Pico del Teide, April 4, 2023
I would describe the path to the top of this volcanic mountain that reigns over the Canary Island of Tenerife. A lot has already been written about the mountain itself and the islands, so we won't repeat others' data and descriptions. My contribution will just be how I tackled the feat. With some (hopefully) useful experiences. The description is mine, personal and unofficial:
This year I'm already on the island for the fourth time, as my wife and I repeated our honeymoon from twenty years ago, when we first went there with our then 2-year-old daughter. Whenever we were there, I was somehow on Teide too. First with the cable car and on foot to the top with my daughter, second time with the cable car and on foot to the top, this time with teenage daughter and son, third time on foot from the parking lot to the Refugio de Altavista hut with my wife and finally this year alone from the parking lot to the top.
First, let me say that I missed booking the summit visit permit (you get it on the website). Be careful, it takes at least a month and a half, so I went on the trail without hope of success. In an email I asked them if there was any chance to let me in, as I'm a real mountaineer with all the necessary etiquette… Nothing. For consolation, my wife and I wanted to choose Mount Gujaro (2718 m), which a friendly employee of the tourist office Centro de visitantes de "Cañada Blanca", located in the center of the area under the volcano, advised us. She mentioned that I couldn't go to Teide because the wind was blowing too hard and the gondola wasn't running. To my question how I could go on foot to the mountain and to the top without a permit, she replied that there was no one at the barrier anyway, and that if I was persistent enough to reach the barrier, I could bypass it and go to the top. "Bingo!!!" Let's go!!!
The next morning I wake up at 5 a.m. and drive to the parking lot under "Montana Blanca". It's quite a long drive. One hour, depending on where you start. This is one of the most common starting points for hikes. I don't know others. I arrived too early, as it was still dark. The parking lot was already almost full, as quite a few cars stayed there overnight. Instead of 6:15, I started at 7:15, when it was already dawning enough that no lights were needed.
After about an hour of walking, I reached the junction for Montana Blanca or Teide. Up to here, a cart track leads, and the ascent to Montana Blanca is very easy and thus suitable also for families with small children. About 15 minutes more walking from the junction to the (so-called) top.
From here the path starts steeper upward. Otherwise always nicely fenced and technically undemanding path becomes somewhat more physically demanding and remains so right to the top. Of course, due to the ever lower oxygen concentration, the altitude is felt and thus the effort in walking. I reach the Refugio de Altavista hut after a good hour, almost an hour and a half of walking. As in previous years, it was closed this time too. No tea, no toilets…
Outside, I take time for a rest and snack in the company of German-speaking girls, with whom we had been walking close for at least an hour or more.
To the upper cable car station Teleférico del Teide I needed less than an hour and here it got "hot" for me. Whether I could sneak past the barrier or not. No one anywhere, so I rushed past it via a shortcut. Since I was hurrying a bit, I was running out of breath quite a bit, so I slowed the pace. The fierce wind that had accompanied me the whole way intensified towards the top and became quite annoying, if not dangerous.
To the top I needed a good 30 minutes. Up there it smelled of sulfur, as Teide still shows signs of life. And above all, it was blowing insanely. I barely took some photos and rushed back towards the cable car station.
On the way back I caught up with a nice French girl Manu, with whom, struggling with English, we shortened the three-hour descent time along the same path to the parking lot.
So: Expected walking time is 5 hours to the top and 3 back. Start in April will be hard before 7 a.m., unless with headlights. You need to have enough clothes with you, as Teide likes to surprise with wind and cold. And of course food in the backpack. If we see clouds in the valley, there's little chance that Teide will be cloudy too, as it's usually above them.
Arrange a summit permit (it's free), so you don't have to chase windy conditions when the gondola doesn't run and there's no one at the barrier!!!