Villarrica and Pucón is a centre for outdoor activities, camping, and just relaxation on the shores of a lake beside majestic mountains. The truth is that there is enough adventure to keep one busy for months, not to mention the skiing season. After visiting the various agencies on the main street O´Higgins, I had my list of things to do set, but I soon realized that I was out of time. After weighing my options I opted for what I had been recommended by people I had met on the way; to ascend the impressive volcano Villarrica. I was to set out early the next morning.
So we gathered at the office in the early morning for a briefing and get ourselves equipped for the ascent. But the enthusiasm of the 15 man group was deeply shaken as our guide explained the real bad weather forecast that was scheduled to arrive during the afternoon. It made me a bit nervous, as I was so determined to reach the summit. Nonetheless, we huddled into the vans that would take us to the base of the volcano. The night before, the elderly couple that was hosting me made sure I was well prepared with food. In fact, my entire backpack was filled to the limit with water and food.
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| Let´s do it! |
The weather looked great with clear skies and little wind when we parked at the base of the volcano, but our hopes were misguided as the bad weather was due at 1400 and we still had the 5 hour hike up the volcano in front of us. After a brief meeting, toilet visits, the guides were eager to get going, even more so myself. Along with a few other parties, we set our slow but calculated pace and began the ascent for the summit.
The slow pace proved effective with the high inclination and altitude which made any rapid endeavour a foolhardy exhaustion. I was made aware that just increasing the pace slightly immediately made my legs sore and heavy, but surprisingly enduring at the lower pace! With a few breaks on the way, we made the glacier and were instructed of how to use the basic mountaineering equipment we had carried with us. From this point, you could actually see the summit, "Can't be more than 30 min left!" - ... 2 hours to go!
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| A true mountaineer |
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| The summit in sight! |
The closer we got to the summit, the more limited were we by time, the clouds rapidly rising from below, and people becoming increasingly tired. At one point we had clouds fly in from the side to almost completely cut off our vision. With a last desperate rush the last 15 min, we made it to the summit against all odds and without any margin. To tell you the truth, we barely had time to take a photos before we were forced to start our descent.
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| Another volcano above the cloud line |
This was the part I had for some time looked forward to, and I was becoming increasingly excited. All the fatigue disappeared, replaced by childhood excitement! To no ones surprise, there never any doubt who would go second after our guide.
As the fog had settled and only allowed for a meter or two of vision, I have no photos to show the bob-slide-like-experience we had as we descended the glacier. With increasing speed I was often forced to apply the axe as a break to avoid shooting out of the slide, or get painfully long airtime from the bumps.
When we were all used to the limited vision and the basic sliding-technique, the whole group relaxed and fully enjoyed the descent, with smiles and laughter! Still the weather turned worse by the minute with less visibility and stronger winds. But our guides knew the mountains well and directed our descent without fault. At the end of the glacier, we "stepped" the soft volcano sand as we (the few of us with excess energy reserves) ran down to the bottom!
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| At the summit! |
Despite, or thanks to the grim weather conditions I think we got the whole package: sun and clear weather, clouds and fog, and finally snow wind and rain! Not to mention volcano dust and smoke! As climbing the volcano had been highly recommended to me, I strongly recommend this in turn.
Thank you Volcán Villarrica for an excellent experience! The guides were professional and always attentive to the group as a whole! With the lowest price, and an outstanding service!
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