November 2nd
We are up early, a bit nervous but excited and after a hearty breakfast we are on the road by 08:30…today we are driving to Rifugio Sapienza on the south side of Mt. Etna about 55km from Taormina. As we drive up from sea level on seemingly endless switchbacks, catching glimpses of old lava outflows, Mt. Etna (elevation 3,357 m (11,014 ft) rises slowly but surely above us…
It is a gorgeous day, sunny and 23C at sea level, however by the time we reach the Rifugio and the cable car station the temp has fallen to 17C.
We have thought quite hard about how to approach visiting the volcano and decided on a DIY approach…we considered group tours but most of them we felt demanded a longer more difficult effort (around 6/7 hours of trekking ) than our conditioning allowed for. A second option was to start our hike from the Rifugio Sapienza at an elevation of 1,935 m (6,348 ft) and hike up the rather boring and grinding trail before reaching the more interesting views above the La Montognala cable car station, which sits at an altitude of 2,500 m (8,200 ft.). So we nixed this as well. Taking the cable car seemed optimal allowing us to conserve our energy to get on with seeing the “good stuff”.
The whole thing is a bit of a scam as everyone tries to get you to buy a package including cable, a 4×4 bus, and a guide…telling us and others that it is forbidden to go above the station without a guide, etc. >>> however, we overheard the cafe waiter giving a young couple a “heads up” about this and so elected to buy cable car tickets (60 euros for us both aller/retour) and take our chances when we got to the summit station. In any event, we learn that no one can climb above 2,900 m at this time due to the volcano being active.
The car parked, tickets in hand and geared up, we are on our way up just before 10:00. It is about a 15-minute ride to the Montognala station (sure beats a 1.5-hour uphill slog), and looking out the cable car window it confirmed the description in the travel blogs. Interestingly you used to be able to reach 2,930 (9,612 ft.) but a violent eruption destroyed the upper section in 1971 which was not replaced…
From the La Montagnola station, we head out on the road taken by the 4×4 buses to Torre del Filosofo (elevation 2,920m the take off-point for climbing to the summit > white 4×4 buses in the photo below)
…the complete desolation is really striking and unlike any mountain landscape, we have seen before, even when hiking at altitude above treeline…
…time to follow through on our decision to climb one of the dormant volcanoes not that far from the station…note the tiny “people” specks on top:
….an old lava river below pic…
.. the trudge continues, it gets as we get higher up the mountain and the footing is somewhat like climbing sand dune except more gritty, as the incline increases there is a tendency to slip back on each step…luckily we are wearing our hiking boots, some folks are in light sneakers > not a brilliant choice.
…the cable car station and buses are now far below us…
…the “summit” with the rim of the crater and Mt. Etna in the background > it has been a bit of a slog, but totally rewarding…the elevation is around 2,750 m or 9,022 ft and for sure you can feel the effect on your breathing:
…we were told this crate has been dormant for some 10 years but clearly there is plenty of energy remaining…touching your hand to the ground felt quite warm…
…well we felt we needed to include a few hero shots…Annie struggled a bit on the last uphill but was quite happy she persevered…
There is a ton of terrain you can hike here and it would be neat to return someday with more focus on trekking in this area…one such area being the Val de Bove which lies before us…
After a bit, the clouds start rolling in and it cools off in a hurry (normal occurrence in the early afternoon) so we finish our sandwiches put on our jackets and toques, and head down …Annie is not so keen on the “slippery” nature of the descent but I think it is great fun to be taking several steps and then sliding for several haha…we are really happy we did this, …another WOW day!!
