Mountaineering: Pico de Orizaba, Mexico

Pico de Orizaba, also known as Citlaltépetl, is a 18,491-foot dormant volcano in Mexico. It is the nation's highest mountain and North America's highest volcano and third highest mountain (after Alaska's Denali and Canada's Mount Logan). Popular routes include the North Face and South Face.

The South Face route leads from a dirt road (~14,800 ft) to Refugio Fausto González Gomar (15,289 ft). Then it continues through sandy terrain, followed by rocky terrain (Los Muñecos), always aiming at El Púlpito. El Púlpito can be passed on the left (site of an airplane crash), and shortly thereafter comes the summit and massive caldera.

The route offers spectacular views of the states of Puebla and Veracruz, and of Popocatépetl, Iztaccíhuatl, and La Malinche volcanoes.