Patagonia - No Picnic!

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Wrapped up in our warm and cosy hotel in El Chalten, it didn’t matter about the weather so much anymore, but our first day in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares was a bright and breezy one. In the morning, we had the usual admin to catch up on, but we headed out in the afternoon to walk up the valley a little way through the lenga forests, (I think lenga is something like beech, found in temperate rainforests in Patagonian Chile and Argentina) for views of the Fitzroy range and the glaciers. We planned to venture out all day the following day for more exploration, however, a trip to the national park office and a look at the forecast and we weren’t so keen! However, Sarah had asked the park guards which were the best walks to do in the rain, so we were as equipped as we could be.

As we got tucked up in our cosy room that night, we could hear the rain lashing against the windows and it was still raining the following morning. It seemed silly to be in such beautiful surroundings (if only the clouds and rain would clear so we could see them!) and not get out and about; and why not use all the Gore-Tex? So we got togged up and went out for a hike up to Laguna Capri - supposed to be a beautiful little lake, but we couldn't really see through the mist! A morning trek makes lunch all the more welcome though! The following day was forecast to be much better, so we booked a trip to Viedma Glacier ice climbing for the following day.

The following day dawned dry and sunny, if rather cold and we were picked up by coach to be taken down to the boat which would take us across the spectacular Lago Viedma and to the Viedma glacier. The Viedma glacier is one of the biggest glaciers in the area and different to glaciers we’ve seen before (in NZ south island) as it ends at a lake, so you see huge icebergs in the lake. Huge chunks of ice, fall off the front and you see enormous icebergs all over the lake floating silently and beautifully in various shades of blue.

We met our guide for the ice climbing and discovered that we were the only people booked onto the ice climbing expedition for that day, so we had a private trip with Fernando our guide. First we went to ‘basecamp’ to collect the gear, helmets, harnesses and ice axes and then we hiked down to the glacier to put on crampons. Then we climbed up on the glacier to find our climbing wall. It was incredibly windy up on the glacier and freezing cold - we were glad of all the layers we were wearing. After 20 minutes or so, Fernando found the perfect spot, and while we sheltered behind a serac of ice, he fixed all the ropes in place and disappeared off down into a crevasse!

Steve was first to rappel down and Sarah followed. Once down in the crevasse, it was still freezing cold, but shelterd from the wind, which was a relief. Fernando showed us how to ‘piolet’, climbing with two ice axes, ine ice axe at a time and then one crampon at a time. The 20m south face we were climbing was pretty near vertical and not quite what we had expcted on our first climb, but Steve went first and climbed quickly and expertly to the top and rapelled down again. Sarah did the same and we had mastered our first wall. With only 2 of us to learn, after 4 times up the wall, taking different routes, we were exhausted and it was nearly time for lunch. Amazing how time flies when you’re working so hard. Fernando disappeared off up the other side of the crevasse to set up another climb for us. After about 20 minutes, we started to worry that we had been left in the crevasse and he was back at base camp eating all the lunch!!

He reappeared at the top of a 50m face and gave the signal for Steve to start climbing. This climb felt much more tiring, although not as steep and by the time we got to the top, we had aching arms and legs and were definitely ready for lunch. By now, the wind was incredible and Fernando reminded us of his favourite saying “Patagonia No Picnic”. We headed back to base camp for lunch and a cup of tea and then after lunch we headed out for a trek on the glacier. We climbed as far as we could along a ridge high above the incredible sweeping shapes of the turquoise crevasses and then Fernando hacked away a small patch of ice, saying he had a surprise for us. He pulled out 3 glasses and a bottle of Baileys and we had Baileys on ice up there on the glacier! What a lovely treat!

Finally we headed back to base camp to pack up and secure the camp and then it was back to the boat and back across the lake. We both fell into a tired and satisfied sleep in amongst the afternoon boat trip passengers.

On arriving back in el Chalten, we jumped straight into the car and headed south again for a couple of hours to our next destination, making the most of the daylight and the opportunity to spent longer in El Calafate, the second major town in Parque Nacional Los Glaciares. We arrived just before dark found a reasonable campsite in town for the night.

The next day was a warm and sunny day, which was great. We headed out of town to find a better campsite, somewhere away from town and nearer to the famous Perito Moreno glacier. We found the perfect place at Lago Roca; about 70kms from El Calafate, set on the shores of the lake, with high snowy peaks on 3 sides, and camp sites in amongst the trees and we found ourselves a pitch which was completely secluded - we couldn’t see another tent. We settled down in the late afternoon sunshine for a cold beer and a pot of popcorn (favourite south american snack). It was idyllic! That was about 5pm. By 8pm, however, the black clouds which had been hanging over the mountains had arrived and it started to rain. So the shelter went up, we donned our waterproofs and we cooked dinner.

The next day we were due to go on a trip to an estancia, which involved another boat trip, so it was a very early start, leaving the campsite at 7am. We awoke to the sounds of the wind through the trees and rain drumming on the tent. It was freezing (about 5 degrees - funny you wouldn’t dream of camping in the UK when it’s 5 degrees, but this is the Patagonian summer!). We dragged ourselves out of our sleeping bags, made a cup of tea and headed off to the port.

We arrived at the Punta Bandera to find it was deserted, blowing an absolute gale - there were white horses on the puddles in the car park! We couldn’t believe they would take us out on a catamaran in this weather. After half an hour or so, some staff turned up and said that they were waiting to see if the wind would drop, but eventually declared that they would have to cancel the trip for the day.

What to do but head into town for breakfast in a nice café and make the most of their wifi, then head to another café for lunch?! It did stop raining for a while in El Calafate, but the town is a coog distanc away from the mountains and the southern ice field. In the afternoon, we decided to go and visit the famous Perito Moreno glacier. It is a truly spectacular sight; silent and blue, an enormous sweep of ice from high up on the ice field. It was drizzly and freezing cold (again, it generally is anywhere near glaciers of course!) and we walked about on the viewing platforms. It’s a bit touristy, but really worth seeing and we even saw a chunk of ice fall off with an almighty roar and break up into pieces in the water below.

Back on the campsite, it was still raining and it looked like it had been all day. The Alien looked very wet and forlorn! We had hot showers to warm up and it was a quick dinner and into sleeping bags and bivvy bags again. We had rearranged our trip for the following day, so again we had to get up in the dark at 6.30 and leave the campsite by 7am. We arrived at Punta Bandera and it was like groundhog day. It was raining hard and the wind was incredible, but from a slightly different direction. Again, we weren’t sure that they would run a trip, but soon staff arrived and starting busying around getting the boat ready. With the wind in the direction it was, we could travel up the lake safely today.

We set off and after a couple of hours, we arrived at an iceberg barrier which was formed last year when a kilometre long section of ice fell off the front of Upsala glacier and into the water. They are so beautiful and graceful floating there. Next we went off to the estancia - Estancia Cristina, which was owned and run by a family who had come over from Wales in the early 1900’s. What an incredible setting, surrounded by mountains and glaciers, only accessible by boat and miles and miles of desolate wind-blown land. The estancia is now owned and run by the company who run the trips, by special permission from the national park.

We were picked up by 4 x 4 and driven up a steep, bumpy and windy track, until we could go no further. We then hiked up another 1km to the top of the hill from where we had a spectacular view of the turquoise lake and Upsala Glaciar trailing silently away into the clouds over the icefield. It was so windy, you could barely stand up, so we continued on our trek and over the next few hours, we trekked down through fossil canyon, seeing incredible layers of pink, yellow, green and terracotta rock, flaky shale, huge white granite slabs and hundreds of fossils embedded in the rocks. Our return to the estancia turned into quite a route march as we had to get back in time for the boat. It was an interesting trip, but we were disappointed not to get closer to Upsala Glaciar.

Back in port, we said goodbye to the people we had met during the day. They were all heading back to El Calafate and bright sunshine. However, in the direction we had to head to get back to the campsite, we could see the low cloud and sure enough, by the time we reached the campsite it was raining (still). So we had another night dressed up in full Gore-Tex and cooking dinner under the shelter. I think at this point we’d been in full waterproofs for 3 consecutive days!!

It did stop raining that evening, just as it was dusk and we could see how spectacular the surrounding mountains looked, coated in fresh snow. We awoke in the morning to glorious sunshine, just as it had been when we arrived. The views over the surrounding mountains were even more spectacular as we watched the sun rise. We actually managed to pack up in dry weather, which was a relief after all the rain and we left a sunny and warm campsite. Despite the weather this campsite is hands down winner of the best campsite (so far) award.

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