Pucón

This weekend we had a big trip to a city in the south of Chile called Pucón. The trip was organized by the exchange program, Council, and so we didn’t have to plan anything. It was strange to travel with a group of 25 gringos after having spent so much time with Chileans, but it was fun to feel completely comfortable with people of my own age and culture.
The first day about eight of us decided to go horseback riding in the mountains and we had an absolute blast. There weren’t exactly rules like there are in the U.S. about where you can go and what you can do and if you have to stay in a line or not. Basically we spent three hours of pure freedom on horseback. We were able to gallop, explore, race and feel like Chilean huasos or cowboys. The scenery was beautiful and the air felt refreshingly clean after being in smoggy Santiago for so long. After the long ride we relaxed in the natural hot springs that Pucon is known for. Pucon is famous for being a touristy city, but since it is winter here and in the off-season there weren´t very many people.


Another reason that Pucon is well-known is that it is home to a large, active volcano called Villarica. During the day the huge, snow-covered volcano towers over the town and you can see smoke constantly billowing from the top. At night the top of the volcano glows a deep orange. There are several tour companies that take groups up to the top and provides them with the proper equipment and several guides. The trek is very intense and the ascent and descent together takes about 10 hours and can only be done in good weather because there are frequent storms at the top of the volcano and the excess of toxic gases at the top makes it dangerous as well. Several of us had decided that we wanted to try and climb the volacano and rose early Saturday morning with an attitude of perserverence.
We drove to the tour company and were outfitted with helmets, ice picks, special boots, pants, and a jacket, a backpack, sunglasses (the glare of the sun on the snow can burn your retinas - they told us) and cramp-ons (gear that fits on boots to walk on snow and ice). Our group numbered 14 (8 guys and 6 girls) and after cramming into two vans, we drove to the base of the volcano.
After a brief explanation of how to use all of the equipment, the dangers of climbing the volcano, and the plan for the day, we started the long, slow, climb in the snow up to the first checkpoint. I can honestly say that climbing the Villarica volcano was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in my entire life. Not only was it intensely physically demanding because we were using and wearing bulky equipment and walking in snow in very steep inclines, but it was mentally demanding as well because we were constantly looking at how far the distance to the top remained.
At the first checkpoint many of us were already exhausted from climbing almost straight up for two hours and we were advised to eat things with a lot of calories. We inhaled juice, candy and cookies in preparation for the next leg of the trek. There were two girls who turned back at this point knowing that they wouldn´t be able to make it any farther. I was having doubts myself about my ability and current physical condition but I wanted to give it a shot anyways.
I think the second part of the climb was the hardest for me. The wind was blowing hard, pieces of snow and ice would fly at us, the incline was grueling and I was very very tired. At times I wanted to give up and it was literally all I could do to lift one foot in front of the other. My feet felt heavy becuase of the weighty snowboots and cramp-ons and I was afraid that I would fall and slip down the slope of the volcano. Our guides were constantly reminding us to make sure that all of the spades of the cramp-ons were deep in the snow so that we wouldn´t slip - because, they advised us, if we slipped, we could reach high speeds of sliding down the slippery volcano in mere seconds. I remember hating the fact that I had decided to do this and promised myself I would never do such a thing again. I tried taking my mind off the pain by thinking about other things, but all I could think about was how hard it was to keep going.
Finally we reached the final resting point before reaching the top and we practically collapsed in a semi-secluded spot from the wind and gobbled down any remaining food. At this point two other girls decided not to continue and that left me, one other girl, and the eight guys to make it to the top. The peak of the volcano still seemed so far away and our guide told us that it was another two and a half hours from this point. During the final part of the hike I felt a second wind and it was a little easier because although the incline was severe (and I felt like I wanted to hold on to someone´s hand) it was so difficult that we would walk for ten minutes and rest for ten seconds. When the incline became more steep and icy, we would walk for five minutes and rest for ten seconds. Pretty soon the guide was directing us to literally rest as much as we were walking. The scariest feeling was that I became so tired and felt weak, that I was afraid that I would lose control of my balance or footing and fall. But fortunately I didn´t and we kept walking and soon began to smell the actual fumes from the volcano.

We reached a place where we had to leave our backpacks for the final ascent. We put on our gas masks and began the last hard climb up to the actual opening of the volcano. I have never been so excited to reach a certain goal - it was so fulfilling and satisfying to get to the top and look over the edge into the giant hole of the volcano. The air was hot and the gases from the volcano burned our throats. For several minutes we simply stood and watched the inside of the volcano. We actually got to see hot, bright orange lava splash and erupt inside. Some of the guys got a picture of it but I was to intent on staring at it to think of taking pictures. After awhile, our guide said we had to start our descent, which would take an equally long time, because we had to make it to the bottom before dark.

Although going down was difficult as well because of the incline and the footing, we were proud and satisfied that we had made it to the top. After many more hours we finally made it back to the base and one of the guys actually threw up from the exertion. All of us literally threw ourselves on the snow so tired that we didn´t want to move. Although climbing the volcano was a challenge and a huge natural high, I am not sure I want to do anything like that again for a long, long time.