Jamapa Glacier initiative collects farewell letters on Pico de Orizaba

A group of mountaineers and journalists has launched an initiative titled ‘Cartas al glaciar Jamapa, el último de México’ (Letters to the Jamapa Glacier, the last in Mexico) to document the disappearance of the country’s final glacier.

Located on the Pico de Orizaba, the Jamapa Glacier has seen its surface area shrink from 0.46 to 0.37 square kilometers between 2019 and 2024, a reduction of nearly 20 percent in five years. The project, led by journalist Rodrigo Soberanes and the media outlet La Marea, involves carrying a mailbox up the mountain to collect letters, audio messages, and drawings from climbers and local community members.

The expedition begins with an ascent via the north face of the volcano, aiming to reach the summit by dawn on Saturday, October 18. Following the ascent, the mailbox will travel through the Jamapa River basin to Coscomatepec and eventually to the coast in Veracruz. The journey is scheduled to conclude on November 7 at a bookstore in the port of Veracruz, where the collected messages will be opened to reflect on the glacier and the surrounding ecosystems.