2016

Well after some time of inactivity in the big mountains, Team Cinco Hombres has awoken for a new adventure- Mexico!  We gathered at Billy's house in December of 2015 to discuss options and made a final decision in February to climb Itzaccihualt (17,160 ft) and Pico de Orizaba (aka Citlaltepetl) (18,491 ft).  These are 2 volcanos in central Mexico.  Pico is the 3rd highest mountain in North America and both would give us a good altitude test in planning for the higher mountains of the world.  We will head to these mountains on January 12th 2017.  Team Cinco Hombres is adding an addition climbing member, Pete, a friend of Derrill's.  Pete has climbed these mountains in Mexico and will be an asset for logistical planning, plus he speaks Espanol.  

Let the training begin!  In December we mapped out monthly training time in the Colorado mountains which consisted of 2 winter camping over nights and a bunch of skinning/skiing day trips. In addition to this, a last minute opportunity fell into my lap.  I registered for a professional education course in Portland, OR and took this opportunity to look at climbing both Mt. Hood (11,250 ft) and Mt Adams (12,280 ft).  I threw this out to the team and only Billy was able to accompany me.  So the two of us had 5 weeks to prepare for our 5/16/2016 climbs.  It was time to break out the climbing ropes, harnesses and tools.  Mt. Hood requires a greater amount of mountaineering skills due to the steeper terrain (40-50 degree slopes) and the possibility of ice to climb.  There are crevasses to negotiate, though less than Rainier, and the weather can be pretty poor.  How exciting!  

Billy, myself, Jeff and Derrill trained on St Mary's glacier last weekend with 12+ inches of snow. Billy and I will practice rope skills tomorrow and most likely return to St Mary's on Saturday, which will conclude our on mountain training until we arrive at Hood.  If all goes well we will plan on moving to Mt Adams after Hood on either May 17th or 18th for a 2 day climb to the summit.  Mt Adams is a long approach on a much less technical route.  We will fly back to Denver on the 20th.  

Here are some fun pics of our 2016 outings and training: