Climbing ´The House of the Spirits´

Volcan Villarica

As we head south our first stop was Pucon, the adventure capital of Chile. You can go climbing, hiking, biking, kayaking, rafting, canyoning or do pretty much any other adventure sport you can think of there.  The town thrives on tourism from not only extranjeros (foreign tourists) but also wealthy Chileans.  Our adventure of choice: Climbing ´The House of Spirits´ also known as Volcano Villarica.  (SHOUT OUT for Chelsea for the recommendation!)

Amy and her ice axe

We were all suited up for the climb by Sol y Nieve, one of the many adventure companies in Pucon.  We had waterproof pants and jackets, boots, a helmet, mittens, cramp-ons, and our trusty ice ax (my favorite piece of equipment) along with our fellow climbers (including 4 boys from MIT known simply as ´The Americans´) and our ever dependable guides: Oscar, Daniel, and ´The Mayor of the Mountain´and ´Climbing Machine´ himself, Sergio.  A motley crew, indeed.

We zig zagged like a line of ants up the mountatin, backpacks and helmets on, clenching our ice axes, always in the hand closest to the peak.  In the case of a fall, the ice ax is in position to dig into the snow and be grasped easily preventing any sliding.  The 3 hour hike up was only interrupted by two short breaks, and several yells of ´Roca!´ meaning rocks were falling from above.  Sergio led the way.

At the top we were welcomed by the 200m in diameter crater spewing sulfur that made it feel like you were inhaling a can of Pringles.  The view revealed lakes, mountains, clouds,  lava flows, and even the park we had hiked days before. You could see for miles and miles.

The Descent!

The climb, in itself was amazing but little did we know the real fun was about to begin.  Our descent was accomplished by sliding at ungodly speeds down luge tracks carved into the snow by previous trekkers on little plastic seats that resembled a tray from the cafeteria more than any kind of sled.  The goal was to stay on the seat and the track, neither of which Dave was able to accomplish.  For those of you who have seen Dave go down a hill on his bike imagine that same speed down a snowy volcano.  On his face.

This was one of those experiences that was so much fun you can´t believe they let you do it.  Abrazos. . .