630am we were required to be up and ready! We were a little bit late getting out the door, but we got to the office on time and changed straight into our clothes. It was still dark out and we were bundling up for our day. We got on the bus and I was half asleep, but I was able to get a picture of the volcano with the beautiful sunrise!
view of the volcano from the bus
We got up to the base and got a lesson on what we would be getting ourselves into. The base of the volcano is one of the hardest to climb just because it is a slippery volcanic rock. There was a ski lift to bypass this part of the climb. By taking that and paying roughly 10 dollars I saved an hour of walking. Good thing I did because I barely made it to the top as it is! There were only about 10 people that decided to walk the first part, and the majority of them did it because they didn't have any money on them at the time! ha.
bag in front ready to get on the ski lift
Once we got off the ski lift we had to gear up with all of our warm clothes. I was fully dressed and quickly realized that that was NOT going to happen. I was way to hot for all of the recommended items, but my picture turned out pretty funny though!
all dressed. I could barely breathe so I quickly took off the face mask!
The trek was quite exhausting. The high altitude did not help and I was definitely challenged. I didn't think I was going to make it and neither did my guide at first, but once we got near the top we decided we had to continue on! Just to give you an idea of what it was like, below is a picture of us just taking a small breather.
I was extremely tired and I was finding it hard to breathe at the high altitude. I have to give all my thanks to my tour guide (guia) Patty who carried my back pack for a good hour. That thing must have weighed at least 25-30 pounds. Patty also assisted me by letting me latch on to her hand for a good amount of the time. Without the encouragement and physical assistance from Patty I don't think I would have been able to make it on my own. When we finally got to the top I had to give her a big hug and take this picture!
Patty and I atop the Volcano!
Overall it was an amazing experience, and I don't think I will have one like it ever again. I climbed a volcano, I can say I did it, but I don't think I'm ever gonna do it again! These guides were amazing. During the high season they climb up the volcano anywhere from 4-7 times a week! Truly amazing.
When I finally got to the top and had a chance to rest...this was the view!
view from the top
I was exhausted and I sill am! The way down was SO much better! We went down on our butts the most of the way. In our backpack that was provided for us along with all of the other equipment we were given this thing they call a diaper. Pretty much a waterproof piece of fabric that we clipped on our butts so that we were able to slide down the snow. It was terrifying and many times there were bumps that ended up with me landing on my butt which hurt, A LOT! To slow yourself down I was told to dig my ice pick into the snow although, most times I was flying so quickly that my ice pick didn't do much. So there I am sliding down on my butt and I see the guides flying past me practically skiing. They didn't have skis though, nope just them sliding skillfully down on their feet looking so graceful while I am sliding down on my butt and getting a frozen wedgie and snow in the face. Not my favorite part of the trip for sure.
It took a complete 6 hours to go up and down the Volcano Villarica and it was an amazing experience. I am still sore and it takes me a while to get up stairs. I have never been more happy to be at sea level in my life!
12 hours back on the bus and I returned home this morning at 630 am. Straight to bed I went and then I was back into the swing of classes in no time. I was able to Skype Rachel Macklin for her 19th birthday! She showed me her cake and it made me miss all of those amazingly good tasting disgustingly unhealthy American foods!
cannot wait to sleep!
Great blog Abby! We enjoyed reading it on our commute to work. Sliding down a glacier on your butt is called glasading. I enjoyed some good glasading on my way down from the summit of Mt. Ranier. I'm so proud of you for sticking with it when the going got tough! That was a major hike by the looks. What is your next adventure?
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