CHILE : Pucan

The last week felt less like travel and more like summer in Canmore. We rented a car, stayed in a cabin surrounded by mountains, cooked our own meals and spent our days hiking and climbing. The high peaks are all volcanoes, many of which are still active. The first volcano we saw was Osorno  which was best viewed  from Petrohue waterfalls.

The hiking was through the forest with views of lakes and of course ..... more volcanoes. 

After spending a few days looking at Volcan Villarrica, we decided that it would be fun to climb it. 

The problem was that it is a popular peak and from what we had read, you needed a guide. We talked to one of the CONAF Rangers who had worked in Waterton, married a Calgarian and knew Canmore was a climbing town. What are the odds? After a quick chat about our climbing experience and proof of membership in a climbing club, we had permission to climb unguided so long as we could rent the requisite gear (helmet, mountaineering boots, crampons, ice ax and gators). We managed to rent gear and the next morning we were back at the NP at 7:00 am when the gates opened. 

The climb was an easy snow ascent followed by a short section of lava rock where we dodged clouds of steaming sulphur to the summit and views of the deep crater. 

It was odd to see the crater of this live volcano lined with ice.  

We didn't linger on the summit as the smell of sulphur was strong when the wind changed direction and sent it towards us. The snow on descent was still quite firm so required  crampons for the  first few hundred meters. Luckily Jackie was able to "McGiver"  her broken crampon strap. Did I mention rental gear.....and we rented from the quality shop. Once we reached softer snow, we pulled out the sleds attached them to the waist belts on our packs and soared down the slopes.....FUN. 

Part way down we came across the guided groups......300 people in total. YIKES........we sure glad that we had an early start.  

Next stop.......Bariloche, Argentina