I’m Attempting The First Female Infinity Loop of the Highest Peak in Mexico

Originally from Washington state, Ambassador Carlie Graham is now in Southern California where she lives and attends college. When COVID hit, Carlie jumped into backpacking, climbing and mountaineering and hasn’t looked back since. Currently, she runs the climbing team at UC Irvine and is always looking for more ways to get involved in climate advocacy and increasing accessibility to outdoor recreation. Carlie will be the first female to attempt the Infinity Loop on Pico de Orizaba.

Connect with Carlie on instagram at @_carlie_g
Donate to her campaign here: Carlie’s fundraiser

Quick Stats – Infinity Loop on Pico de Orizaba

Total Mileage: 39
Trail Shape: infinity loop (two loops intersecting at the summit)
Trip Length: 9 days
Trailhead: Piedra Grande Hut
Closest town to trailhead: Tlachichuca
Ending point:  Piedra Grande Hut
Closest town to trailend: Tlachichuca
Permit Required: No

What Does “First Female Attempt” Mean?

This adventure being a first female attempt means that no woman has tried the route before. It’s important to not let that be intimidating. For me, I’m not looking to break any record or perform in an exemplary way, and that doesn’t diminish the ambition and work that has gone into planning and preparing for such an intense trip, nor the accomplishment. By getting out, I hope that other women, and also younger people, can see that such wild experiences are within arms reach.

This is a fairly new route, put up exactly a year before my trip. The idea of the infinity loop was coined by late climber and mountaineer, Chad Kellog. Since then, they have popped up on volcanoes around the PNW and have seen very few female attempts. The first all-female team completion of the infinity loop on Mount Rainier happened this past summer (2023) and I can’t tell you how inspiring that was for me.

What Is an “Infinity Loop”?

The idea of the infinity loop was coined by late climber and mountaineer, Chad Kellog with an infinity loop of Rainier in mind. An infinity loop is essentially a sideways 8 with the intersection occurring over the summit of a mountain. One summits a mountain, goes back down the other side, circumnavigates 1 ⁄ 2 of its base and then repeats the summit/ descent and circumnavigates the otherside. For my route, I will be ascending the Jamapa Glacier Route, descending the South Side route and circumnavigating on the ‘Gran Sendero’. Jason Hardarath and Nathan Longhusrt were the first people to attempt this route. The recent completion of the Gran Sendero, the fact that it’s the highest volcano in North America, and the opportunity to bring more people to the mountain were big motivators for them to come to Pico de Orizaba.

5 Things I’m Doing to Prepare for the Pico De Orizaba

1. Endurance work
   • I’ve been working on my cardio and muscular endurance so that my biggest concern won’t be fitness, but altitude. From my experience, long distance running is made possible by long periods of training time and head game. I ran my first 100k in the middle of February. Since then, I’ve been trying to maintain fitness and recover strength and motivation from that intense training block.
2. I’m acclimatizing
   • I am in college but tried to spend as many weekends above 7,000 ft as possible to acclimate (I also spent finals week in the mountains, oops). I am typically pretty strong up to 4,000 meters, but, through acclimation, I hope that my recovery and sleep will be better throughout the trip also.
3. I’m studying
   • Traveling internationally for a climb is a first for me. I’ve spent hours studying not only the route, but what the local accommodations are like, how to best respect the culture, and how to stay safe. This means websites such as summit post, looking up the different routes on youtube and reading trip reports from recent visitors covering their travel and climbing logistics.
4. I’m reaching out to the pros
   • For something this big, the preparation is everything. I’ve been reaching out to Jason and Nathan to ask about gear, navigation, tips for handling the altitude etc.. If you are going for a FKT, it is courtesy to reach out to the previous record holders and let them know (and hope they give you beta).
5. I’m trying to get strong
   • I’ve never done this much elevation gain in a day so I’ve been trying to prepare my body for that stress. This means more than just strength training – I’ve been working on my ankle and hip flexibility/strength so that they can handle being under such an intense angle and weight load for that extended period of time. 

Final Thoughts

I am so excited to embark on this journey, it will be so many firsts for me – high altitude, international travel, large elevation gain and more. Pursuing the outdoors has positively impacted my life for the better. I am thrilled that I had the opportunity to fundraise for girls+. I am grateful to share the positives of being outside that I have been lucky enough to experience. My campaign is still open, and, If you have the means to donate, I encourage you to do so; you would be making a difference!