Volcán Villarrica!! Pucón, Chile

While walking through town on our first day (of 2) in Pucón, I saw this majestic monster a decided that I would climb it.

The next day, at 6:30am I was getting geared up, and at 8am I set off with a small group up the beautiful Villarrica Volcano.
It was a long and slow climb, zigzagging up the steep, snowy (and icy) mountain face with our ice picks and big teeth attached to our boots. 

Out of the 200+ people who attempted the ascent that day, I was one of the 25 who succeeded! 

It was a thrill climbing for 5 hours in the blazing sun and blasting wind. And then sliding down the mountain at impressive speeds on a little sled (a safety technique to avoid avalanche).
2nd successful volcano ascent...and hopefully many more to come!