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Published: January 18th 2009
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Pucon
Volcan Villarrica standing guard The sole purpose of our visit to Pucon, Chile was to climb the active volcano which stands guard above the town. Pucon is located not far from the Chilean border which is shared by Argentina, just before entering the southern part of the country. The town itself, while pleasant enough, is a huge tourist trap servicing a nearby ski resort in the winter and any number of summer activities from hiking to rafting, horseback riding to bike rentals.
Volcan Villarrica was our focus and goal while here and the reason for us making yet another border crossing coming from San Martin de Los Andes before heading south to Bariloche and the hippy town of El Bolson. The volcano summit sits at an elevation of 2847m above sea level and although two thirds of the climb is covered with a permanent snow pack, it is achievable with some basic equipment and no experience is necessary. It is next to impossible to do without a guide mainly because the guards at the entry point are renowned for unfairly turning away unguided hikers/climbers after inspecting their gear. It´s also important to do some research before booking as there are so many agencies offering the
experience. We asked one agency in town to tell us if we would have to turn back if the fumes from the volcano were too strong. Their response implied that the fumes were not toxic due to it being a ´touristic´ volcano. Needless to say we didn't book with this agency!
We initially arrived in Pucon in the afternoon on a stunning blue-bird day with no wind. We were hoping to do the hike the following day day and then leave again the day after so we could continue on our way south and make it in time to Puerto Montt for a Navimag cruise departure. Unfortunately the weather had other plans for us. The forecast wasn't looking great for the next day (the hike still a possibility) and worse the day after. The third day was potentially the best and would be our last opportunity before we had to give up and move on. It all hinged on the weather...
Day # 1; Not to be. We realised it was very unlikely that the hike would go ahead when we woke up, but we were still hopeful and keen. There was cloud sitting above the town and surrounding areas,
Small world
Finally bumped into Shano! and we couldn't even see the volcano. No surprise when we were told to plan something else for the day.
Day # 2; Not to be again! The forecast predicted this to be the worst day of all and this is exactly what we got. Even if the company had insisted on attempting the hike we would have wanted to postpone one more day and wait for better conditions. After all, we didn't make this special trip into Chile to hike half way and be told to turn back. We did make it as far as the trail head (or the car park at the ski resort) and were given the choice at that point.
As it would happen this is where Lottie would run into ´Shano´ (a friend she seems to run into in the most random of places/countries). Of course any attempt at an organised meeting during the previous two months had failed. Running into him at the base of an active volcano at 7am is just random enough to make sense and can be added to the growing list. Proof yet again that is a small world after all.
Day # 3; Woo Hoo, today´s the day.
Getting geared up
Volcan Villarrica Third time lucky, third times a charm and any other superstitious quotations that might apply in this situation (not only the 3rd attempted day but the 3rd company/agency we tried - but that´s another story altogether). The conditions appear to be perfect, blue-bird once again and no wind! Nice. The early start meant that we were setting off shortly before 8am. Overall the hike was quite easy. The hardest section being the first hour from the base to where the chairlift dropped off. There was the option of taking this chairlift for an additional charge of course, but we opted against this (more money for the beers at the end of the day). The snow pack began just above the drop off point from the chairlift, and the trail was very well tracked from this point all the way to the summit. It took about 4 hours from base to summit. The number of people doing the hike was incredible and a bit disappointing, not to mention comical to watch the lines of ants following single file behind and in front of us. At times this made for very slow going which was very frustrating. We were lucky to have
Lotty
After 3 days wait, we finally got some good weather a guide that took some alternative routes in order to overtake some of the slower groups.
There was an apprehensive moment at one of the rest spots when a couple of groups that had set off earlier in the morning were forced to turn back just before the summit due to the toxic fumes, coming from the ´touristic´ volcano, affecting peoples health. We were worried because although the conditions looked perfect, there was still a chance we might not achieve what we had waited three days to do. A short nail-biting session followed. Then we were given the all clear!
We were the second group to reach the summit and basically had the place to ourselves for some time which was a real treat. Looking down into the crater of an active volcano with smoke and toxic gas rising from the centre was an incredible experience. The magma level was too low and therefore not visible to us, but there were magnificent colours in the rocks and soil around the edge from the various minerals. The gas produced by the volcano is odourless and unavoidable when it catches in the back of the throat, the strange rumbling noises which immediately
preceded the fumes were a little disconcerting until we got used to it. With so much going on inside the crater it was easy to neglect the 360 degree views surrounding us. We could clearly make out nearby Volcan Lanin which sits at 3776m. We had come past this on our journey from San Martin de Los Andes to Pucon. Also Volcan Llaima was visible most of the day on the way up and down the northern face.
With the hard work out of the way (the ascent), it was time to have some fun. Getting down took all of about and hour and a half and consisted of a series of natural slides. Steve jumped into this concept head first (literally at some points). Lottie was a little more apprehensive at first having seen the slide paths on the hike up, some of which appeared to catapult off the side of the volcano, but she soon came around to the idea and realised that a little more speed wouldn't go astray.
The only way to celebrate a great day like this is with a few well-earned cervesas in the afternoon sun at Mamas & Tapas. Together with
Cheat!
Some people decide on a lift to save an hours hike our friends Charlotte and JB, this is exactly what we did. And yes, it was well worth waiting 3 days for the right weather!
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Scott and Jodie
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Cool pics guys. Did you watch Dantes Peak before the hike! Steve, when are you going to get a haricut!