22/10/2019 – Volcano, Pucon, Chile

My alarm went off at 05:15, and I could hear other people in the hostel starting to get up too. I brushed my teeth, put some factor 50 on, and got my things together before heading downstairs for a coffee and some breakfast. There was already loads of people up and busying around making pack lunches. I had to help three girls check out early as they were trying to get to Santiago before the curfew (there is a curfew in Santiago at the moment because of the protests – if you are out after the curfew time you could get arrested!) and they had not organised anything with reception so I had to wake another volunteer up etc, which meant there was no time for breakfast for me unfortunately! Once they had been sorted out I went outside to the stone circle to be met by a group of guides and the other guests getting ready and issued kit. I had not been briefed at all because I had been working behind the bar yesterday night, so had no idea what to expect! All I know is that many people come to Pucon specifically for this excursion, and that not everyone makes the summit. I got handed a massive heavy Bergen, packed with I don’t know what, a helmet, an ice pick, and some big heavy snow boots. Still unsure of what I was really getting myself in for I added a bottle of water and a few other bits and bobs to my bag before signing the disclaimer form and getting into the minibus. There were 9 of us in total, and 3 guides. Because I am a volunteer I got the excursion at half price, so for £43. The drive was about half an hour to the base of the volcano. Some of the group were carrying skis and snowboards up in order to have a fun descent. I surprisingly wasn’t jealous because I was not up for carrying all that extra weight! We started walking, and were told this was just the easy part to start the actual activity. The snow was icy and slippery and the guides took us at quite a pace! I think in retrospect a few of us found this bit the worst bit, or at least this was the point where we started worrying if we would in fact be able to make it up to the top!

We got to the bottom of the volcano, the sky was blue and the snow was bright, our sunglasses went on immediately even though it was just daylight. We formed a line, quite close together, and started going up the mountain in a zig zag, our feet going into grooves in the side of the mountain dug in by the guide. We were slow and steady, taking very small shuffle steps. We stopped after about 45 minutes for a water break and were told to sit on our backpacks. It was already time to top up our suncream - the Chilean guides were very strict about topping themselves up with suncream at every break which I was impressed with. We were then told to get our crampons from our bags – I didn’t even know there were crampons in my bag! I got them out and the guides very quickly fitted us into them. A French guy in the group tried to stand up and fell over immediately which was amusing! We got our bags clipped back on again and started up the volcano again. The snow became more and more icy and we began to understand why we had an ice pic in our hand too. We stopped every hour or so for a quick water/chocolate break, the guides had the timing so right - I was really impressed with that! All of us said in retrospect that as soon as a break popped into our head we were told 5 more minutes and then we breaked. Either the timing was spot on or the guides were really good at judging the group, probably a bit of both! Before we got half way it became apparent that 2 of our 9 guests in the group were struggling a lot more, they slowed down and a guide stayed with them. In the end they made it halfway and then went back down again – even so they said they were glad they had come and seen the incredible views from the volcano. The views of the mountains, of the other volcanoes, of the lakes and trees were really very spectacular. It was hard to have the time or energy to fish out the camera on a pit stop, and it was so bright I actually couldn’t really see what I was aiming the lens at! It was nice to just soak it in and enjoy. The guides were good at talking to the guests and distracting when they could see someone was struggling, and at talking to guests during the breaks and gauging how everyone was getting on. I was massively impressed with them! We walked in silence mostly, concentrating on our breathing. We had our last break very near the summit, sitting under an icy shelter from the wind. We were told to leave our bags here, but to bring our ice picks for the final part. It was pretty steep by now! We made it to the summit after around 6 hours of hiking. The views were incredible and we could get so close to the crater, looking down into the active volcano and seeing the steam coming out. Every so often there was a huge waft of sulphur that made our eyes stream and caught in the back of our throats – we had filter gas masks to cover our faces with which did help, although I did notice that the filters definitely needed changing! We had about 10-15 minutes at the top, which is apparently the national park rules, then made it back down to our bags. I think there had only been two people up the summit before us, but on our way back down we passed many many more groups of people making there way up. We had started earlier than most groups so had had a headstart. When we got back to our bags we were split into the skiers/boarders and the non skiers, it was about half and half. The four of us walked down a little way with our guide, who then sat us down and asked us to take off our crampons. He then got us to get out the provided over trousers a jacket and a nappy like thing, made from very thick material. We managed to get all our bits on, and I felt a bit like the michelin man! Next was where the fun began, we were shown how to use our ice pick as a break and then slid down the mountain on our bottoms! When things got slow and slushy we had a plastic bum board to speed things up. It was really fun, but it highlighted how fast it is to come down versus walking up the mountain. I definitely appreciate ski lifts a bit more now! The skiiers made it down before us and managed to ski right down to the van, whereas we had a good 20 minute walk across the flatish snow at the end. I was happy to get the heavy boots off and put my trainers on, and to glug back a bottle of water. I hadn’t been to the toilet all day, we really must have sweated it all off! We got back in the van and drove back to the hostel. I felt absolutely pooped! Leg muscles but also I think lack of sleep last night after working the bar. When we got back we all sat on the stone circle again and the guides handed a beer to everyone. We shared stories and photos, having walked mostly in silence. I went said hey to the other volunteers, most of whom haven’t done the volcano summit yet. Josh did an empanada run for dinner – there is a super nice empanada hut in town which everyone at the hostel loves, and he also bought us a slice of chocolate cake to share for afters. Becuase I had signed up for the volcano so last minute the night before I had brought hardly any snacks with me, so was ready to get feasting. We ate together and then Josh and I went upstairs to bed, put Friends on and I dozed in and out of sleep from about 20:00!