Volcano Chaiten
The first documented eruption
of Chaiten volcano in 2008 was also the first rhyolitic eruption
since Novarupta in Alaska, around 100 years ago. The onset of the
eruption was totally unexpected and involved several Plinian
episodes with spectacular lightning surrounding the eruption
column. Hence, the volcano is of great interest.
Three volcanophiles set off from germany on the long trip
to southern Chile: Richard (who had already briefly
visited Chaiten in July 2008 with a british film crew),
Martin and Marc Szeglat. The long flights to Puerto Montt
via Madrid and Santiago were made slightly more
entertaining by the fact that the check-in lady at Munich
had seated Richard and Martin next to eachother without
realizing that they were actually on different Madrid to
Santiago flights (LAN and Iberia code-share and depart
within 20 min of eachother). After reaching Puerto Montt,
24 hours were lost in the city before it was possible to
board the Naviera Austral ferry “Pincoya”. At this point
we checked the MODIS data for Chaiten and found that no
heat signal was being registered by the satellite, this
was a first disappointment. The Pincoya was an even
greater disappointment since it was rather like an
oversized D-Day landing craft and should probably have
only been used once. The overnight journey was totally
uncomfortable in the dirty and cramped seating lounge.
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On arriving in Chaiten, we were
greeted by Nicolas from the Chaitur agency who had made
local arrangements for us and was providing us with
transport during the trip. The weather was less welcoming
with low cloud and a cold wind. After settling into our
seafront Cabin at the Cabinas Pudu, doing some essential
shopping and gaining permission to climb Chaiten from the
rangers of the Pumalin Park, we eventually drove to the
north of Chaiten volcano, to investigate the current
situation. The road was again interupted due to erosion
resulting from the altered drainages around the volcano
following the eruption, as in July 2008, although it had
been repaired at some stage in between. Hence, we set off on
foot for about half a km before reaching the point where the
area of forest flattened by pyroclastic flows intersected
with the road. This also gave us a first view of parts of
the lava
dome.
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The felled forest presents one with a kind
of extreme obstacle course, so progress towards the volcano was
slow. After some time we reached a deep erosion channel at the
base of the caldera where Richard, Marc and Nicolas decided to
remain since it appeared too late to climb (we had encountered a
french couple that reported taking over 5 hours to ascend).
Martin, the groups “high-speed Alpinist” decided to nevertheless
set off to look for a suitable route. Shortly before dark, he
returned with images from the dome after climbing in only 70
minutes. Before driving back to town we waited to see if the dome
could be seen glowing after the onset of darkness. This was
however not the case. Similarly first observations from near the
bridge in town revealed no glowing. Only when Martin made a first
attempt at some long exposure night photography was it possible to
see that there were weakly incandescent spots on the dome showing
that at least residual activity remained.
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The plan was to climb in the
following days, yet much of the following 4 days were spent in
the chalet listening to rain beating on the roof with the only
thing glowing being the chimney pipe of our little metal
stove. Watching the river rising and approaching the front of
the lodging was also interesting. During some temporary
improvements in the weather it was possible to visit parts of
Chaiten town buried by lahars the year before and at least
make some photos or film.
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After
several days, Martin decided to depart by plane from the new Santa
Barbara airstrip which replaces the old Chaiten airport which
remains buried. As will be shown later, he spent time at Villarrica,
Llaima and Osorno volcanoes. Marc and Richard remained in Chaiten,
trusting that the weather would eventually improve. The weather
indeed changed by the 3rd of
December, yet the volcano remained cloud-capped. Marc and Richard
nevertheless made a first climb together with Nicolas and reached
the caldera rim after well over 2 hours. The cloud did however not
lift. Two further days were spent in town before on the last
possible day in Chaiten, the dome appeared free of cloud. Low
clouds were ominously drifting in from the sea yet Richard decided
to climb the dome again. Making minor changes to the route, based
on experience from the first climb, he reached the rim in just
under 2 hours, making several photo stops on the way and resting
from the intense heat due to the strong sun. The damaged forest is
fascinating as it is tribute the immense power of pyroclastic
flows. Most trees were uprooted whilst others were snapped off in
the middle of their trunks. Others had the bark stripped clean off
the side facing the volcano and / or had pieces of rock deeply
embedded in them.
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The dome was
indeed finally clear and sits magestically in the huge
caldera formed during an eruption many thousand years
ago. Interestingly it was possible to hear extrusive
activity although it could not directly be seen. The
sound was like that of gently tipping glass bottles off
the back of a lorry and seemed to be coming from the
western summit of the dome.
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After spending nearly two hours on the
rim, Richard descended rapidly and joined Marc and Nicolas to
head back to Chaiten town to get some images of the lahar
damaged buildings with a clear dome in the background. This was
also possible so things had finally taken a turn for the better
at the last moment.
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The next day, Marc and Richard headed to the dock to
board the comfortable Naviera Austral ferry “Don Baldo” in
order to return to Puerto Montt. This is an old Greek ferry
with ample seating space and even a small restaurant area.
Due to fine sea conditions the ferry arrived early and a
relaxing evening could be spent in the city before starting
the flights back the next day.