View of Volcan Villarrica from Pucón
I awoke this morning to the sound of Ali moaning in disbelief as she repeatedly hit the alarm clock against the wall. She checked her watch and grumbled. It was 6:55am! We were expected to join the rest of the group at 7:00am. We both shot out of bed and did what we could to prepare ourselves for the day ahead. We ran down the streets of Pucon to the tour office where the other members of our group were already geared-up and impatiently awaiting our arrival. Ali and I apologised for the delay and tried to explain the alarm clock situation. They weren't interested. They just wanted to make sure we were given everything we needed for the trip and ready to go when the bus arrives. I checked I had all the right equipment; jacket, Ice Talonz, boots, trousers, helmet and gloves.
Outfit look familiar?
The eight of us climbed aboard the minibus and began our 30 minute drive towards the foot of Volcan Villarrica. I could hardly believe our luck. Today was sunny and clear with not a cloud in the sky. As we drove out of Pucón I could see our challenge in the distance. Volcan Villarrica graciously sloped upwards to a snow capped crater where clouds of steam could be seen rising from within. Of course, there´s a certain element of danger involved in climbing an active volcano but the thought of actually seeing hot molten rock bubble and spit made goose pimples appear on my skin. I couldn't wait to get up there and take a look inside.
One of many breaks throughout the trek
A ski lift carried us as far as it could until we began the 4 hour climb on foot to the crater. It was difficult to say the least and probably the hardest climb I think I've ever endured. The higher we climbed, the steeper the incline. We zig zagged up through the snow with occasional breaks to catch our breath. Every time we stopped to appreciate the view down below it was even more impressive than the last. On our last break before reaching the top I examined the surrounding landscape. I noticed paths of scorched terrain where lava had previously flowed. At this point I was so excited that I had stopped thinking about how tired I was and realised that in just a few more minutes I would finally be at the top. As we neared the crater I could see people sitting on the edge. I remember thinking how strange it was that they were looking away from the hole and not down inside. Surely what lay within would be so amazing that they wouldn't want to take their eyes of it? Why else would you endure 4 hours of insanely difficult climbing other than to see the internal works of an active volcano? It wasn't until I ran towards the crater when I quickly discovered why they weren´t so keen to face it.
The gases around the crater
What I had previously noted as being clouds of steam rising from within, was in fact thick waves of noxious fumes. As I approached the inner edge of the crater I uncontrolably started coughing and curled up in discomfort. The smell was like nothing I've ever smelt before and made my eyes water. It was like acid. I ran back to the opposite edge, away from the smoke. I couldn't believe it. After about five minutes I eventually stopped coughing and decided to walk around a different way where the fumes didn't appear to be so thick. With the collar of my fleece held tightly over my nose and mouth I approached the edge of the crater once again to taker a proper look inside. There was nothing. Just plumes of smoke. I looked for glowing lava but couldn't see any. Apparently the volcano wasn't in the mood to be showing off and I cursed in dismay.
Another view of Volcan Villarrica from Pucón
Fortunately our descent was a lot quicker and surprisingly much more fun. Instead of climbing on the snow we were allowed to slide down it. Fast! One by one our group members swiftly pushed themselves off the edge for an exhilarating ride down to the bottom. After a series of 4 slides we were only a 30 minute walk away from our transport. We descended in only a quarter of the time it took us to climb up!
