Climbing the volcano

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Pucon is in Chile's Lake District in Northern Patagonia. Chileans come here in the thousands during the summer months, and like the English Lake District it is packed during those months. We are currently in the off-season, so it is relatively quiet at the moment. Like the English Lake District it is popular with outdoor enthusiasts who come here for walking, climbing etc., and we came with these sorts of things in mind. Unlike the English Lake District, there are lots of active volcanoes here, and one of the most popular activities is to climb Villarrica (at 2847 m above sea level), one of the most active in the region.

We decide to go up on tour first day here and, for a change, are blessed with good weather (Hence our sunburn). We turn up at the tour company early in the morning, are kitted out (they provide everything) and head off in a minibus to the foot of the volcano. From there we begin our ascent through the snow. Som of the way can be taken on a chairlift (the volcano is a skiing area during the winter), but we opt to walk it (what can I say, we're hardcore), and set off with one of the guides, Julio. The rest of the group go on ahead of us from the top of the chairlift.

As we continue upwards, we pass the top of an old chairlift that was destroyed by an eruption in 1984. Undeterred we continue climbing. At a rest point we meet on of the other guides with someone who has chosen to turn back. We exchange guides (Julio seemed to be flagging, probably because he had spent a month off with a broken leg) and continue upwards with (I think) Rodriguez, who starts at a much faster pace. The climb is steep and we need the ice-axes we were provided with. We were shown how to use them in case we fell and started sliding down the side of the volcanoe. So we zig-zag our way up and arrive, after about 5 hours climbing, at the crater. Unfortunately, we are unable to see any lava (which makes the summit glow red during the night), as there is too much smoke, which chokes us. We are only able to spend 15 minutes at the top, taking photos and admiring the view, before we have to start descending. Now the fun bit...The best way down is to sit down and slide it. Wearing specially designed "nappies", we slide for most of the way down grooves in the snow, sometimes achieving considerable speeds given how steep the sides of the volcano are. We are shown how to use our ice-axes as brakes, though this doesn't really help. Near the bottom, however, the heat of the day has made the snow slushy and sliding ceases to be an option. Walking is no easier as the snow is quite deep, so we stumble our way out of the deep snow and back down to the foot of the volcano.

We spend the evening relaxing in some hot springs further up the valley. Well deserved after an exhausting day on the volcano. Not so good for Jenny's sunburn though, she had even managed to burn her tongue, must have been walking along panting.

Jamie

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Photos

Villaricca Volcano
Wow - isn´t it amazing

Jen half way up
it was soooo steep

The crater
the smoke was all sulphurous

and coming back down
i'm actually going really fast!

Comments

[Rosemary]

Watch that ice-pick
Sounds really hairy, but exciting. Watch what you do with that ice pick Jenny. Try not to break anything.

[Elaine Whitehead]

It really looks stunning - good thing you had good weather. Hope the sunburn is better by now.

[Geoff]

Hardcore Jamie and Jenny
Um, as I remember, things seem to have changed since the Hadrians Wall walk where I can't remember a single volcano! (ah! found my comment!) Are you telling the full truth?

[Nana]

Wow!
Looking at your latest news and pictures on my birthday so it feels as is you're here. What amazing things you're doing. Lots of Love, Nana

[Jamie and Jenny]

A belated happy birthday
Sorry for not wishing you a happy birthday, we have very little concept of time while travelling. Hope it is a good one, and thank you for the comments. It´s nice to hear from home every so often. See you at Christmas. Jamie and Jenny