Plan 01 · 4 days
Via La Malinche
3,880 m→4,461 m→5,636 m
A real summit with no glacier on day two, then a night in a cabin near the mountain instead of driving back to the city.
$1,282Per person, 2 climbers
Pico de Orizaba · Private & guided
Pico, properly
acclimatized.5,636 m · 18,491 ft · three plans, one summit
One goal: the highest point in Mexico. Everything in the days before it exists to put you on that summit instead of turning you around below it.
- Plans4 or 7 days
- Summit5,636 m
- GlacierJamapa
- On the glacier2:1 climbers : guide
- Starts inMexico City
- SeasonYear-round
// The problem
Why most climbers turn around
The schedule fails them, not their fitness.
People fly in for Pico de Orizaba, sleep two nights in Mexico City at 2,240 m, drive straight to the hut at 4,260 m and start climbing at midnight. They are strong enough. They are simply not acclimatized, and the mountain sends them down at the edge of the glacier.
Each plan on this page fixes the schedule. Every climbing day is higher than the last, with the same guide from the first morning to the summit, so by the time you step onto the Jamapa glacier your guide already knows how you move, how you eat and how you handle the dark.
// Three ways to get there
Pick the days you have
All three end the same way: a night at the Piedra Grande hut and a 1 a.m. start onto the Jamapa glacier. What changes is how you get your body ready before it.
Plan 02 · 4 days
Via Izta Refugio
3,880 m→4,780 m→5,636 m
The highest you can walk near Mexico City in one push, on the shoulder of Iztaccíhuatl, the day before you head east.
$1,156Per person, 2 climbers
Plan 03 · 7 days
Via Izta summit
3,880 m→4,461 m→5,230 m→5,636 m
The full rehearsal: a night at camp, a midnight start, crampons and rope on Izta. If you can do Izta, you are ready for Pico.
$1,765Per person, 2 climbers
Arriving already acclimatized from another range? Say so and we compress the plan and give you the days back.
// Day by day
The days, one plan at a time
Pickup is at your hotel in Mexico City. Every plan sleeps at the Piedra Grande hut the night before the summit.
Day 1Ajusco
Ajusco
Half a day on Mexico City's own mountain, up to Pico del Águila. You sleep in the city.
Day 2Malinche
La Malinche
A full day to a real summit. You sleep in a cabin near the mountain, with dinner and breakfast, instead of driving back to Mexico City.
Day 3Hut
Up to Piedra Grande
East to Tlachichuca, then 4x4 up the mountain road. No climbing today. You sleep at the hut.
Day 4Summit
Pico de Orizaba
A 1 a.m. start through the Labyrinth by headlamp, then onto the Jamapa glacier while it is still frozen. Guides are 2:1 on the glacier. Back to Mexico City the same day.
Day 1Ajusco
Ajusco
Half a day on Mexico City's own mountain, up to Pico del Águila. You sleep in the city.
Day 2Refugio
Refugio de los Cien
A full day on the shoulder of Iztaccíhuatl and home the same night, with Popocatépetl venting across the pass.
Day 3Hut
Up to Piedra Grande
From Mexico City east to Tlachichuca, then 4x4 up the mountain road. You sleep at the hut.
Day 4Summit
Pico de Orizaba
A 1 a.m. start through the Labyrinth by headlamp, then onto the Jamapa glacier while it is still frozen. Guides are 2:1 on the glacier. Back to Mexico City the same day.
Day 1Ajusco
Ajusco
Half a day on Mexico City's own mountain, up to Pico del Águila. Short, and it tells your guide exactly how you move before anything is at stake.
Day 2Malinche
La Malinche
A full day to a real summit, and home the same night. Your first time above 4,000 m, on a different mountain, so Izta is new ground when you get there.
Day 3Rest
Rest & gear
No guide, no mountain. Recovery, a gear check, and anything you still need to buy. We tell you where.
Days 4-5Izta
Iztaccíhuatl
Camp at La Joya, then a midnight summit push. Crampons, rope, the whole rehearsal. If you can do Izta, you are ready for Pico.
Day 6Hut
Up to Piedra Grande
East to Tlachichuca, then 4x4 up the mountain road. No climbing today. You sleep high and the altitude keeps working for you.
Day 7Summit
Pico de Orizaba
A 1 a.m. start through the Labyrinth by headlamp, then onto the Jamapa glacier while it is still frozen. Guides are 2:1 on the glacier. The highest point in Mexico.
// Price
Price
On the four-day plans, every mountain is ten percent below its own published price. The seven days cost exactly what the four mountains cost on their own, and your rental gear comes included. Nothing is hidden: Ajusco, La Malinche, Izta Refugio, Iztaccíhuatl and Pico de Orizaba each have their own page and price, and you can add them up yourself.
Every figure is per person, in USD. The price depends on the size of the group: if someone drops out, it moves to the row above.
A booking fee of 35 percent confirms your dates and your guide, and comes off the total. The balance is due at the end of the expedition. Paying it in cash avoids the 5 percent card processing fee.
TeamMalinche4 daysRefugio4 daysIzta summit7 days
Solo$1,974$1,804$2,640
2 climbers$1,282$1,156$1,765
3 climbers$1,147$1,057$1,555
4 climbers$1,120$1,030$1,525
5 or more$1,057$967$1,455
Included
- The same professional English-speaking guide on every mountain, 2:1 on the Pico glacier
- All ground transport from Mexico City, including the 4x4 to and from Piedra Grande
- Crampons, ice axe, harness, helmet and rope
- The hut night at Piedra Grande, the cabin near La Malinche on that plan, and camp at La Joya on the seven days, with tents, sleeping bags and pads
- All mountain meals, water and snacks, park fees, live GPS tracking and satellite emergency comms
- On the seven days, your rental gear too. Mountaineering boots, down jacket, hard shell and gloves
Not included
- Flights and city hotels. You pick where you sleep, we pick you up there
- Personal clothing, and your boots on the four-day plans. We send a list and rent you what you are missing
- Travel and medical insurance
- Meals in the city
// Questions
Before you pick
At least four days, each one higher than the last. Our shortest plan is four days: a warm up on Ajusco, a full day above 4,400 m, a night at the Piedra Grande hut, and the summit. With a week, the seven day plan adds the Iztaccíhuatl summit as a full rehearsal on crampons and rope.
Because the schedule is what sends most people down. Two nights in Mexico City at 2,240 m and a midnight start from 4,260 m is not enough time at altitude, however fit you are. The plans on this page put you higher every day before you reach the glacier.
If you have a week, the seven days via the Iztaccíhuatl summit. If you have four, both short plans work: via La Malinche you stand on a real summit and sleep near the mountain, via Izta Refugio you reach 4,780 m the day before you head east. Tell us your dates and your background and we will tell you which one fits.
Yes. If you arrive from another range, say so and we compress the plan and give you the days back.
We guide it year-round. November to March is the prime window.
// Start your expedition
Tell us your week
Your dates, which plan fits them and your climbing background. You get a real itinerary back, built for the days you are actually here, not a brochure.
Plan my climbPico de Orizaba is guided year-round, with November to March the prime window. Tell us the week you land and we build the days around it.