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Many years ago, the course for the Skymarathon Iztaccíhuatl followed the normal mountaineering route up to the summit of the mountain. That lasted for only a year or two, because the logistics of having some sort of checkpoint at 5,230 meters were too difficult, but also due to many safety reasons for the amount of runners participating.

For this year, I decided to run the original skymarathon course (alone, while the rest of my folks raced the shorter/safer/easier course), honoring my mountaineering skills and finally reaching Iztaccíhuatl’s summit for the unique time in the year (at any of the multiple times I went there for training/climbing along the year, the weather was always crap).

I logged a time of 3:53:17, for the first 13.5 km and 1,627 meters of climb from Paso de Cortés to the summit. When subtracting the 1:07:33 that I made from Paso de Cortés to La Joya, it would make 2:45:44, a new PR from La Joya to the summit via a non-technical route (which I’m pretty sure I can break down a little more…). In total, I finished the whole 27 km roundtrip from Paso de Cortés to the summit and back in 6:21:09, feeling great and chatting with lots of friends along the way.

For sure it was a great way to round up a fantastic year of running and racing. I’m already looking forward to a couple of big projects for 2012, including getting back into regular climbing

The rest of the photos are here or in the slideshow below:

Yeah, what a better way for closing up a stacked year of concerts than attending a gig by the great and brutal Cannibal Corpse?

This was at a festival dubbed The Night Of The Living Dead, and there were 2 other bands (who really sucked ass by-the-way, excuse my French…): The Black Dahlia Murder and Suicide Silence. Honestly, I don’t know why a legendary death metal band such as Cannibal Corpse would line up with those other 2 emo-kiddie acts, but that was an awful combination for all the old farts (like us) attending the gig…

Anyhow, while those bands did their thing, we simply stayed away, drinking beers and having fun of all the skinny kids “moshing” at the front of the stage. Then, when the time came up, we simply jumped into the front rows and beat them up while headbanging at the fat and growling tunes of George “Corpsegrinder” Fisher & company. A tight but full-of-energy setlist, which left no room for taking a single breath. Pure brutality… \m/

Octavio and I attended another great concert last night. This time it was the turn for Dream Theater, who are already veterans at Mexican stages. The opening act was done by Andy McKee, a fingerstyle guitarist that I haven’t heard before but who immediately caught me with his playing. It’s always amazing to see the countless things a good musician is able to do on such a simple instrument as a classical guitar…

Then came the turn for the now legendary Dream Theater, who executed to perfection every single note in their setlist. For me, the highlight was their performance of The Ytse Jam, probably the song that I like the most from them since it was one of the very first technical tunes I learned to play in the electric guitar and because it’s purely instrumental. It was the first time for me to attend one of their gigs (I actually don’t like their vocal style, just their music), and I was very satisfied with the show.

Had a super fun Sunday running from the town of San Rafael up to Chalchoapan hut in Iztaccíhuatl, at the race now dubbed Izta 4000 (formerly El Doblete). It was my first race after a couple of months of recovery and all I can say is that I really felt good.

A was a little slow at the start due to the usual “runner jam” at the almost vertical pipe section at the very beginning of the course, but after that I passed people at a steady pace. I covered the almost 2000 meters of vertical ascent (in 12 km) in about 3 hours 15 minutes, then did my best to not completely burn my quads on the fast descent.

In total, I bested my time from the previous year by 1 hour and 21 minutes, logging a total of 5:17:26 for the roundtrip. Yeah, I’m back in the game

Rest of the photos are here or in the slideshow below:

Had a super fun weekend with Armando while guiding a couple of friends at Pico de Orizaba. We spent 2 days in the mountain, the first one for acclimatizing and hiking a little, the second one for the summit push.

For Sofía it was her first mountaineering adventure, whereas Jaime had some decent experience from wandering around our volcanoes and the Andes some years ago. We had great weather overall, with moderate winds and occasional spindrift while at the Jamapa glacier.

Since I wasn’t roped with my friends, I was able to climb up, down and sideways around the glacier, shooting pictures and easily reaching the summit about 1 hour before them. After a short nap, I downclimbed to the crater’s lower rim, met them and then, all together, made a final walk to the summit. A good amount of clouds set in at that very moment, but we certainly enjoyed our brief time there.

The rest of the day was spent coming down the giant ice field, eating delicious sandwiches and making fun of everything. It’s always great how something so apparently “simple” as a mountain trip can create such special bonds with people. I can easily say I’ve got 2 new friends

Rest of the photos are here or in the slideshow below:

It’s not the first time that Pearl Jam plays a gig in Mexico City, but this was my first time seeing them and, according to many people, last night’s concert was the best they have given here. Their current tour celebrates the first 20 years of the band’s career.

Even though we bought the cheapest tickets for the farthest side of Foro Sol, the sound quality was great, the band performed amazingly and the crowd got so excited that the resulting setlist was really big:

20 years might be easy to say but, to many of us who grew up listening to the tunes of Pearl Jam and other grunge bands from the early 90′s, it evoked some of the greatest memories of our lives

pearl jam – given to fly

he could’ve tuned in, tuned in
but he tuned out
a bad time, nothing could save him
alone in a corridor, waiting, locked out
he got up outta there, ran for hundreds of miles
he made it to the ocean, had a smoke in a tree
the wind rose up, set him down on his knee

a wave came crashing like a fist to the jaw
delivered him wings, “hey, look at me now”
arms wide open with the sea as his floor
oh, power, oh

he’s… flying
whole
high… wide, oh

he floated back down ’cause he wanted to share
his key to the locks on the chains he saw everywhere
but first he was stripped and then he was stabbed
by faceless men, well, fuckers
he still stands

and he still gives his love, he just gives it away
the love he receives is the love that is saved
and sometimes is seen a strange spot in the sky
a human being that was given to fly

high… flying
oh, oh
high… flying
oh, oh
he’s flying
oh, oh…

Tough days lately, lifewise. Strange things going on. Lots of revelations. Difficult decisions. Forced detachment. Depression. Only hoping to reach the real bottom of this and get out of it soon… Clarity is coming along in a really unexpected and painful way. Better things are looming ahead as long as I can make peace with all of this…

It would be easy to underestimate but, 10 years really is a lot of time… This is the amount of time we have had the privilege to enjoy the amazing Banff Mountain Film Festival in Mexico, due to the great effort from my friends from El Séptimo Grado.

I’ve been fortunate enough to attend each of the 10 editions, which have always been a great opportunity to reconnect with old climbing friends and to get loads of inspiration from many adventurers from around the world.

This year I won’t be writing a brief review of each of the films but will only highlight the special guest we had: Reinhold Messner. Indeed, the greatest mountaineer from all times visited Mexico and gave a special conference before the festival’s closure.

For many of us who have been wandering around the mountains it was a truly unique occasion, the author of many revolutionary climbs and of classic mountaineering books came here to share with us not his accomplishments but his profound insights after a whole life dedicated to adventure. It was really great to see such an icon in his most down-to-earth form, a mature and sober human being

After 2 weeks nursing my knees and a few short (6-9 km) and easy runs (my short hike at the Q50 La Sportiva México included), I can say that I’m feeling about 95% recovered from tissue damage in my legs. I still need to re-develop muscle mass in my quadriceps (specifically in the right Vastus medialis), but that’s something doable in the short term. What will definitely require a lot more time is the accumulated fatigue my body has. This hasn’t been an issue during these short outings but I’m pretty sure this will arise as long as I attempt to do more distance. Racing is out of the plans from now until mid-November at the best. More to report in the upcoming weeks…

Octavio and I got another night of the best technical death metal worldwide. Decapitated came back to Mexico City for their 2nd show ever and they didn’t disappoint as always. The act took place at Multiforo Cultural Alicia, which got really crowded. Two Mexican bands opened the show.

Decapitated’s setlist was short but extremely powerful. A little more than 1 hour of brutal music, with special emphasis on their latest album Carnival Is Forever. One of the highlights of the gig was the amazing performance of Krimh, the band’s new drummer (after the tragic loss of Vitek in 2007), but most importantly, their relaxed attitude with us after the show. Almost everyone got an autograph, a picture or a short chat with any of the band members. Really humble folks

Here’s my trophy from yet another night of musical ecstasy, a signed copy of their new album, which along with my previous souvenir from their past visit will make a valuable collection in the years to come:

decapitated – a view from a hole

so what do you do for a living?
i dug holes
and what do you put in there?
i bury hopes

born in the shadow of babylon
i speak in tongues but don’t understand a word
i know how to wield a sword
but never learned how to plough
i know how to build castles mountain high
that are bound to fall
i’m not a coward but i hide behind the words
i play my songs, winds carry them home

i know the science but the science doesn’t know me
and every now and then i burn rome
my children rule this world
but they’re raised to fail

world owes you nothing
promised you nothing
and nothingness swallows it all
don’t curse, don’t run
don’t fight, don’t fear
grow up before you grow old

i really hoped that if i dig long enough
i’d find hell-fire, pain and death
but it’s just mud and some plastic bags…