide, Johannes. We drove from Condesa to base camp of Izta (about a 1.5-2 hour drive). We set up tents before doing a 3-hour hike around base camp. We returned for dinner and sleep around 5/6pm. We then woke up at 12am to start hiking at 1am. The whole area was gorgeous, with amazing views of Izta and it’s sister Popocatepetl. We made it to summit, and returned to the car around 2-3pm. The experience was equally rewarding and challenging - it required a great deal of mental and physical stamina, especially dealing with altitude and sleep deprivation. Johannes had a load of gear for me, including: tent, pad, sleeping bag, helmet, head lamp, hiking poles, crampons, ice axe, harness and backpack. I’d brought the vast majority of my own gear, and I would recommend bringing a camping pillow and a sleeping bag rated to -20 degrees C (and a sleeping pad unless you’re fine to rest on a yoga mat). Johannes himself was a great guide who spoke English, Spanish and German, and he was an experienced mountaineer. I felt safe with him (not only in regards to technical mountaineering aspects, but also as a solo female traveler). He was very patient and regularly checked in to make sure I was ok. My only critique of the experience is in regards to the lead up: I booked the experience, and received a confirmation email, but I would’ve appreciated a follow up email that detailed the experience, and what to bring, and how to pack it (eg I didn’t know if I could pack my gear in a suitcase or a backpacking backpack). I also didn’t know we’d be staying in tents nor the elevation gain/milage. Furthermore, I’d emailed MT to ask these questions and let them know I was a vegetarian, and received no response. Johannes was unaware of my dietary preferences (because whomever was monitoring the company email either overlooked my email or disregarded it) and all the meals sent with him were with meat.

Great people, the guides are super friendly and have great experience. They put our safety ahead of anything, which made the experience a lot more enjoyable