November 18, 2013 - Villarrica Volcano, Pucon, Chile
Still not enough folks joined the volcano climb with the company I chose so I was referred to a different agency. It turned out to be a bit cheaper and our group was quite a lot of fun. The full day tour including all the gear was 46,000 pesos. We were driven up to the edge of the volcano and dropped off. Conveniently enough there is also a ski resort on the volcano so we got to take the ski lift (for an additional 8,000Pesos) up the volcano to save about an hour of time and climbing.
We started our trek with just the rented mountain boots, helmets, and ice picks. We were given a brief lesson on how to use the ice to help with the climb and to save ourselves from sliding down the mountain in case of a fall. The volcano is covered in snow. And because it gets warm in the day times and cold in the nights its also covered in a nice layer of ice in the mornings. This made for some treacherous and scary walking. The guides lead and made step holes in the ice with their ice picks and we followed at a slow but steady pace. We stopped twice to rest and snack.
On the third stop we put on the crampons to finish the climb. It has been reaffirmed that I do indeed have an issue with heights. Most of the time I found myself concentrating on looking at my feet or up rather that taking a look around at the surroundings and the amazing view. But dont worry I did manage a few peeks when we stopped and occasionally on the way up. The volcano is very steep and it was easy to imagine how a little slip could send you sliding away down the mountain.
We climbed for a total of about 4 hours. As we reached the top we were warned about the dangerous toxins that were being released from the crater. When the winds were just right it would blow in our direction and if you tried to breathe it began to burn your throat and made you cough. We were told our time at the top would be limited due to this fact. We did have plenty of time to take pictures and walk about part of the crater.
When we finished at the top we put on a waterproof suit, a "butt protector" (essentially a layer of canvas), and a small plastic sled. Now this is were it got reallllllly fun. By this time the ice had melted and the snow was soft and a bit slushy in places. From past tours a small luge type of path had been cleared in the side of the volcano. After some instruction on how to use the ice pick to brake we were sent on our butts down the mountain. At first I was almost terrified. We had just climbed a very icy, very steep mountain and now we were to slide down it....almost uncontrollably. It wasnt apparent that the ice has melted until we got started down the mountain. After the first run it wasnt terrifying but hilariously fun! I giggled like a little girl all the way down the mountain. I mean how often do you get to slide down an entire mountain on your behind!? On the steeper sections were told not to use the plastic sleds and on the less steep we did use the sled to get a little more speed and to make it all the way to the end. Epic!! I thoroughly enjoyed descending that mountain! It was more than a 1000meters of downhill, almost continuous sledding.
Once at the bottom we were transferred back to the office. And a surprise was waiting for us! Beer! The agency had a beautiful rooftop patio with a view of the beast we had just climbed and some refreshing cerveza! 5 of us from the group stuck around or a while and some of the guides invited us to join them for an asado at their home. Excellent!
We all went to the grocery store and purchased the necessary items. A huge chunck of beef, several longanisas (sp? sausages), bread, the ingredients for a chilean salad, and the ingredients for the local summer drink, Teremoto. The chilean salad turned out to be what I would call pico de gallo but a local dried pepper is included instead of green chiles. And the Teremotos were pineapple ice cream with white wine and a bit a grenadine. Tasty! The guys lite up the fire and put the huge chunck of beef on a huge skewer. They set it above the fire and turn it every now and then like a spit. They also threw the sausages on the grill and as an appetizer we had choripan. Choripan is bread with a sausage and a mound of the chilean salad. When the huge chunck of beef was done we werent served with plates. Rather a small chunk at a time was sliced off, cut into bite size pieces and the was passed around so everyone could take a piece. This continued until the meat was gone. Sheesh, talk about a fun and tasty meal! Out hosts were super nice and super fun. I am very thankful to them for that authentic experience.
Still not enough folks joined the volcano climb with the company I chose so I was referred to a different agency. It turned out to be a bit cheaper and our group was quite a lot of fun. The full day tour including all the gear was 46,000 pesos. We were driven up to the edge of the volcano and dropped off. Conveniently enough there is also a ski resort on the volcano so we got to take the ski lift (for an additional 8,000Pesos) up the volcano to save about an hour of time and climbing.
We started our trek with just the rented mountain boots, helmets, and ice picks. We were given a brief lesson on how to use the ice to help with the climb and to save ourselves from sliding down the mountain in case of a fall. The volcano is covered in snow. And because it gets warm in the day times and cold in the nights its also covered in a nice layer of ice in the mornings. This made for some treacherous and scary walking. The guides lead and made step holes in the ice with their ice picks and we followed at a slow but steady pace. We stopped twice to rest and snack.
On the third stop we put on the crampons to finish the climb. It has been reaffirmed that I do indeed have an issue with heights. Most of the time I found myself concentrating on looking at my feet or up rather that taking a look around at the surroundings and the amazing view. But dont worry I did manage a few peeks when we stopped and occasionally on the way up. The volcano is very steep and it was easy to imagine how a little slip could send you sliding away down the mountain.
We climbed for a total of about 4 hours. As we reached the top we were warned about the dangerous toxins that were being released from the crater. When the winds were just right it would blow in our direction and if you tried to breathe it began to burn your throat and made you cough. We were told our time at the top would be limited due to this fact. We did have plenty of time to take pictures and walk about part of the crater.
When we finished at the top we put on a waterproof suit, a "butt protector" (essentially a layer of canvas), and a small plastic sled. Now this is were it got reallllllly fun. By this time the ice had melted and the snow was soft and a bit slushy in places. From past tours a small luge type of path had been cleared in the side of the volcano. After some instruction on how to use the ice pick to brake we were sent on our butts down the mountain. At first I was almost terrified. We had just climbed a very icy, very steep mountain and now we were to slide down it....almost uncontrollably. It wasnt apparent that the ice has melted until we got started down the mountain. After the first run it wasnt terrifying but hilariously fun! I giggled like a little girl all the way down the mountain. I mean how often do you get to slide down an entire mountain on your behind!? On the steeper sections were told not to use the plastic sleds and on the less steep we did use the sled to get a little more speed and to make it all the way to the end. Epic!! I thoroughly enjoyed descending that mountain! It was more than a 1000meters of downhill, almost continuous sledding.
Once at the bottom we were transferred back to the office. And a surprise was waiting for us! Beer! The agency had a beautiful rooftop patio with a view of the beast we had just climbed and some refreshing cerveza! 5 of us from the group stuck around or a while and some of the guides invited us to join them for an asado at their home. Excellent!
We all went to the grocery store and purchased the necessary items. A huge chunck of beef, several longanisas (sp? sausages), bread, the ingredients for a chilean salad, and the ingredients for the local summer drink, Teremoto. The chilean salad turned out to be what I would call pico de gallo but a local dried pepper is included instead of green chiles. And the Teremotos were pineapple ice cream with white wine and a bit a grenadine. Tasty! The guys lite up the fire and put the huge chunck of beef on a huge skewer. They set it above the fire and turn it every now and then like a spit. They also threw the sausages on the grill and as an appetizer we had choripan. Choripan is bread with a sausage and a mound of the chilean salad. When the huge chunck of beef was done we werent served with plates. Rather a small chunk at a time was sliced off, cut into bite size pieces and the was passed around so everyone could take a piece. This continued until the meat was gone. Sheesh, talk about a fun and tasty meal! Out hosts were super nice and super fun. I am very thankful to them for that authentic experience.
I am traveling to Chile this week and have discovered Vulcano Villarrica, I would love to do the climb but my fear of hight's gives me serious second thoughts. I have read dozens of articles and reports from other climbers, any feedback ? Safe and Happy Travels
ReplyDeleteBarbara,
DeleteThanks for stopping in to read my blog. I will encourage you to go ahead and climb the volcano. I too have a fear of heights. On the way up I was definitely scared. It helped not to look down and to concentrate on placing your feet in the foot steps of the person ahead of you. This same feeling was shared with some other folks during the climb but the it goes at a slow relaxed pace. Probably the worse feeling was when we started descending. You are forced to look down at that point. However, after the initial slide down, I realized that it wasn't scary at all. It was quite fun and I was sad to see the sliding down end. I say, brave the fear! I guarantee you will be grateful that you did.