El Chalten

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After a 5 hour bus ride, a short hop when taken in context of other bus journeys, we arrived into El Calafate, the newest town in Argentina. It's a frontier town at the foot of some spectacular mountains. Not that we could see any of them. Low clouds were blanketing out all but the closest hills and even they were partially obscured.

The weather is peculiar in Patagonia. Different areas have their own microclimate so it’s impossible to predict what the weather will be like in any one place. I’d heard from other travelers that the weather had been atrocious here. They’d hiked for days in endless rain, buffeting winds and freezing cold. And after enduring all this they didn’t even see the mountains that brought them there in the first place. On hearing those stories I decided to do day hikes instead, that way I’d have somewhere warm and dry to come back to. Right on cue the weather changed for the worse and it started bucketing down.

The odd thing was that if you looked out the window on one side of the hostel the sky was sunny and blue. On the other side, towards the mountains, it was dark, grey and pouring with rain. Something I’ve never come across before.

Seeing as it was bucketing down I decided not to hike after lunch. Instead I spent time bumming around on the internet and in various cafes. I had met some a couple of girls from the UK, Marian and Gill, and a Canadian girl, Nikki, on the bus over here. We’d planned on meeting up later that evening for dinner. I had assumed that they too would have been lazing about due to the weather.

To my surprise and embarrassment Marian and Gill had braved the weather and went on a 3 hour hike. Nikki went one better and did a 5 hour hike. I felt like such a wuss!!

I woke up bright and early the next morning, determined to make up for my laziness the previous day. The day looked promising, although that doesn’t mean much here. When I started off it was cold but sunny, you can’t ask for more than that in these parts.

There is a trail that splits into two further on. If the sky was clearish I would follow the trail to Laguna de los Tres for magnificent views of Cerro Fitz Roy. Otherwise I would follow the trail to the glacier, where the views are still great even in rubbish weather. The big draw card to these parts is Cerro Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre, so I was hoping that I would see at least one of them while I was here.

I started on the on the trail and before long came across a group of wild horses milling about on the track and the surrounding bush. There was no way for me to get around them so I stood there rather impotent trying to talk the horses into moving on. Not surprisingly they ignored my pleas and did as they pleased.

Before long a group of Japanese tourists arrived along with their guide. I sort of shrugged and pointed unhelpfully in the direction of the horses. The guide, ignoring me completely, walked towards the horses without even a nod of thanks. And this after I pointed out the horses to him. Some people are just plain ungrateful I tell you!!

Anyway the guide walked right up to one of the horses, whispered in its ear and then gently pushed the horse away from the track. The horse then wandered off with the rest of its group following behind. It was like something out of the movie The Horse Whisperer. I was impressed.

When the horses had moved about 20 meters away from the track the main horse suddenly turned and charged at us. It only charged about 5 meters before suddenly stopping and turning back around, but it was nevertheless frightening.

At this point the group of Japanese tourists started screaming. All of a sudden one of the group let out an almighty yelp before toppling off the path and into the bushes. I know it’s cruel of me to say but it was one of the most hilarious things I’ve seen in a long time. She was a like tree that had been felled, no flailing of arms. Timber... walking sticks and all.

In my defense I waited to find out that the, did I mention elderly woman, was unhurt and I even walked around the corner before bursting into fits of laughter. I was the very model of restraint.

After composing myself I continued on my way. I eventually reached the first viewing point for Cerro Fitz Roy. By this time the wind had picked up, the rain had started and the sun had disappeared behind a bank of clouds. All I saw was the base of mountain and then clouds. Like an obedient tourist I took a few snaps just in case this was the best view I would get of the mountain.

Despite the worsening weather I forged on. After a while the path opened out into a breathtaking valley. The sense of space was incredible as was the strength of the wind. After taking a few pics in the rain I moved on, my poor camera was getting a battering on this trip. After walking into a grove of trees, which partially protected me from the wind, the sky started to clear.

Before long the sun was out and I could see most of Cerro Torre. There was a bank of clouds that stubbornly clung to the top of the mountain and refused to budge. In spite of that, the view was breathtaking and was so pleased to see the sun again. I decided that this was the perfect time to stop for lunch and take in the views while they lasted.

For lunch I’d bought a can of tuna and some bread. It wasn’t of those easy open cans and I thought I that my pocketknife contained a can opener. But I was wrong. I was starving by this time and nothing was going to stop me from getting into that tuna. I proceeded to stab at the can and then using my main blade, tediously and carefully cut out a hole big enough for me to get at the precious tuna. I think I almost destroyed my pocketknife in the process but I was deliriously happy to be eating. And yet another embarrassing point, Nikki later pointed out that my pocketknife actually did have a pocketknife I just wasn’t using it properly. Oh well you live and learn...

Seeing as it was still clear I decided to head up to Laguna de los Tres. It was a long and steep climb and I was totally knackered by the time I reached the top. It was my first real hike on this trip and I was struggling. It was icy cold at the top and that incessant wind was only making it worse. I scrabbled up to the highest viewing point and bumped into none other than Nikki, my Canadian mate. She was sheltering from the wind behind a boulder and clinging on for dear life after a strong blast almost knocked her over. After taking a few snaps we sat down for a few minutes before the cold, wind and snow drove us down.

The break in the weather we were having was now at an end but at least it wasn't raining as hard as it had been on our trip back into town. I was absolutely exhausted by the time I got back into town. I'd hiked for about 9 hours and my feet were killing me. It was all worth it though. The landscape was just incredible.

Later that evening I met up with the guys for dinner but after our various walks we were exhausted and had an early night. We still had a lot of walking to do tomorrow.

The following morning I was awoken by a loud wailing noise. It wasn't a weird roommate this time, just the wind attempting to blow the roof off our hostel. This time the weather was awful, driving rain that looked like it would stay with us all day. I was so close to staying in that day the weather was so bad. I figured I'm here to hike so I may as well do what I came here to do despite the weather not being on my side. Once again covered in my rainproof gear I set out to Cerro Torre. I'd decided to hike as far as the first lookout, which was only 1.5 hours away, before deciding whether it was worth continuing.

I trudged my way through the rain and the weather gradually got worse and worse. By the time I reached the viewing point it was quite dark and absolutely bucketing down. I was cold, wet and miserable and could barely see the valley let alone the surrounding mountains from the lookout. I was so tempted to head on back to the dry warm hostel, but being the stubborn bastard I am I decided to keep walking and see if the weather got any better.

After another hour with the weather getting gradually worse, if you can believe it, I was close to turning back. It was only my desire to be out hiking that kept me going. I do remember walking along and thinking to myself 'Why the hell am I still out here?’. I was eventually rewarded for my perseverance though. As I was approaching the base of Cerro Torre the clouds parted, the angels sang and all was good in this world once again.

The weather cleared and I was able to see that the incredible mountains surrounded me. It was beautiful. Knowing how changeable the weather is I took a few snaps and right on queue the dark clouds raced in and it was once again pouring. I started on my trek back once again cold and wet but not miserable this time. I was elated to have seen what I had come to see.

And as you'd expect in this crazy place, when I was within half an hour of town the sun came out and the clouds disappeared. It was fantastic. By the time I reached the hostel I was warm and dry.

It was an incredible few days and I consider myself extremely lucky to have seen both Cerro Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. I had talked to people who had been there for almost a week and had seen neither of them. It was time to leave and head back to El Calafate before making my way to Torres del Paine in Chile. I was now ready to take on some multi-day hikes.

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Photos

Outdoor dunny near Cerro Torre
Outdoor dunny near Cerro Torre

Mountain in mist near Cerro Torre
Mountain in mist near Cerro Torre

Valley near El Chalten
Valley near El Chalten

Track to Laguna de los Tres
Track to Laguna de los Tres

Cerro Fitz Roy
Cerro Fitz Roy

Cerro Fitz Roy 2
Cerro Fitz Roy 2

The famous tuna incident
The famous tuna incident

Me at Laguna de los Tres
Me at Laguna de los Tres

Back to El Chalten
Back to El Chalten