Conquering Volcano Villarrica
Having left Bariloche on a high, we were keen to see what the other side of the Lake District had to offer as we crossed over the border into Chile.
Arriving in our hostel in Puerto Varas, we tapped into a network of hikers, many of whom had travelling plans mapped out based on specific hikes they wanted to conquer.
Spending our first evening talking with this intriguing group, a French girl’s story particularly resonated with us. Her sole purpose of visiting the small town was to summit Volcano Osorno. This was no mean feat; towering over the vast lake at 2650 meters, the snow-covered mountain required specialist equipment and an experienced guide. Not only that, but to make it to the summit, you have to navigate a treacherous glacial crevice and a 60 degree ice-covered incline. This wasn’t for the inexperienced or faint-hearted that’s for sure!
She had taken on the climb that day and with only a short distance left to go before summiting, adverse weather conditions swept over the Volcano. After waiting it out in a self made snow shelter for over an hour, the expedition was called to a halt and she had to return without summiting. The day we left Puerto Varas, she was attempting it again. We don’t know if she made it, but her love of the hike and her grit and determination to conquer what she came to achieve stuck with us as we moved on to our next destination; Pucon.
T minus 2 days
As we arrived into Pucon, Navid immediately fell in love with the small Chilean town. It gave him a sense of intimacy and community; nestled below the many mountains surrounding it.
As has now become our routine when we arrive in a new location, we spent the first evening researching what was unique about the area and what would we like to do during our stay.
As we started to make our plans, Navid enthusiastically suggested that we climb Volcano Villarrica. Clearly, our time in Puerto Varas was still resonating with us. Why couldn’t we take on this hike?
Never one to turn down a challenge, particularly one that involves a hike, Laura took the suggestion in her stride and casually agreed that this would be our next adventure.
But, Laura was worried that Navid didn’t know what he was signing up to. He was sleeping on the bus when we arrived in the town and then went in to autopilot, with his head down following directions to our hostel; in doing so, he completely missed the sight of the magnificent volcano!
T minus 1 Day
The next morning, we left our hostel in search of a tour guide for our hike. As we stepped outside, Laura stopped Navid in his tracks and pointed up to a snow covered peak in the distance. Navid duly observed its beauty and Laura informed him with a laugh that this was the Volcano we would be climbing! Reality hit Nav square in the face…!
He asked if it was too late to change our minds but he knew that wasn’t an option really. The verbal contract we made the night before was binding! We immediately went to the recommended tour operators and booked our ascent with a company called Summit Chile.
To put in to context what we were taking on, we learnt that Volcano Villiarrica stands at 2,850 meters tall and is a very active volcano (the last eruption was in 2015). You can see smoke coming from the top and it homes a lava lake at its peak. It is covered in snow and would take us approximately five hours to summit, with expert guides.
As we sat in Summit Chile and signed our disclaimers to not sue for injury or death, we had a nervous energy between us – there was no doubt we would do this, but it didn’t stop us from feeling nervous about the challenge ahead!
That night we made sure we ate as much pasta as humanly possible to give us energy for the climb the next day. Over dinner, we made a mutual decision not to tell our respective parents until we had done it! Why worry them?!
D-day!
This was it. Today we were going to do something we had never done before!
We woke up at 5.30am to get ready and head to the tour’s HQ where we would meet our guides, have a briefing and gather our equipment for the climb.
We would be lying if we said we were not anxious at this stage, but together, we knew we would do it. On our way to the HQ, we kept exchanging jokes about why we couldn’t be happy with the other small leisurely hikes the area had to offer, but we wouldn’t have been satisfied with anything less than climbing this Volcano!
We left the HQ and started driving towards the Volcano. We passed the first checkpoint, which registers the climbers. It added to the seriousness of what we were taking on, knowing that there have previously been multiple fatalities and injuries on this Volcano. Although, things appear to be more regulated now (for example, you are only allowed to climb with licensed climbers and group sizes are restricted).
The Volcano was towering above us now and the bus parked up next to the entry point. No going back now!
To add to the challenge, we learned that at this time of the year there would be a lot of snow and ice on the mountain from the winter, which hadn’t yet melted, making the conditions tougher. Not only that, but there was the small matter of the ski lifts being closed, meaning we had to add an additional 90 minutes to our climb, which climbers in the summer can avoid!
We received our briefing from Claudio, the head guide, who made sure everyone was in good spirits before the climb started…and then it began.
The first two hours of the ascent were straight forward as we meandered slowly up soft snow. Occasionally, we would stop and look back and admire the views. Eventually we broke through the clouds, which now floated below us, but with this achievement came more of a challenge as the ground was now getting harder and much more icy.
We stopped to have a quick break; refuel with water and a snack. That’s when the guides asked us to take out our crampons. Whilst we knew they were in our bag of equipment, it hadn’t fully registered with us that we would definitely be wearing them! Neither of us had worn them before and they looked pretty serious! You wouldn’t want to scrape your ankles or step on someone’s feet with them! We were given a quick introduction on how to use them, together with our ice picks, and off we went for the next part of the of the ascent.
Navid remembers thinking that climbing up an ice face with crampons is actually more technical than he had imagined. Whilst Laura sported a ‘I told you this was serious’ look on her face!
In order to ease the steep incline, we followed the guide in a single line formation, slowly zigzagging across and up the volcano. This meant you had to take many more steps compared to actually climbing straight up. Each step really counted.
Laura remembers how hard it was to kick the front of her feet into the ice to secure each step. This was particularly important when the wind whipped passed. A number of times, Navid had to reach forward for Laura to make sure she didn’t get blown off the Volcano!
The incline was getting steeper and steeper and the views were getting more and more breathtaking (although Laura at this stage was too scared to look down!). This wasn’t the only thing breathtaking, with the altitude making it harder to breathe too!
People in our group were getting visibly tired and the nerves were starting to kick in. The ice was solid now, which was making it very easy to slip and if you slipped you were certainly not going to land on soft ground. The chances were you were going to cut yourself on ice! It was like having broken glass surrounding you glistening in the sunshine.
“HEILO” “HEILO” “HEILO”!!! The shouts were coming from a group about 50 meters diagonally ahead of us. Our guides started shouting the same thing. Our whole group stopped. Confused. Why are they screaming so loud and what are they saying?! Then we saw it! There was an ice ball just smaller than the size of a football bouncing down the mountain at a ridiculous speed towards the group. With quick thinking from their guide, he took his rucksack off and used it as a shield to block and ultimately stop the ice ball in its track. It made a big impact as it hit his rucksack but he managed to keep his balance…just.
Adrenaline started running down Navid’s spine and his heart started beating faster. If that had hit anyone it could have killed them or cause very serious injury at the very least! Wait… he didn’t sign up to this!
The climb up to this point was all fun and games as far as Navid was concerned. He found it enjoyable and was surprised at the slow pace, but after seeing what had happened, a massive realisation took over him. Everything became serious from that point onwards for him.
Our guide explained to us that if any of us saw one of these ice balls hurtling down the hill we should call out “Heilo” immediately. At the same time, he also told us to stop talking and solely focus on walking. We were at a very steep section of our ascent and it was crucial we were all focused if we wanted to pass it without incident. The tension was definitely rising!
Up until this point, Navid had been mostly looking down at his feet to ensure each step was placed correctly but he completely changed tactic and shifted his focus upwards at the summit in case any more of these ice balls came hurtling down towards us. Meanwhile, Laura still couldn’t do anymore than look at the feet in front of her for fear of falling!
As Navid shifted his focus to the top of the mountain he noticed the acidic smoke from the lava starting to blow towards us. It made him cough and his eyes started watering. To add to the tension, the guide then told us we would shortly need to put our gas masks on. Another piece of equipment we had been carrying that we hadn’t expected to use!
Hold on…wait, what is that coming down? “HEILO!!!” was being shouted again. This time by Navid! No one could see the ice ball hurtling down the Volcano, yet it was bigger than the previous one and it was heading right towards the same group at an unbelievable speed. The group didn’t respond…could they not hear him?
“HEILO!!” Navid shouted at the top of his voice and pointed to the white ball bouncing off the concrete ice without even breaking. Our guide blew his whistle to warn the other group and as they turned around the ice ball just missed them and continued hurtling down the Volcano.
We managed to take a slight diversion to the side of the Volcano to avoid the smoke as much as possible, which was now making everyone cough. We then gathered together in a safe place to put on our gas masks for the last part of the ascent.
Finally! We could see the summit approaching and this technical climb was reaching its climax. Just a few more steps and we would make it to the top!
It was such a relief to finally conquer the Volcano! After hugs and high fives all round, we stopped to look around and take in what we had achieved. The views were simply stunning! You could see the curvature of the earth half way up but now you could almost touch the heavens! This is why we took on this Volcano, and every step had now been worth it!
We went to the edge of the crater and looked down to see the lava lake but there was a lot of smoke clouding our view, but this didn’t take away from the experience.
Once we captured our obligatory pictures to capture the moment, we all headed back down to the same safe place on the Volcano where we could take off our gas masks. Now for the descent!
Claudio then stands up and holds out what can only be described as an industrial black diaper which we had to clip around ourselves. Yet another item in our bags we hadn’t fully appreciated the use of! Next up, a small plastic tray!
These, coupled with our ice pick, were our essential tools for descending… on our bums! After a brief tutorial on how to use the pick as a brake, we were ready for the off! One by one, down what seemed like a slide made out of the snow!
Laura was more nervous about this than she was trekking up! But figured she always falls down on descents anyway, so she may as well start on her bum!
And off we went!!! It was so so quick and the first slide was so steep! Each one of us lost control! Stopping only by lying down and rolling at the end of the slide!
We did this three more times, but with increasing confidence and refined techniques for using our ‘brake’, there were no more tumbles. Five hours up and only half hour to get down! We had done it! We had conquered a Volcano, and we had done it together! It is an experience neither of us will ever forget!
