Dance on the volcano

A volcano in the middle of Colombia, alert level yellow, and three pilots who were attracted to this inaccessible place. Michael Witschi, Tobias Dimmler and Ivan Ripoll made the flight from Nevado del Ruiz. But the journey to the successful landing had been a long one. And the Park Rangers didn’t need to know about it. Michael Witschi reports ... 

After my two 2017 Hike-and-Fly adventures on Farallones de Cali and Citlatepetl I fancied some more flying in Colombia. The possibilities looked good at first because there were eight mountains over 5000 metres waiting in this country. Tobias and Ivan also wanted to come along, but the obstacles turned out to be as large as the choice. One by one the flying sites vanished into thin air. For some the locals would have none of it, at others there might be strong volcanic activity, and everywhere else the authorities banned it. Eventually one option remained: the Nevado del Ruiz at 5,200 m. It’s a volcano at the yellow ‘fairly imminent’ danger level.

All other plans frustrated we decided, logically, to try the Nevado des Ruiz. We booked a hotel in Termales des Ruiz at 3,500 m, and soon the project started. I met Tobi and Ivan at La Nubia in Manizales airport, a place exactly between Medellín, Bogotá and Cali. A short rental car drive brought us to the hotel and we then made our way to the national park. There the park rangers told us about the park and how we should conduct ourselves when in it. We should only travel in convoy so that a possible evacuation could be carried out quickly. Once again we found out that “normal behaviour” was not called for here. The volcano can be dangerous at any time. Certainly we were free to move around, but only up to 4,000 m height. We left the park disappointed.

The road led north, over the flanks and through the valleys of the volcano, each very different in character – the first lavishly green, the second like a moonscape, smelling unpleasantly of sulphur. We stopped and played with our gliders in the wind. After that we returned to the hotel, did some research on what ‘yellow alert” actually meant and concluded that the risk to us was relatively small. So we decided to climb the Nevado del Ruiz from the north – the next day.

We set off at 7.30 am. We are especially observant, because we don’t want to encounter a park ranger. The view is breathtaking. We climb up to the first snow at 4,950 m, but there’s the first reality check. It’s not possible to glide down from here with our light 16 sq. metre gliders because the air density is too low and the crosswind too high. So we turn round and go back. A bit later we’re completely in cloud. In zero visibility we trudge through this lunar desert of lava, dust and sand. There’s one good thing: we can see every footprint and so have a reference of our own track direction. Our conclusion: we try it again tomorrow – two hours earlier.

We set off at 5 am next morning. We could hear thunder rolling in the distance and see the lightning, while a full moon shone overhead. Today the wind came from the west; we could see this from the steam streaming from the volcano. We decided on the north flank and climbed up the same route as yesterday only this time we continued higher, as far as an ice wall on the glacier under the crater rim. At 5,120 m above sea level we unpacked our gliders. Now there’s the takeoff to negotiate: Unfortunately the wind is coming down. The combination of thin air, small wings and wind down the slope is not a good thing. We look for the steepest fall-line without the larger blocks of stone. I had the heaviest wing loading and tried first. Like Usain Bolt going for the hundred metre record I set off downhill and soon felt the glider above me, but it did not carry me as much as hoped for. Eventually I had to lift my legs – the speed was just too much – and hoped – prayed - that my dismal glide ratio would be better than the volcano slope.

It went like this. At high speed I scythe over the mountain sides and soon slide out directly into the early thermals. In fact at 8am there are already big climbs available, so that even my 16m2 wing will go up. Behind me I see Tobi and Ivan, both safely in the air. After some time I set about my landing. At 4000 metres, in the first cow pastures, I land gently after a couple of thermal bumps – and cannot suppress my whoop of joy. Incredible! It worked! We are the first people to have flown from the North Face of the Nevado del Ruiz; the volcano had accepted us, and no Ranger appeared. It couldn’t have gone better.