Climbing a Volcano

After walking on a glacier, my next challenge was climbing a volcano. After two days of travelling from El Charlten we arrived in Pucon, Chili. A small resort town, it is located at the foot of the Villarrica volcano, one of Chili´s most active volcanoes. The town is quite modern and reminded me of similar resort towns in Colorado. (The volcano from a distance below)

From Patagonia

Early the next day we set out with our guide to climb the volcano. While the volcano also offers skiing in the winter, the only way to the top is on foot. Following our guide we moved forward in single file and after an hour and a half we reached the snow line. There we stopped to put on crampons and reviewed how to use our ice picks to stop us from sliding down the mountain in the event we lost our footing, for the next part of the trek was uphill at about 45 degrees.

From Patagonia

Following a switchback pattern, we slowly ascended toward the summit. About an hour into the second part of our trek we passed a thirty year old concrete shell of a ski lift that was destroyed by an eruption in 1973. Thankfully the owners had gotten the hint and decided to build on a different part of the mountain for their next attempt. With the smell of sulphur everywhere we reached the summit and enormous smoking crater (see below). With Pucon below us and another volcano in the distance and countless other mountains around it, it was an amazing view. Perhaps the only drawback was the 100 or other people up at the summit as part of other tours.

From Patagonia

After 30 minutes at the top we started our descent, slowing navigating our way to the snowline, lest we slip and slide all the way down. Reaching the snowline we removed the crampons and other gear which we had needed and were able to bound down the rest of the volcano, as the volcanic ash was as soft as sand. Racing down the mountain it took us less than an hour to reach our transport and a ride home.