Icing On The Cake – Villarrica

At this point in my trip, with Lanin accomplished, anything else would be icing on the cake. Back in San Martin on Saturday night, the forecast indicated that there were two more days of good weather for volcano skiing. If I pushed it I probably could have done both Llaima and Villarrica — both active volcanos burping fumes from their craters. I decided to be a bit lazy, have a slow Sunday ride back to Pucon, and go for Villarrica summit on Monday. Llaima would (most likely) be there another year.

The drive back across the border to Chile was uneventful this time around. Ten minutes at each side and I was through. I checked into the hotel in Pucon. The weather was so much nicer than my visit on the way down. Blue skies, low winds, calm lake, and a clear view of the volcano from town. I soaked in some sun and wandered around town.

I got up the next morning at a relaxed time, ate breakfast and I was off. The resort on the volcano was closed, so I’d have to hike/tour the whole way. Thankfully, I was able to drive part way up the first lift, to the snow line, and park at just under 1400m. This shaved around 100m off the ascent and avoided the need for any hiking. I started the ski up at 9:15. A little later than I had planned, but no worries.

I made good progress. There were at least two large tour groups well ahead of me. Within an hour I’d caught up. I had a chat with one of the guides (he asked about the Plum bindings) and then I forged ahead. Two hours in I was 1000m higher at around 2400m, watching the tour groups and enjoying a snack and water break. One more hour and I was on the 2847m summit at 12:15. The conditions were good enough to make it the whole way to the crater rim on skis + ski crampons, no boot pack required. Great views, clear day, a little wind to keep me cool. Awesome!

I cautiously approached the crater and peered into the pit, I could smell the noxious gases. There was one other skier up there at that point. He was pretty close to the edge. I headed over in that direction to take a look. I approached the edge and then inhaled a full gulp of burn *COUGH*. I backed away. There was a modest wind on the summit so I figured I’d have to use it if I wanted to get closer. I timed my next approach with gusts of wind that carried the fumes away. Much better. I was able to snap some pictures of the crater and capture a video of the burps and booms below.

The tour groups arrived. They filed up to the crater rim, taking photos and eating lunch. I explored around the different ends of the summit. I talked to a skier from a different group who’d conversed with the first skier I saw. Apparently, if you walked all the way around the back side to the top cauliflower formation you could peer all the way down to the bottom of the crater and see the molten lava. I walked around to investigate the approach. There was a scramble involved. Despite the draw, I decided against making the traverse and scramble by myself with exposure to the fumes.

I spent some more time taking photos and found someone to take a picture of me with the crater.

The ski back to the car was good from the top. Spring turns, amazing views. I ran into the French couple and two of their friends on the way down. They were heading up with boards, skis, and kiting gear. They inquired about the wind and were unhappy to hear that it hadn’t picked up yet. They were hoping to catch the wind that was bringing in tomorrow’s bad weather to do some kiting. Almost at the car, I took the opportunity for one last photo to cap the trip.

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. Tomorrow it was close to 800KM of driving back to Santiago where I planned to relax for a few days until my flight home on Saturday.