
That time I climbed a volcano and what I learned from it - earnestsweat
https://medium.com/the-importance-of-being-earnest/that-time-when-i-climbed-a-volcano-b4c32c9c7dcf#.i4284j2ft
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doug1001
Here's one i highly recommend: Mt Tiede (~ 3,500m) in Tenerife, one of the
Canary Islands, which makes it a good trivia question since it's technically
the highest peak in Spain (which i would have guessed is in the Sierra Nevadas
or the Pyrenees to the East).

Tenerife is easier to get to than you might think, it's about a 3.5 hr flight
from London, and among that city's airports (Luton, Gatwick, Heathrow, et al)
dozens of flights to Tenerife each day.

According to the Lonely Planet guide, Mt Tiede is the real deal--an active
volcano that last erupted near the start of WW I. There is a very high fence
around the caldera. The can walk to the summit via a well-worn switchback
(zig-zag) path that's never very steep. It took us all morning, starting at
dawn; we never saw another person, then at the summit, a large crowd of
tourists standing around, freezing waiting for the next cable car to take them
back down. You can see from the summit eg, Grand Canaria.

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jjbiotech
Very cool learning experience! For those of you who are into hiking volcanoes,
I'd highly recommend the Tongariro Alpine Crossing in New Zealand
([http://www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz/tongariro-alpine-
crossin...](http://www.tongarirocrossing.org.nz/tongariro-alpine-crossing-
gallery.html)). It was one of the best experiences of my life.

~~~
soylentcola
I'm not often near volcanoes nor enough of a hiker to seek them out but while
in Bali for a few weeks, I did a sunrise hike of Mt. Batur. That's less than
half the height of the one in the linked essay but it was still somewhat
challenging for my somewhat out-of-shape body (not something I couldn't handle
by any means but definitely wore me out). Getting to the top by sunrise was
really impressive and I'm really glad I had the chance to hike it.

