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Published: April 30th 2010
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Happy birthday Alastair and Roey!
We were all pleasantly surprised that after 3 days of continuous downpours we awoke to a clear sunny day. We were taken to volcano Villarica by our guides Claudio, Richard and Christian, after being kitted out with trousers, jackets, ice picks, helmets, crampons, gaiters, gloves and some hardcore hiking boots. Our first view of the volcano, which had been shrouded by clouds the previous day, drew gasps of excitement from everyone. The stereotypical, conical shape, mostly covered in snow and clearly smoking. I started to get a little nervous.
Chris and I started out at the front, and were surprised by the guide's very slow pace. It was a little frustrating, but we assumed he was pacing us. The group split into three almost immediately, with a couple of people wanting to quit after a few hundred metres, feeling the effects of the altitude and steepness. But the guides from Trancura were brilliant - encouraging everyone on and allowing us to go at our own paces. After 90 minutes we started to struggle with the progressively icy and snowy conditions underfoot (well I certainly did) so on went the crampons and out came the
ice picks, and I felt a lot more confident.
We were soon above the level of the clouds, but still able to see the lake below, spectacular. After 3 hours of climbing a 30-45 degree slope, we met another group who were on their descent after not having reached the crater, due to the dangerous icy conditions. Our guide wanted to have a look for himself, but not until after teaching us how to use the ice pick to self arrest if we fell over and rolled down the snow! He pushed each of us over in turn to test how well we listened! We then began our steepest ascent so far, the fierce wind adding to the challenge. We reached a ridge at 2400m, on either side of which were two very steep slopes, one of which was pure ice, which the guide warned that even an experienced climber would fall for hundreds of metres before being able to stop. I have never been scared of heights until this point, and I teetered on the edge while photos were taken (mostly of my bum as I didn't want to change my position). The guide explained we had a
two hour climb to the crater at 2847m. He decided it was too dangerous to continue given the icy conditions, which I was more than happy with after seeing for myself. But we now faced the challenge of getting back down from our precarious location, and my anxiety must have been apparent in my facial expression as one of the guides immediately took my hand to steady me down the trickiest bits (in my defence, I think all of the girls got assistance). The descent was tough on my knee but the adrenalin rush saw me through. Then came the best bit - we strapped on what can only be described as a nappy like item ready to slide the rest of the way on our bottoms! Took me a while to think of leaning back to go faster, but was really fun all the same.
Best day of our travels so far!!
Chris's Corner The slow pace to start with was definitely not what I expected after the W trek, finding myself on the lead guide's heels repeatedly, but I guess it was good to keep the group together. The scenery was breathtaking and I relaxed,
finding myself in no hurry to miss out on the views on the way up. It was spectacular at some heights to be above the clouds and also see the town and lake below them, if only pictures could do it justice! How much fun is climbing ice and snow with crampons and ice picks!!
At the ridge where we turned back the guides appeared to do a "role call" of ability in Spanish, assessing us all for those that might be able to carry on. A no to most, a maybe to someone (I think Soph), and yeses to just Andrew, Duncan and myself. I wanted to carry on, but as the guides had recommended turning back, it would have invalidated our insurance, not worth the gamble. Bring on the volcano in Ecuador I say!
Sliding back, I attempted a couple of videos of Sophie, making the experience even more fun for me, as my hands occupied with my camera were not able to control an ice pick break. We all concluded that the lesser price was in no way correlated to service, as the guides were great and the day became a favourite for most, especially
Sophie! Sophie thought it more than made up for missing glacier trekking in el Chalten.
Back in town, we developed a new favourite restaurant, having a mid afternoon snack. They served giant wholemeal empanadas (Antarctic krill and cheese for me) amongst other well priced dishes and two for one drinks. So much so we also came back for dessert after dinner.
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