Climbing the Mexican Volcanoes 1993

18,491 feet. Pico de Orizaba. Or Citlaltépetl in Aztec. Our climbing party was at the top, clustered around the jumble of crosses there, still on the rope, in crampons with ice axes plunged into the snow. One of the guides, maybe Ricardo our head guide, brought out a bottle of champagne, popped the cork with a great burst at this altitude, and passed it around. We had just completed our third volcano and the highest mountain in Mexico. It felt good to celebrate after hours of trudging up and up, one step after another, slowly and then more slowly, sometimes pulled by a gentle tug of the rope in thinning air. We all felt a bit giddy at this elevation, despite days of acclimation, and the champagne added to the elation.

Climbing the Mexican Volcanoes is hard work, as you'll see in this travel chronicle. This is another in a series of adventure trips, this time in 1993 down to Mexico.