Lewis the Lion goes in search of a volcano!

Volcano Villaricca as seen from the town of Pucon

When Lewis the Lion arrived in Pucón for the first time, the weather was rather overcast. In fact it was so cloudy that he couldn’t even see the snowy top of the volcano which he had come especially to see: the Villaricca Volcano which rose 2,847 metres above sea level. (This is one of only 5 volcanoes in the world with an active lava lake within its crater and is one of the many volcanoes to appear along the Andes: the longest mountain range in the world). He hoped that this wouldn’t bode badly as if the weather was too dreary, there would be no treks to the volcanic crater. So, he had to bide his time and hope that the weather would improve over the next few days.

As luck would have it, the guides in his hostel had checked the weather forecast for the next few days on the internet and there looked like there was a window of opportunity the very next day. So, Lewis hoped the weather would remain clear enough for the next day, and crossed his little paws for luck.

In the meantime, he set out to explore the pretty town of Pucón with Helen. Their first stop was at a lovely little café where they got a cooked breakfast which was reminiscent of an English breakfast with sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs and toast. Lewis the Lion felt it was a home from home!

A delicious "English" breakfast!

He then wandered along the main street which funnily enough had an Irish sounding name: O’Higgins. It was strange to see differently named streets in Chile as in Argentina, Lewis had got used to all the streets being named after other cities in Argentina! Lewis the Lion noticed that the low rise wooden and corrugated buildings were very distinctive and quaint. Surprisingly, outside a busy supermarket there were many people selling their own local produce, from fresh eggs, to herbs and spices, from empanadas to desserts.

He also noticed that the people themselves had a different look as they had very dark hair and eyes. That was because a lot of people in Chile were of Mapuche origin.

A symbol of the Mapuche tribe

The Mapuche were the original native people of Chile before the Spanish came to conquer the land in the 15th Century. Even today there are people in Chile who live in the Mapuche way. If you would like to find out more, click on this link. In fact, the Mapuche had a different name for the Spanish named Villaricca Volcano, meaning ‘Place of Wealth’. They called it Rucapillán meaning ‘House of the Pillán.’ (A Pillan is a good spirit in Mapuche mythology).

An other thing that intrigued Lewis the Lion as he walked along the main street was that there was a volcanic alert system. This was like a traffic light system with the red, amber and green lights attached near the fire station.

The volcanic eruption warning system

Thankfully whilst Lewis the Lion was there the light showing was a constant green so it looked like there weren’t going to be any imminent volcanic eruptions! However, if there had been, signs around the town also showed escape routes in case of a volcanic eruption.

A sign showing the volcanic eruption escape routes

Lewis the Lion was pleased to learn that even though Villaricca Volcano was classed as an active volcano, the last time it had had a major eruption was quite a long time ago, in 1971.

That evening, the group who wanted to climb up the volcano were gathered together and hiking boots and a waterproof coat and trousers were given to them all in preparation for hike. They were told that they needed to be up at the crack of dawn so it was best that they got an early night.

The next day seemed to arrive all too soon as the alarm clock broke Lewis’ sleep at 6 o’clock in the morning. Groggily, he rubbed his eyes and then remembered what a special day it was as he was going to climb a volcano with Helen! He bounded into action, the tiredness forgotten about and helped Helen pack the things that she would need for the day ahead. First of all, she needed her gloves and her buff (which she would use as a hat) as it would probably be cold. Then she needed her sunglasses and suntan lotion because the sun could still shine brightly off the snow on top of the volcano. Next, there was her packed lunch and 2 litres of water, as climbing was undoubtedly going to be hungry and thirsty business! They then went to meet the rest of the group of fellow climbers, 12 in all. There were three guides and Lewis the Lion’s friend Tom, who he had met on the bus from Bariloche a few days before. Lewis also met a Belgian friend called Rafael who was also travelling around the world. Lewis the Lion listened to Rafael and Helen speaking French and it felt good to hear some French again after hearing so much Spanish over this past month or so travelling around South America.

The group were then given a rucksack each which contained some interesting items: a helmet, some thermal gloves, some gaiters and some crampons which were wrapped up in a thick fabric to prevent you catching yourself on their spiky soles. Lewis the Lion was very curious to see if these items would really be needed as he knew that Helen had never worn crampons before. Time would tell.

They then set off in a mini-bus, heading for the base of the Volcano Villaricca which was about an hour’s drive away. By 7:45, they had arrived, along with some other groups of trekkers and it felt very, very cold at 1400 metres above sea level. It was a good job that Helen had worn lots of layers today and Lewis was grateful for her big pockets which he could hide in to give him some extra warmth: after all, you don’t usually find lions on snow-topped mountains, do you?!

Lewis and Helen can see the snowy cap of the Villaricca Volcano

Lewis the Lion noticed why it was important that his group all had the same coloured waterproofs on as it was a way of identifying the group when there were lots of other groups on the mountain. That way his guides could make sure that everyone in his team – the yellow and black team – stayed together. Before they started the climb, the guides hooked an ice-pick to everybody’s rucksack. Lewis the Lion thought that this was really cool as it made Helen look like a true professional climber!

All the groups (and there were about 5 on the mountain) started to climb at a quick pace, snaking up the steep mountainside. There was a cable car running alongside where the trekkers were climbing. Lewis wondered why they were not using it to help them get up quicker to the top of the volcano?

Lewis looks on the cable car track

The guides told him that it was because it was just too windy at this time of year for it to be safe. Really, the peak season with the finer weather for scaling the volcano had passed and so Lewis the Lion felt lucky to be there at all, especially since the weather forecast for the next few days wasn’t looking good.

Lewis and Helen are grateful for their expert guide

The guides led the mountaineers up the volcano in short 20 to 30 minute bursts, allowing time for people to catch their breath and take a quick drink of water. It was a hard slog walking up the mountainside and Helen had to really push herself in places. She could feel the backs of her calves and wished that she’d had a chance to stretch out properly before the climb. The walkers, following their guide, weaved their way up the mountain as it was simply too steep to walk in a straight line to the top. You had to watch your footing too as the rock was very slippy underfoot.

By the time the trekkers reached the point where the cable car would normally ascend to, you already had fantastic views over the valleys below. Lewis the Lion marvelled at the colours around him.

Lewis the Lion looks down on the valley

The dark granite of the volcano, interspersed with orange, brown and grey rocks with the occasional tuft of green grass. Helen was looking very rosy cheeked by this point and it contrasted with her bright yellow jacket. It was no wonder really as they were now at 1800 metres above sea level. Lewis the Lion was proud of his friend as she had kept up with the pace of the quicker team as it had split into two by this point, even when there was one point when she had come adrift of both groups! However, her steely determination had made sure that they had soon caught up.

At this point, Lewis the Lion and Helen had a little surprise: they bumped into their friend Alessandro who they had met in Bariloche! What a strange place to meet someone, climbing a volcano! They were really happy to see him, however briefly, as his group were the first to set off again, ascending the volcano. While Lewis was waiting for his group, he noticed a warning sign stating that it was forbidden to climb the volcano from this point on without the right equipment. Lewis felt lucky that his guides had already taken care of this situation.

Lewis sees an important sign about safety on the volcano

The group then continued on their journey up the hillside. As they climbed, they started to see shards of ice appearing on the ground beneath their feet and could see the snowy peak of the volcano rising above them.

Lewis notices more ice patches appearing

As they progressed closer to the peak, the white of the ice started to break up the brown colour of the rock until eventually, they reached a point where it looked like a blanket of snow beyond them. It was here that it was time to grab an early lunch as it was only 10 o’clock!Nonetheless, the hikers were ready for it.

Lewis and the early packed-lunch

Their guides then told them that it was time to get fully equipped with gaiters, thermal gloves, a helmet and crampons. The crampons just slipped on underneath the soles of the hiking boots and had jagged points that would drive into the snow. It was when the group had stopped that they suddenly felt the intense chill. It was freezing and Helen at least was grateful for an extra pair of gloves, even if they were a bit holey! Lewis the Lion shivered too and buried himself as deep as he could into Helen’s pocket whilst he waited for their next short stop.

The guide then told the trekkers how they would continue from this point on, over the snowy glacier and up to the crater. They had to bend their knees and waddle like penguins up the mountainside, thrusting all points of the crampons into the snow to get a good grip. They also had to carry their ice-picks by the top of the blunt end, using it like a baton to help them to walk, always holding it on the side of the highest walking point. The guide also demonstrated how you would jam the pick into the ice, should you lose your footing and start to fall. Lewis the Lion hoped Helen wouldn’t fall but was aware that she was a bit nervous to start off with while she got used to walking on the icy glacier.

Just as Helen was getting into her stride at walking on the snow in this funny way, the guide stopped the group as the weather had suddenly changed and it had started to get very windy. Much to everyone’s disappointment, he told them that they couldn’t continue up to the crater even if they only had 200 meters or so to go as it was just too dangerous. Only one group had managed to do it that day: the group with Lewis’ friend Alessandro in it. Lewis the Lion at first felt a little bit cheated after doing so well to get this far.

Lewis sees the summit of Volcan Villaricca

However, he soon changed his mind when his guide told him that some hikers had died in similar conditions only a month beforehand! Lewis the Lion thought the guide was very sensible to err on the side of caution and furthermore, as he looked around at the landscape around him, how could he really be disappointed? The views were simply stunning! Click here to see what Lewis saw from near the top of the volcano.

Lewis and the view from near the top of the volcano

They had climbed so high, they were even above the level of the clouds!

Lewis and Helen above cloud level!

In the meantime, the mountaineers enjoyed taking photos of the snowy volcano and the views around them.

Lewis with Helen and Tom

Helen and Rafael near the top of the volcano

Lewis the Lion breathed in deeply and gave a giant roar he was so happy at their achievement!

Lewis and Helen are proud of their achievement

The guide then told the group, that as the sun was rising in the sky, it was starting to melt the ice a bit so they needed to take extra care coming down the mountain. Again the group descended slowly in a crocodile line but this time taking care to dig the heel of the crampon in first before making sure that all the points were in the snow.

The group come down the glacier carefully in a crocodile line

Passing a deep snowy crevice en route, Lewis the Lion laughed as he saw his friends Tom and Rafael taking two ice-picks in hand and trying to climb the snowy, icy wall.

Rafael and Tom climb the ice-wall

After taking some more photos, gradually the group made it back down to the point where most of the snow and ice had disappeared.

Lewis and Helen shiver by the deep icy crevice

It was now time to remove their specialist mountaineering equipment, such as their helmets, gaiters and crampons. Boy, how their feet suddenly feel light again! In fact at this stage they seemed to transform into spacemen and spacewomen as they bounded quickly down the volcano with giant steps. That was because the volcanic ash under their feet was thawing out as the sun was rising. What had felt like hard rock under their feet on the ascent, suddenly seemed to be disintegrating from under them and it felt like they were practically moon-walking down the hillside, stumbling, sliding and occasionally falling on their bottoms as they went! Along the way, Lewis the Lion heard some familiar sounding voices. It was a group of three girls from England: Katie, Katie and Sophie. It turned out that they too had had a similar adventure travelling around South America and were bound for some of the same places that Lewis the Lion was going to next. He wondered if he would maybe do some travelling with them in the future?

With the conversation and the rapid pace of the descent, it seemed to take no time at all for the group to get back to the base camp. As Lewis the Lion peered back over his shoulder, he could barely believe that he had been on the snowy cap of the volcano. What an achievement!

Lewis looks back at the top of the volcano

Even though he didn’t get to peer into the crater or slide down it as he had hoped, he simply thought to himself that there would always be a next time. After all, he was just a little lion with his whole life ahead of him!

Looking at Lewis the Lion’s itinerary for his trip around the world, can you tell him where else he might be able to climb another volcano?

If you were going to climb a volcano, which volcano would you most like to visit and why?

About Helen Molloy

Helen Molloy has been a Primary Learning and Teaching Consultant, leading on the introduction of Primary Languages in the City of Stoke-on-Trent for the past 5 and a half years. She is passionate about language learning and inspiring children into developing a curiosity and awareness of other people's languages and cultures.
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