Hello SPers,

Has anyone ever dealt/used with Orizba mountain guides? Just looking for opinions.

Thanks
Ahsan

Nord Sandstrom used them, "Oso" Roberto Flores? was his guide who runs the organization. I met some others who used his guide service when I was there, and all of them were very happy with him. The day before I left for Piedra Grande the group returned to the Canchola's where I was staying and an older client just realized he had left his passport at the hut! Oso took him back there without giving him a hard time. He is a good guy and you wouldn't be disappointed.

You could PM Nord (Balletboy on Summitpost) for his impressions- he is in Peru at the moment.

Woodie

He was our guide last October for Orizaba and Ixta and we have only good things to say about him. Very friendly and nobody knows Orizaba like he does. I think he's climbed it over 150 times. Excellent cook too.

I bumped into a couple of them when i skiied orizaba last december. The Jamapa glacier is a very non-technical route, a guide seems like a little overkill to me, but thier clients seemed really pleased, although none of them summited as it was "too icy to climb" which made for some scary skiing.

Thanks a lot everyone for your help. Lots of great information.

I climbed Ixta and Orizaba with Oso and I'd highly recommend him as well.

I had originally planned on doing the climbs without a guide. However, after two folks I knew had some unfortunate luck on their trip to Mexico, I decided to use Oso. I wound up having a great time in Mexico, and was very happy with my decision. If you choose to use a guide, you can't go wrong with Oso!

I did not climb with "Oso", but I did meet him at the trailhead of Ixta... He seemed really nice and very helpful with route beta, etc.
Even though I did not climb with him - his clients seemed very happy and "Oso" had a great attitude and was fun right off the bat...
Seems like a great decision,
Good luck

Thanks you all for the information. I am sold on oso.

Thanks again

Sorry folks for this bogus post but I am excited and wanted to start a countdown.
<a href="http://www.eferesen.org/mexico.html" target="window_name">Countdown</A>

Just got back from 11 days with Oso in Mexico. 5 of us from Alaska used OMG for all transport, food, lodging, sightseeing, guiding, gear watching services. You really don't need a guide for the Mexican volcanoes, and this was actually my first guided trip. But, but not having to worry about driving, where to stay, food, theft, etc was a nice treat. Plus Oso, Javier and Pablo were great company and added a lot to the local experience. We hiked up Nevado de Toluca, La Malinche, Izta, Orizaba, and Sierra Negra. We alternated one day climbing, one day sightseeing pyramids, markets and festivals. Great trip with a top notch company. He charges about half what US-based companies charge. Google OMG website for details.

I just returned from a second trip with OMG to hike up Cofre de Perote, a 14,000 ft peak north of Orizaba. Again, Oso's experience made this quick trip effortless on my part. You can certainly organize these trips on your own for much less, but he is half the price of a US based guide company. He takes all the worry out from the planning and logistics. You can also customize your trip to include sightseeing, rafting, biking, or other adventures. Two thumbs up for Oso and his crew.