Solo Ascent of Mt. Etna

As usual while on vacation, I was up early and at 6:30 the sky was clear.  I waited til 7 to suggest to Pam that she get ready for breakfast so we can leave for the mountain.

"No thanks," or something to that effect as she claimed her ankles were bothering her and didn't think it would be a good idea.  I dressed and found Paul at breakfast and he wanted to wait as well.

Jones had a Mt Etna tour scheduled for 8 a.m., so I signed on with them.  We had 3 busses, but each was a little more than half full.  Had a good guide that was very knowledgeable and lived on the mountain about 2 miles below where the last lava flow stopped.

It was about a 90 minute ride zig zagging up a steep grade with hairpin turns (I can't imagine that Brian and Maria rode their bikes up this mountain!). Then we loaded onto a 6 person gondola for a 15 minute ride.  It is used for skiing in the winter.  There was a building at the top with a snack bar, souvenir stand, and coat and boot rental shop.

There wasn't much wind so I braved it with my t-shirts, sweater and jacket.  From there we loaded unto big 4 wheel drive busses that held about 20 people.  I got to ride shotgun on the way up about another 15 minutes.

Looks like climbing Mt Fiji!

We were dropped off at 10,000 feet near a steaming crater.  The 'ash' was black and bigger than very coarse sand.  I walked around the crater and at places there was steam coming off of the trail.  I dug in the ash a couple inches and it was too hot to touch.

The weather was pretty clear and we could see the peak another 1,000 feet in elevation.

Came back down and were taken to a touristy spot for a buffet lunch that was okay.  Back to the hotel by 3:00 and we went down to the pool.  I decided to go for a swim in the Sea so I could claim 10,000 vertical feet for the day!

We had our 'Theme Dinner' that night at a large restaurant with traditional food and the theme was a group of loud roaming musicians.  

Got back to the hotel at about 10 and Pam went to bed I went downstairs to check up on work and emails.