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Volcano!
Entry 44 of 103 | show all | print this entry |
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The adventure of a lifetime
7am: cloudy overcast day at the campsite. We aren't sure that the climb will happen, because it can't be raining or cloudy at the summit or else the guides will call it off. A bus comes to our campsite to pick up the crazy adventurous ones from our group, and the guides say "We'll go to the base and check the conditions." After a stop at the shop to pick up our gear we drove up to the volcano. As we round the corner, we see the summit in brilliant sunlight, and the guides give us the thumbs-up! We're going! By 9am we were on a chair lift going to the point that we would start the hike, at about 6000 feet. We got out our ice axes and received a little instruction from our guide on how to use it to help us walk and then how to hold it if we start to slide uncontrollably down the mountain. (Hope we don't have to test that info.) The first part of the switchbacks seemed pretty easy. There were enough people on the mountain that day that there were already impressions in the snow for us to put our feet into. At 10:30 we stopped to have lunch. It may have seemed early but it was important to get energy. We loaded up on sugar water, chocolate and fruit. The views were amazing as we were now above the cloud level. We could barely see the area where we started, but the peak was clear in front of us. After a very rushed 15 min break we decided to walk with the slow pokes thinking that we would have more time to enjoy the scenery, because when you are walking you can't look around since you have to watch every step you take and where you place your ice axe. Then the wind started to pick up as clouds were quickly catching up to us. Thin wisps of clouds were swiftly blowing over us, and we felt as if we were watching them on a fast forward version of a sky cam on the weather channel. Then both the peak and the base disappeared in a white wall as we fought the strong winds.
The clouds had cleared above us by the time we reached the next ridge, but at this point we suspected that we might have gotten in over our experience level. The footsteps that we were following were starting to thin out, the winds were much stronger, and the steep grade dramatically increased! At one point we traversed a particularly narrow section, no more than a 2-foot wide ledge; my peripheral vision caught a glimpse of the 60-degree drop-off on my right hand side, and I had to tell myself not to look that way again. I had to put one foot in front of the other and dig my ice axe deep in the snow to move inch by inch while fighting the wind and leaning into the mountain. There were times when the wind would die down but I was more nervous knowing that a big gust would come and possibly catch me off guard. Slip here, and even an ice axe isn't going to stop me from tumbling down the mountain. At this point Nathan is thinking "This is really stupid. I'd rather be back in the bus." But we made it past that section and continued pressing upward.
After about 4 hours of hiking we closed in on the summit. I was surprised that we made it this far. I was expecting the guide to turn us around due to the weather conditions. He did say that the wind we have today is not normal. We dropped our bags behind some lava rocks for our final ascent. The final scramble is over crumbly volcanic rock to the rim of the crater, at 9300 feet. We've made it! Completely exhausted, we can barely savor the moment as the guide says "We go see lava, take photo, and go down". So we walk around to the side of the crater as noxious sulfuric fumes burn our eyes and throat, then kneel down to peer inside (too dangerous to stand as a gust of wind might just send you over the edge). A fiery red glow emanates from a small area at the bottom, and periodically we hear a rumble and jets of molten lava shoot out. Wow!
The first part of the descent was even more nerve-wracking than the ascent, as the wind continually threatens to blow us off the trail, and descending we have to kick our heels into the snow, which is a lot less natural than kicking in our toes on the ascent. Fortunately we don't have to walk all the way down. We are going to "slide down"! Our gear includes waterproof pants with a padded seat, plus a separate strap-on covering that makes our backside smoother. Our guides steer us over to furrows in the snow, say "control your speed with your ice axe", and then we're off! It's like doing a luge run, without the luge! Once you realize you probably won't die, it's great fun. Only once did Nathan get out of control, zooming down a particularly steep section, sticking his feet out to the side, and ending up doing a 540-spin before coming to a stop facing the wrong way. We come down using 5 different slide runs, traversing between them. By this time the weather has completely socked in, so everything is white and we can't see either the bottom or top of the mountain. Only when we see the chair lift do we realize that we've reached our starting point. Trudging down, we're off the mountain at 4pm.
Why did we do it? Who knows? From thinking, "No way" to "That'd be really cool" to "Let's go for it", somehow the thought of standing atop that peak grew on us. We feel a real sense of accomplishment, but don't worry, we haven't decided to make volcano-climbing a central focus of our travels. However, there is that famous glacier in Argentina that is supposed to be amazing.... More thumbnails ...
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