Ascent of Cerro Ajusco on 2012-01-06| Others in Party: | Ryan Courtney -- Trip Report or GPS Track
Duane Gilliland
Adam Helman -- Trip Report or GPS Track
Collin Kamholz
Bob Packard
Greg Slayden -- Trip Report or GPS Track
----Only Party on Mountain | | Date: | Friday, January 6, 2012 | | Ascent Type: | Successful Summit Attained | | Motorized Transport to Trailhead: | Car | | Peak: | Cerro Ajusco | | Location: | Mexico | | Elevation: | 12917 ft / 3937 m |
Ascent Trip ReportThis peak was climbed two days after Cerro la Joya.
After a night in the Via Veneto Ramada hotel, we left early and drove through the already manic Mexico City traffic to the Ajusco trailhead (N19.22871 W99.26765, 3270m). The paved road was gated off so we paid 20 pesos per vehicle to park by the children's play area at the start of the road.
We started at 8 am, hiking up the road a short way to a bend (N19.22617 W99.26758), with a footbridge over a shallow ravine. It is possible to cross the ravine directly at this point, then follow a trail R along the far bank. However, we kept R of the ravine on an obvious trail but this soon runs out: we crossed the ravine here, at a dry dam and took a steep trail up the other side to meet a wider trail from the L, which we followed uphill to a junction (N19.22297 W99.26712) where we turned L. We soon reached another junction (N19.22282 W99.26619). The R branch leads directly to the summit. We took the L branch which goes via the nice rocky sub peak Pico de Aguila. The trail initially contours L then heads steeply up the ridge. Near the summit of Pico de Aguila the ridge narrows to a nice rocky arete; the summit has several rocky outcrops and crosses, with a fine view; Ajusco itself doesn't look that much higher. The GPS gave N19.21300 W99.25703, 3895m, P70m approx.
From Pico de Aguila a clear, rather eroded trail descends to the R then grassy slopes are climbed, via a minor bump, to the summit which is marked by a large cross, a shelter cairn and the stump of a prismoidal concrete triangulation pillar (N19.20755 W99.25813, 3945m). We'd had views of Ixtaccihuatl and Popocatapetl on the ascent but they were in cloud by the time we summitted at 10:30.
We lazed for an hour then headed down the more direct route, initially gentle then quite steep with some loose rocks.
We were down about 1pm and enjoyed delicious blue corn quesadillas at "Vicky's" just across the road from where we were parked.
We then took the paved road across the mountain (avoiding the city traffic), driving via Toluca city to the Nevado de Toluca approach road where we camped for the night, ready for our Toluca ascent the next day.
Ajusco photo album
A trip summary/overview can be found at the end of my Orizaba report
For a comprehensive illustrated description of the whole trip, see Adam Helman's expedition report |
| Summary Total Data | | Total Elevation Gain: | 2649 ft / 807 m | | Total Elevation Loss: | 2649 ft / 807 m | | Round-Trip Distance: | 4.5 mi / 7.2 km | | Grade/Class: | YDS 2+ | | Quality: | 7 (on a subjective 1-10 scale) | | Route Conditions: | Maintained Trail, Unmaintained Trail, Scramble | | Weather: | Pleasant, Calm, Clear | | Ascent Statistics | | Gain on way in: | 2419 ft / 737 m | | Gain Breakdown: | Net: 2189 ft / 668 m; Extra: 230 ft / 70m | | Loss on way in: | 230 ft / 70 m | | Distance: | 2.2 mi / 3.6 km | | Route: | N ridge, via Pico Aguila | | Start Trailhead: | Normal trailhead (NW) 10728 ft / 3269 m | | Time: | 2 Hours | | Descent Statistics | | Loss on way out: | 2419 ft / 737 m | | Loss Breakdown: | Net: 2189 ft / 668 m; Extra: 230 ft / 70m | | Gain on way out: | 230 ft / 70 m | | Distance: | 2.2 mi / 3.6 km | | Route: | NW ridge | | End Trailhead: | Normal trailhead (NW) 10728 ft / 3269 m | | Time: | 1 Hours 30 Minutes | GPS Data for Ascent/Trip
 GPS Waypoints - Hover or click to see name and lat/long
Peaks:  climbed and  unclimbed by Rob Woodall
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Note: GPS Tracks may not be accurate, and may not show the best route. Do not follow this route blindly. Conditions change frequently. Use of a GPS unit in the outdoors, even with a pre-loaded track, is no substitute for experience and good judgment. Peakbagger.com accepts NO responsibility or liability from use of this data.
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