Volcano Villarrica,

Pucon, Chile

 

 

For three days I have been eyeing off the great white triangle that lies directly behind Pucon, the most picturesque hamlet in all of Chile.  

Villarrica Volcano is very much alive, very high and very steep.  If you ever reach the top you will peer right into its very centre and see molten lava. 



This is Mr G’s mission, to climb and conquer. 

Before I had even set foot in Chile, I was worried about this.  Well, worried is putting it lightly!  Could I do it? 

Mr G said we were climbing the thing, and that was that!  

After trailing around all the adventure shops in Pucon, we opted for Trancura Adventure Group. 

We arrived at the office at 7.30 am on a cold Monday morning.  As I have said before, my general fitness level is not good and after the previous days horse ride, my legs are already in a quaky condition.  Now I am thinking, 'who in their right mind would go horse riding the day before they attempt a summit of a mountain?' 

Oh boy, I think Mr G is really testing out my endurance levels or trying to kill me!!!

Christian, our Trancura contact, is rushing around packing our supplied backpacks with crampons and wet weather gear.  Then, in goes our lunch and 2 litres of water.  I can hardly pick the backpack off the floor and with a feeling of despair I know I am in for a tough 7 or 8 hours.

I don my cap and tug my hand knitted purple Pucon beanie down tight over the top.  Not a great look but it covers the twin conditions of sun and cold, both critically needed on this climb. 

             Our guide Claudio and me
 

Mr G and I have our own personal guide this day and thank goodness Claudio can speak English (a rare thing as most people speak only Spanish) But unfortunately because of this he knows exactly what I am saying. 

Things like, “Oh my god, this backpack weighs a ton” “I’m scared” “Do you reckon I will make it”.  I am sad to say all my words were of a generally negative nature.   There was none of that macho bravado coming out of my mouth let me tell you.  Mr G tells me to stop whinging. 

Claudio casts his eye over my apparent fitness weakness and 'our' ages and knows he has his job cut out for him. 

The drive out to Volcano Villarrica is bone shattering to say the least.  Our bus lurches and slides over the rocky scree until we finally arrive at the foot of the volcano and the base of a long chairlift.  I look up the long white slopes and can't believe I am doing this.

             Mr G is ready to go
 

Now unfortunately, and I say really unfortunately, most of the lifts that you can see here have been out of action for many years.  This means you walk next to a chairlift you might have used in the good old days!!!  This is annoying beyond belief. 

I am already feeling the struggle as I lug my heavy back pack up over the rocks and snow.  My neck and back ache badly.  Finally after an hour or so we reach the top of the ski lift and there, right in front of our eyes, is a large snow plough sailing across the snow.  Someone has driven up here for goodness sake!!!

“Claudio” I say in a weak voice, “we could have paid them to bring us up this far".   He laughs but I know he thinks this might have been a good idea. 

I need to do a wee and he points me to a shallow dip in the earth and snow and I swat down trying to keep well hidden.  In the end I can’t manage to drag up my pants back up discretely.  I am covered in a miriad of ties, buckles and my backpack that prevent me from redressing in a hunched over position, so I have to stand up bare bottomed to pull my pants back up. I pray this is my last toilet stop because conditions further up the mountain look impossible without complete modesty being lost!!!!

                Onwards and upwards
 
We have reached the all snow terrain now and this is really where our work is cut out for us.  It is painstakingly slow.  Maybe I should have said 'I' am painstakingly slow!!  I inch up the slope in Claudio’s exact footsteps which have been pressed down in the light spring snow.  This is extraordinarily hard work as you need to lift your leg high to position it in the next step hole.  As the angle of the slope gets steeper we use our icepick handle to wedge into the snow and anchor ourselves before the next two steps.  Honestly, it is exhausting. 

      Sublime views of distant volcano

Occasionally we stop (well if is often really) and we carefully turn around to survey the view and take photos.  Boy, this is fantastic.  The scenery is sublime.  You can see two other volcanos in the distance, Villarrica Lake spread out in front next to the township of Pucon.  You can literally see for kilometres.  Each hundred feet up and the view just gets better.  
 

My feet and ankles are beginning to ache.  My heart is pounding.  Claudio stops every so often to eat a Snickers bar, some nuts or fruit to boost his calorie levels.  Mr G and I have packed a cheese and lettuce bun for lunch and a few lollies. The Starburst lollies are not providing the calories we need for this climb.  Our bodies don’t really have any fuel to burn and this is making our effort more difficult.  You live and learn!!!! 

It is finally lunchtime and we perch on the side of the mountain to eat our pretty unpalatable but much needed energy bun. 

           Lunchtime on the slopes
 

Claudio offers to carry my pack until the next stop. He must be a mind reader or he can see I am not enjoying hauling the weight of it!!  He attaches it over the top of his own and I am in awe. 

We creep along higher up the mountain until we reach the base of a particularly steep stretch where Claudio stops and tells me he will give me back the pack. 

Why, why why!!!!  We get to the most difficult part of the climb and he hands me back the pack, although he kindly says he will carry my heavy crampons.  I take him up on his offer. 

By this stage the clouds are rolling in way below us.  This is not good as the weather can change dramatically in no time at all and create all sorts of dramas.  A huge black cloud is bearing down in from the south.  We carefully zigzag up the slope hoping not to make any false moves. 

When we reach the top we can view the volcano cone up just up ahead.  We can see a couple of groups, looking like ants, inching their way towards the molten lava.

                   "This is as far as we go" 
In the background a group heads for the top of the cone
 

Claudio looks at the weather and appraises the time.  We have been going slowly.  It will take us too long to get to the summit and back to this spot before the weather turns nasty.  “I think we need to turn back” he says. 

Mr G is devastated.  I am secretly thrilled. 

“I think we should try to go a bit further” Mr G says. 

Claudio puts his foot down and makes the decision to go back down. 

Mr G is a tad upset but I am worshipping the 'mountain God of bad weather'. 

Now, you don’t just walk back down this mountain, you slide.  Yep, you heard right.  Claudio straps on rubber sliding mats around our legs and bottom. 


           Claudio straps on the slide cover

When Mr G is ready, Claudio points him to the crest of the snowy slope and tells him to sit, hold his icepick as a brake, and start sliding.  Mr G zooms down the slope like a projectile and suddenly goes hopelessly out of control.  He spins, rolls and momentarily disappears out of sight.   He reappears hurtling headfirst down the slope until he eventually stops.

I was already petrified about this form of descent as I had read all about it in the Trancura blurb and now I am rigid with fear as I have to carry it out!
 

With terror written all over my face I feebly say “I can’t do this”. 

“You have to” Claudio says.  “Look, move over here where the groove in the snow is a little deeper” he says. 

I am freezing and the wind is now blowing a gale up here.  I don’t have any option.

With icepick in hand I sit on the crest and push myself off over the snowy lip.  I have the icepick buried deep in the snow trying to create a brake, but I am still flying down the snow at a terrifying rate.  My arms are in agony, my bottom is frozen, my legs fly about out of control but I stop at Mr G’s feet, thankfully still in one piece.

From thereon we walk for a long stretch and then slide down the mountain for at least another 8 repeats.  It is really like riding huge slippery slides but with no limitations or guarantees of how, when and where you will end up.  But we gain confidence and I hesitate to say it even becomes fun!

              Mr G and me - still smiling

Finally, the slides are over and we need to walk a kilometre or so downhill through very deep, soft snow.  This is extremely awkward and difficult.  The snow is up to our knees in places and the relentless downhill march has my feet, ankles and knees tortured.  When I relay this information to Mr G, he nods in agreement. 

As we walk downwards, the clouds thicken and swirl in behind us and we know Claudio has made the right decision. 

 
                   The clouds roll in

When we arrive at our bus rendezvous point the clouds have come down and covered the entire mountain.  We have been on the go for about 7 to 8 hours.

     We are back - Claudio and I waiting for the bus
 

The two groups that we saw in the distance near the cone start to return.  These walkers are youthful and strong.  They are adventurous types (mostly men) head to toe in all the right gear and in the peak of physical fitness.  They have made the summit. 

  

   The young ones - all brutal strength and energy!
 

In the bus I hear a young man say “God that was bloody hard!  I swore last time I would never climb another mountain under snow again!!  What an idiot?”

Yes, the young adventures too, found it hard and they look positively wrecked from their ordeal.  As we drive away from the base of the volcano it will be the last time we see her for the rest of our stay in Pucon as the clouds have her shrouded and invisible.

Did we climb and conquer? 

Well, we climbed and conquered as far as the Gods wanted us to and for that I will be eternally grateful.

If you would like to be inspired by a truly amazing mountain climber,
visit our Wise Woman, Eileen Robberds. 
Now she really knows how to climb mountains

 November 2008