Mongibello

On Sunday I took time off to climb this mountain, better known nowadays as Mount Etna.
I think it is about 3,326 m high at the moment, although this varies with eruptions making it the highest and most active volcano in Europe and old, about 500,000 years.
It has exploded violently in the past, but generally just farts regularly like a baby - with copious discharges. Eruptions have been documented since 1500 BC, when people living in the eastern part of the island were compelled to migrate to its western end. Since then there have been more than 200 eruptions, most fairly small.
Etna's most powerful recorded eruption was in 1669, when explosions destroyed part of the summit and lava flows from a fissure on the volcano's flank reached the sea and the town of Catania, more than ten miles away. The Catanian townspeople came out to dig a channel that diverted lava away from their homes towards Paterno; whose inhabitants grew increasingly cross with the Catanians as the lava oozed slowly closer to them. Eventually, they forced the cityfolk choose between the wrath of Paterno or the wrath of Hephaestus / Vulcan. The Catanians wisely chose to abandon their quest.
Etna's longest eruption began in 1979 and went on for thirteen years; its latest eruption began in March 2007, and continues as you may have seen in recent news bulletins.
The walk starts at the pyramid, (a solar clock,) by Rifugio Sapienza, now the centre of the ski resort. Very soon the sparse vegitation gives way to the bleak, lunar landscape for which the mountain is famous. Clouds were blowing across the snow and lava which made it difficult to navigate and rather on the chilly side. Unfortunately, this plateau, the Torre del Filosofo (2920m) was as high as I was allowed to go without paying for a guided tour. Since the summit is rather unpredictable at present, I opted for caution and obeyed the sign.Read more