CASA Tours Switchboard

The Best Lines in South America - Volcan Villarrica

Posted on March 17th, 2007 by abearc.
Categories: Best Lines in South America.

The towering peak of Volcan Villarrica welcomes us to Pucon, a favorite summertime destination for Chileans and also home to a tiny ski area. In the Lakes District of Chile, Pucon is set between a lake and a mountain. It is the mountain, an active volcano, that has brought us to this charming town. The weather report calls for a few days of high pressure, so the game is on, we will climb! Morning dawns clear, we gear up with plenty of snacks, water and layers, plus crampons. We hop several lifts to get above the ski area, then set out for the top. The sky above is perfectly clear and so blue. The view of town and the lake are breathtaking and drive us to the top. Soft snow helps us cruise quickly up the flanks of this great volcano, though winds increase throughout the ascent. Several hundred feet from the top the snow firms up, we put on our crampons and continue our ascent, still under sunny skies. We push on, through the wind and crest the top! The crater s! preads out before us, bare rock kept snow-free by the constant spewing of sulfur from the depths. Though it is mostly just barely out of sight, occasionally lava bubbles and spits, showing orange on the inside walls of the crater. The wind backs off and we wander the enormous crater. We eat empanadas up top to celebrate and relax, soaking in the sun. Then comes the best part, the descent. By the time we are ready to leave the top the sun is starting to dip lower in the sky. We set out downward, the first several hundred feet firm, changing into perfect corn as we descend. Whoops and yells fill the air as the group carves down the hard earned vertical. With the setting sun as a backdrop, we ski and ride for long minutes, savoring the perfect snow and the joy of a day well spent.

Alice Bremner - CASA Guide

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