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Published: December 5th 2007
We arrived in Pucon to fulfill a childish ambition to climb an active volcano. However, we were completely ignorant of how difficult the actual task would be!
A 4:00am wake-up call greeted us with beautiful weather and our Chilean guides handing us crampons and ice picks... no doubt amused at the bewildered looks on our faces!
As the sun rose, we were provided beautiful views of Volcano Villarrica and the surrounding area. Pucon is located in a region known as the Lakes District, a fact which was apparent from the stunning lakes and snow-capped Andes which stretched out into the distance as we began our ascent.
The summit of the volcano sits at 2,847 metres above sea level (Mount Kosciosko is 2,200metres above sea level) and the climb of 1,500 metres was to take 6 hours to complete. This is no small task given the majority of the trek involved trudging over snow and ice, clinging onto ice picks for dear life as the wind did its best to send us tumbling down the mountain. Our guide had shown us what to do in the event of a fall... but it did nothing to lessen the panic!
Whilst we eventually reached the summit without casualty, we both agree that the trek was one of the most physically demanding things either of us have undertaken. A fact which was reinforced by the many people we saw later in the day turning back down the volcano, having accepted that the task was too difficult.
Unfortunately, the volcano has been rather quiet over the past few weeks and rather than being greeted with molten lava leaping into the air (as the boyhood dream envisaged), we were only greeted with dark sulphorous fumes. We were only able to withstand 15 minutes of these fumes before we decided the dream had been satisfied and it was time to head back down the mountain.
Possibly the most enjoyable part of the trek was the trip down... We were carrying canvas ¨nappies¨which we strapped on and then proceeded to throw ourselves down the mountain, sliding the enire way in just over an hour. Aside from the odd ice block threatening to cause serious injury in rather personal areas, it was a brilliant way to rest tired legs. Added to this fun was the sadistic pleasure taken in seeing the groups who started
We´re walking up that??!!
If you look carefully you can see the chairlift ascending part of the volcano which we DID NOT catch!the climb at 7:00am still climbing the volcano in strengthening winds, knowing exactly the pain they were about to endure.
The following couple of days in Pucon was spent doing very little other than limping around town nursing our injuries. The only other activity undertaken was a zip-line canyon tour which was rather fun and dirt cheap. Also included in the zip-line tour was an entrance pass to a nearby thermal park... an experience which could only be described as disappointing. The water was more tepid than thermal and (as seems to be typical of South America) there were a lot of overweight locals using the thermals for personal hygiene and cleaning rather than relaxation. Needless to say, we didn´t stay long.
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