Orizaba, Mexico

When people think of adventures in Mexico, they often conjure up visions of warm weather associated with good surf breaks, killer food, and cold cervezas. Most do not realize that there are massive glaciated mountains right in the heart of the country. A series of active to dormant volcanoes blessed with cool sounding Nahuatl names make up the eastern end of the Trans-Mexican Volcano belt and rise to heights over 18,000 feet in altitude. 

Ryan Waters regularly guides the tallest of them, Pico de Orizaba, the third tallest mountain in North America. In a relatively short trip of a week, he did everything from share chalapas and tequila with locals to standing at the dramatic crater rimmed summit with views reaching across to the ocean. 

Images courtesy of Ryan Waters and Eric Larsen.