Off the Map Chile Adventure: HIking Volcan Villarica by Achilles

Volcan Villarica is a force, a presence and a natural marvel. This massive, perfectly formed volcano dominates the surrounding landscape and the azure skies for miles around. It registers at an imposing height of 9,341 feet. The terrain is rock, metal and ice. Now I am a man of altitude, so I immediately was drawn to its aura and power. I had heard that a person could hike to the top of the crater within a day by going with a tour company. So Chris and I asked around and found an outfit called Politur. For roughly $100 USD you can give it a go. So I signed up. The plan was to be at the tour company office by 7:00am on a Monday morning; and with a little good weather, good luck, some determination and God’s blessing a brother was going to see the top of the mountain. I arrived on time at the office and found myself teamed up with 3 Canadians, 2 Brazilians and 2 Chileans. Everyone was excited. The guide explained that the weather was a bit sketchy but we would give it a try. There was no guarantee that we would make it to the top. After getting all geared up (crampons, ice picks, helmet) we drove up to the base of the volcano in a bus. We saw the sunrise with a sea of clouds below us. We started the ascent. The first part of the hike was done by ski-lift. It took an hour off the entire hike (5.5 hours up / 3 hours down). It was worth the extra $7000 pesos. When we were about an hour from the summit, a wind and sleet storm erupted. The visibility went from being to see for miles below us to about 10ft in front of you. We had to turn around and call it a day. We were all a bit disappointed but actually glad that the guides were more interested in our safety than trying to make sure their clients reached the top. When we got back I told the tour manager that I needed to reach the peak so would she give me a discount for a second go on another day? She agreed.

A week or so later on March 12^th I tried to summit for the second time. This time there were 2 Russians, 2 Germans and 1 Chilean. I made friends with the Chilean. The day was gorgeous. We made it to the top. The view from the top and the sensation of being at the top of an active volcano are difficult to explain. There is a great quote by Walt Whitman that says, “I too am not a bit tamed, I too am untranslatable, I sound my barbaric YAWP over the roofs of the world.” My original plan was to YAWP from the top of the volcano once I reached the crater. However, I decided not to YAWP out of respect for the volcano once I was there. Why? The winds were coming in 30 mph gusts, the volcano was smoking and belching brimstone, the ice was slippery and I remembered that Villarrica is one of Chile's most active volcanoes. The volcano is also known as Rucapillán, a Mapuche word meaning "House of the Pillán". Now I don’t know who this Pillán fellow is or was but he must be no joke to live there. And the more I started to think about it I began to understand where the legends of dragons came from. You see and smell the smoke and feel the gusty wind. I would not have been surprised if a dragon came rising out of the crater all green, yellow and angry!

So I humbly said a prayer, hugged the guide and my newly made friend and thanked the volcano for being hospitable enough to let us ascend without incident. The trip down was a lot of sliding on the ice (on purpose) and then there was a nice cerveza waiting for us at the tourist office. Climbing this beautiful volcano was one of the many amazing highlights of my life. I really feel as if I am connected with Pucon. Thank you Chris for letting a brother guest Blog! Gracias.