Thermal Anomalies

It was after 10 p.m. when the red Mercedes 4x4 Sprinter van, affectionately referred to as Frambuesa, rolled into our hotel in Temuco, Chile. We had just summited our sixth and final volcano, and while I should have felt the cumulative exhaustion of the last week, my mind raced with apprehension. Like that of pre-trip anxiety yet entirely different—I wasn’t leaving home, I was going back to it. Technically. But I wasn’t ready to leave.

Lucy Sackbauer first reached out to me about skiing volcanoes in Chile in May of 2024. As the warmth of summer set in, thoughts of slogging up South American behemoths kept me motivated, if not a little intimidated. While most skiers set off to South America to extend the powder chase, we opted for an austral spring mission to minimize down days.

With only seven viable ski days, our team, which also included Jessy Braidwood and American ski guide Tyler Reid, arrived in mid October and hit the ground running. At La Araucanía International Airport we threw everything in the back of Frambuesa and made our introductions while local guide Sergio Pérez Menares drove us two hours south to Pucón, straight to the base of Villarrica, a 9,383-foot stratovolcano that overlooks the town and namesake lake below. The quaint little ski area in the shadow of the country’s most active volcano was closed for the season but a couple guys and stray canines sat under a canopy tent, selling soda, juice and beer out of a cooler for the occasional sightseer or climber. Winter was over and the town was still relatively quiet, awaiting its summer influx of adventure tourists.

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