ST CHARLES COLLEGE OLD BOYS SUMMIT WORLD’S THIRD-HIGHEST VOLCANO
Three St Charles College old boys braved freezing temperatures this week to summit the world’s third-highest volcano.
Ryan Zammit (50), a Clarendon resident and the owner of Foodpak, along with Antonio Piraino (50) and Fabio Ronchietto (49), set off for the peak of Mount Teide, in the Spanish-ruled Canary Islands, at 1 am on Tuesday.
The three, who are from the Class of 1991, have kept in touch over the years and met up with other old boys in the United Kingdom before leaving for the Canary Islands, off the coast of Morocco, where they hiked nine kilometres with only six hours in which to do it.
Along the hiking trail there are sightings of massive iron rocks, pumice — a light glass formed by the cooling of lava — and eroded lava fields.
Accompanied by a guide and in possession of a permit, Zammit and his friends left at 1 am and climbed to a mountain refuge at 5 am.
“The temperature was -5°C and the wind was around 40 km/h.
“We made tea with a stove and then got to the top at
7.30 am, just as the sun rose,” Zammit said in a WhatsApp message.
They carried nuts, Spanish ham, apples and baguettes for snacking.
Their hiking gear included warm clothing, sunglasses, woolen hats and trekking poles.
At the summit, the group made it just in time to view the sun cast a huge picturesque conical shadow of Teide Peak in the distance.
Zammit said the volcano is still active with hissing gases and visible steam.
However, it is not a threat as it last erupted 100 years ago.
“Our backpacks were light as we weren’t camping.
“Due to freezing temperatures and wind blowing at 60 km/h, we only spent 20 minutes at the top,” he said.
By noon yesterday they had completed their descent of the rocky mountain, making the hike up and down the mountain 11 hours in total.
Zammit said climbing a mountain is the ultimate journey of discovery.
“You not only get to spend time in nature and see new things but there is the physical challenge of getting to the top that is always fun,” he said.
Zammit said he has been fortunate to climb mountains in the Alps, Andes and Rockies but the Drakensberg are the most beautiful mountains in the world.