Advertisement
Published: March 25th 2009
Edit Blog Post
Pucon, Chile was our first stop in the Lakes District of South America. It is just the end of summer down here, but still warm enough for shorts, t-shirts and a bit of swimming. Pucon is a small adventure town that offers kayaking, white water rafting, fly-fishing, and a trek to the top of Villarica Volcano, which is a snow capped active volcano that sits at the edge of town. We were informed by other travelers that the volcano trek was followed by a slide down ice chutes carved down the side of the mountain and we were excited to give it a try. We found a trekking outfit that provided all the ¨necessary¨ equipment (ie. ice picks, crampons, mounteering boots, and some hardcore outfits...should we be concerned???) They also offered to throw in a trip to the local hot springs for a couple dollars more! What more could we ask for?
The next evening we bought a bottle of wine (which was later confiscated at the hot springs, that we promptly retrieved from the garbage after the fun police left) slipped into our swim suits and were off to a nightime dip into natural hot springs under a full
moon and a sky full of stars. We crossed paths with two guys from the states (U. of Fl and U. of SC) who were studying in Buenos Aires and had some good laughs...esp over the ¨super mierda¨ story. The hot springs were constructed from boulders and river rocks, had sand bottoms and ranged in temps from bath water to hot tub temperatures. There were ice cold showers also available so that when you overheated a 5 second ice shower would cool you off. The hot springs were located in the middle of nowhere. The only lights provided were random lights on the paths between pools... it was a neat place and a great experience.
The next morning came early as Chrissy and I, and our new travel partner Mel (from Sydney) walked to Sur Expediciones, the outfitter at 6:30 am. We were handed a backpack with equipment, loaded into a van, and were off to the volcano. (Funny thing is... there are never any ¨safety talks¨ down here prior to doing extreme things like this!) The mountain was windy but clear and mostly sunny and we promptly started the ascent behind one of the 3 guides. After about
2.5 hours we reached the snow line and were informed to put on the helmets, extra gear, and given the crash course on saving yourself with an ice axe... now we´re feeling extra tough! From where we were sitting it was about a 10min walk up to the snow ledge... as we approached this point we found ourselves suddenly being blown around by 50 mph winds and on a trail that led out of sight along the crest of the mountain! I now find myself trying to remember the ice pick manuever we just learned...ha! (Chrissy: I was thinking... what the heck did we sign up for- and seriously WHY are we doing this?) Fortunately we took it slow and eventually the trail meandered away from the Edge so we were able to enjoy the view without wondering whether the ice pick manuever would be required! After another 3hour hike up with close encounters and a couple run away boulders (now i know what the little plastic helmet is for) We MADE IT! YUM... Breath in that sulfur air! The view was incredible, making it to the top was unbelievable and wondering about the descent was unnerving.
After a
quick lunch of ham and cheese sandwiches and chocolate (which seem to be the staple backpacker diet) we were led back down the mountain to our first ice chute! What a ride! Our packs contained this duct-taped cordura ¨diaper¨ that we strapped on to save the pants and provide speed, and our handy dandy ice axe/picks were to be used as a brake to slow us down. The ice axe brake manuever was another one that could end badly if done incorrectly...especially at high speeds 😊 Chrissy proved to be a good example of this hazard as her pick was jammed thru her mountaineering pants, her trekking pants, and long underwear to leave a perfectly round (and very colorful) bruise surrounding the incision! Altogether, our descent only took two hours and over half of it was on the ice slides. Chrissy and I both had some nice bruises, but thankfully no permanent damage...and we live to volcano sled another day!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.1s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 11; qc: 57; dbt: 0.0579s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Jared
non-member comment
Great views
Looks like you guys are having a great time. Those are beautiful pictures and I am certain it is an experience you will always remember. Safe travels.