HIKING ON AN ACTIVE VOLCANO

Etna: one of the most active volcanoes in Europe, with an altitude of 3320m. Our plan: to spend 3 days and 2 nights on the mountain.

We started our hiking trip in Piano Provenzana. With a full backpack we hiked towards the Rifugio Timparossa. We had blue sky, but the trail was very hard to see through the snow and the cold wind surrounded us with uncertainty. We crossed landscapes covered with small volcanoes. After a few hours we came across a small forest on the north side of the volcano. We crossed the forest covered in white snow and finally found our first place to sleep; Rifugio Timparossa. It gave us a good shelter in the first cold night. With a small oven the refuge did not cool down so fast at night.

But the oven went out during the night and the cold woke us up early in the morning. After breakfast we hiked towards Rifugio Sapienza in the southern part of the mountain. From there we crossed many forests and open meadows. Arrived at the Rifugio Galvarina, we immediately took care of the fire inside the hut. Afterwards we practiced the Wim Hof Method. The afternoon passed quickly and it became dark very fast. In the evening we could see the Etna Volcano erupt from the Rifugio Galvarina. The sky turned red after each eruption. The temperatures were sinking outside at night and we woke up the next morning with a snowstorm. But the storm did not make our return journey too difficult.

Hiking on an active Volcano was so thrilling and adventurous. Definately to recommend!