Serpent’s Head, Orizaba. On January 10, from the hut on the west side of Orizaba, Wink Barrons and I made a new route by the rightmost (southernmost) waterfall on the cliff below the Sarcófago. We soloed three rope-lengths at the bottom of the route and then roped up for four pitches, taking the rope off for the final three or four rope-lengths on the glacial headwall. (Canadian Grade 3.) There can be objective danger from rockfall caused by melt-out on the headwall. We found six screws sufficient, giving two for each belay and two for runners. On the top of the headwall we joined the normal route at 17,000 feet and continued on to the top of Orizaba. We descended the normal west-face route without difficulty.

Barry Blanchard, Alpine Club of Canada