Volcan Villarrica

Without a doubt, one of the best things i have done on my trip was the long and steep hike up this snow covered mountain of a volcano. It was a case of third time lucky waiting for the perfect conditions as the two days previous we had turned up at the guides office only to be told that 1) the weather was not so good (cold, windy and quite miserable to climb during) and 2) the wind had shifted and was blowing smoke from the summit in the direction of where we would be walking. However, the next day Stephanie (my dorm companion) and i awoke to clear blue skies and a sure feeling that today the volcano was happy and we would be able to make it to the top. A group of about 12 of us all kitted out with gaters, ice axes, multiple layers etc. walked together with her helpful and supportive guides. Our guides set out the pace for our steady meander up and explained that it is important to go slowly taking small steps so that you have enough energy at the end for the steepest final part. With a few stops along the way for food, water and photo-taking we made it to the summit where the volcano was smoking away calmly. After a nice break at the top we were instructed about our descent method which involved basically sliding down the mountain. We attached a sort of nappy harness layer which would help us to slide down and for the later parts also used plastic tray things to give us extra speed in the softer snow. Slightly concerned at the steepness of the slope and anticipating that i wouldn´t find sliding as easy as it sounds i made a few attempts which involved a lot of sliding around out of control and general snowballing down the mountain coming to a stop at the end in a bedraggled heap. I gave it a few more goes for the next few ´slides´ and despite my efforts achieved no improvement of my sliding style. I `taxied´ down behind one of the guides with another girl (mini sliding sandwich holding onto each other) for one the slides which was a much more enjoyable experience as it was in complete control and the 3 of us sped down together!Our day ended perfectly back at the guide office where we all shared a beer and congratulated each other of our successful climb.