WE DID IT

3/10 
We have now graduated from trekkers to mountain climbers. From 1400m to 2857m in 6 hours and then down in 2.5 hours. Let's start at the beginning. We woke up at 5:15am.  The tour company came and got us at 6. Of course when we got there at 6:30, the other climbers had been drinking till late and were late getting there. Oh well, we finally climbed into a little vw bus and drove to the national park. It was not possible to see anything on the way as it was dark. Once there, we did not waste any time getting started. Problem #1 - yesterday the guide told us he had secured the chair lift. Because it was Sunday, it doesn't always operate. That was good, as without it, the first 1.5 hours are very difficult. Those were his words. So, we get there......no chair lift.  Not a good start. Problem #2 - we had to carry a backpack with about 20 lbs. of gear plus 2 liters of water. True to his word, the first part was incredibly hard. Very, very steep. The 4 of us were huffing and puffing, well not Bob. Seems there are no rest times built into the schedule. We were suppose to get to the summit by 1:30.  So the day goes on and on and we keep climbing and climbing. The part they call easy, I call a little less difficult.  About half way up, we hit snow, or should I say ice. It even had the bluish color that we see in glaciers. So, on come the crampons, some gloves and a helmet with a cute little fleece cap underneath. We then get directions on how to walk (cowboy style with feet apart or you can trip over your own feet) and how to properly use the ice axe (to stop yourself from tumbling off the mountain-and I am not kidding). Picture the climbers you see on tv climbimg Mt. Everst.  Single file, all kinds of equipment, 2 poles going up and up and up. That was us. G and I were much slower than the rest of the group so we got our own guide. He was spectacular. So patient and encouraging. I really wasn't sure I could do it, especially when we saw a bunch of younger kids head back after the first really hard part, and we saw a girl throwing up and another young girl being pulled up with a rope by a guide.  All the while I am thinking of the trip down and how scarry it was going to be because it was so steep. I knew we were going to slide down, but it looked like we would be going 100 miles an hour. So, we were about 45 minutes from the top, and just when you thought it could not get any steeper, it did. Terry did not continue. His knees hurt, he could hardly breathe (thinner air) and the height bothered him). If I looked up, vertigo hit me too. The only way to go up was to zig zag. It was too steep to just go straight up. I was scared. Pretty much it was stare at the guide's feet in front of me and one at a time, super slowly, put my feet where his had been.
At the top, we got a big hug and kiss from Rodigero. It was so windy up there that you didn't want to stand too close to the edge of the crater for fear it would blow you in.  There was also a really strong sulfur odor. It made your eyes water. They recommend that you only spend 15 minutes at the summit.The other part of our group had gotten there 45 minutes before us. G and I immediately had to put on other gear and take off the crampons. I was shocked that we were going to head down without them. It seems they are worried that you might get the toe stuck and literally go head over heels down. So instead, you have to really concentrate on not slipping...heel first. That was really hard and just as exhausting as going up.
Six different times we got to slide down, either on our butts or with a little plastic sled we each carried. We went really fast..so fast that I thought I was going to launch off the mountain. We were suppose to use the ice axe to control where you were going and to slow yourself down. Much easier said than done. One good thing, we did not have to go down the really steep, first part. There was a path of volcanic ash about 6 inches deep, that made for a much softer down trek. Thank God. Needless to say, we made it. By the time I was back at the bus, my knees were aching. We handed in all our gear, got back on the vw bus and they took us back to our hostel, 20 minutes away. About 6pm we were back home. I am not kidding, when I say I could hardly go up or down any stairs. A hot shower and some advil was heavenly.  G, B and I went to a pizza place one block away. That really was all we could walk. Terry opted for no dinner. We spent the rest of the evening reliving the day.
By 9:30 we were all in bed. My knees were throbbing, but I was so proud of us and couldn't believe we did it. On the way to having pizza, we saw the volcano for the first time from a distance. The day before it was covered in clouds. It is massive and probably good that we hadn't seen it because I don't think we would have attempted it. Of all the people on the volcano today (Rodigero said 223) there were the 4 of us, Russ from the ferry and a couple we met at the hot springs that were over the age of 30.