Orizaba & Ixtaccihuatl

RMI's 9-day Mexico Volcanoes program is the most efficient way to get a U.S. climber onto two glaciated 17,000- and 18,000-foot peaks back-to-back. The terrain is non-technical glacier travel — crampons, ice axe, rope team — with an "airy ridge walk" defining Ixta's summit and the long, sustained Jamapa Glacier defining Orizaba. A strong next step after Mount Rainier and an excellent altitude check before Denali.

Skip buying boots, crampons, and a 65L pack you'll only use a handful of times. Our rental shop in Ashford fits and ships the heavy items maintained by staff who climb Rainier every season — so the kit that lands at your hotel in Puebla is dialed before you start the drive to La Malinche.

This collection mirrors RMI's official equipment list for the Mexico Volcanoes program. RMI specifies single mountaineering boots (with double as a cold-weather option), a five-plus-layer upper body system, and a 65L+ pack — calibrated for non-technical 18,000-foot glacier climbs with pre-dawn starts and warm afternoon descents.