Volcan Villarrica (finally!)

It took a week for the weather to cooperate so I could climb Volcan Villarrica, but today was the day and it did not disappoint!

 

As we drove to the volcano, it put on a fantastic show for us. The sky was still black and dotted with stars. We could see steam rising from the crater. It was flame orange in color from the lava churning below. It was dramatic and beautiful, just the thing to get everyone excited in the pre-dawn hours.

 

Volcan Villarrica is 2,847 meters. The hike starts at 1,400 meters and the first portion is so steep that you can take a chairlift to cut off an hour of uphill hiking. I was keen to hike the whole distance so I skipped the chairlift, as did the majority of the my group. We were about twenty hikers plus a few guides. It was definitely a big group but we were mostly from the same hostel and we generally moved at a steady enough pace that our size didn't matter.

 

We traveled in single file most of the way up. This made conversations difficult so one Canadian started posing riddles. This kept us engaged in the moments when we weren't looking around to take in the view.

 

As we began the climb and the sun started to rise, there was a bizarre diagonal line on the horizon. No one could figure out what it was until it finally occurred to someone that it was the volcano's shadow!

 

The terrain changed from loose gravel to snow/ice as we gained elevation so we took a break to put on our crampons before carrying on. The hiking boots were heavy to begin with so the crampons didn't do me any favors, but I was too happy with the novelty of wearing spikey shoes up a volcano to let gravity wear me down.

 

With breaks, it took about four hours and twenty minutes to reach the summit. It was definitely busy up there between the twenty plus in my group and all of the other trekking companies with a week's backlog of climbers but there was plenty of gorgeous scenery to go around. It was a clear and sunny day, no clouds to obstruct the views. I ate my lunch with my legs dangling over the side and staring at Lanin, another nearby volcano at approximately 3,749 meters. Not bad!

 

I started to walk around the crater but the sulphur gases burned my throat in no time after walking in one direction so I headed back to indulge in silly photos.

 

I didn't want to leave the views behind, but our guides said we would be able to slide down parts of the volcano, so that's all it took to convince me! Everyone had a plastic sheet to sit on for the sections that were less icy. To brake, we used our ice axes. A few sections were a little slow and traffic would pile up but we generally slide along at a consistent speed. Occasionally, one area would've particularly icy and I went absolutely flying down the volcano! Once of twice I ended up in a small pile of bodies at the bottom of a slide.

 

Circling above us were two condors. Their wing spans were undeniably massive. They swooped in lower and I wondered if they were trying to establish who was the weakest of the group and might make a tasty lunch!

Once we had discarded our crampons, we ended up running down the volcano due to its pitch and the loose dirt and gravel that constantly gave way beneath our feet.

 

Back in the van, most everyone passed out, but we found our energy again that night to celebrate with a BBQ and plenty of Chilean wine.