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Published: January 25th 2009
I like to walk on ice. Buried down in my list of blogs there are... 3 other blogs with glacier walks, all in Alaska. So when I saw excursions onto the ice offered at El Chalten and El Calafate, I just had to go...
There are at least four glacier walk/treks available at El Chalten and El Calefate. I went on the mini ice trek in El Calafate and the Viedma glacier ice trek out of El Chalten. Both required boat rides to get to the glacier walk site. The El Chalten boat ride is a lot longer so the entire day is taken up by the boat ride and ice walk. Only about 2/3rds the day is taken up by the boat ride and ice walk at Perito Moreno glacier which leaves an hour to view the north portion of the glacier from land. So there is some difference in the overall objects and tour equipment. There are some age restrictions, apparently no-one over 65 is allowed on guided tours. And there are other age restrictions, check with the various tour operators first.
El Chalten
The guides rode out to the glacier on the boat with us.
During the first few minutes on the boat we got our crampons fitted, then we carried them with us to the edge of the glacier were we put them on with the help of the guides. On the ice we walked around for about 1.5 hours, stopping frequently to take photos. This hike used real crampons and was a bit more strenuous, it felt like a real ice walk. Although the time on the ice was about the same for the two trips I think we covered more 'ground' on the Viedma glacier trip. Our group had at least three guides.
El Calafate
At the Perito Moreno glacier they take many hundreds out on the ice everyday. It is an efficient production line sort of operation with boats, crampon fitting and routes tightly coordinated. Yet our guide was interesting and personable. The actual route was the shorter of the two but covered a variety of ice terrain. I´ve found in Alaska that you don´t have to go far on a glacier to be in a completely different planet, and this trek did it. The crampons they use have very short spiked so tripping on your points is unlikely.
Just about anyone who can walk for 1.5 hours on broken terrain could do this hike. The route was simpler than Viedma and we only had a primary and secondary guide.
Because it is a bit longer the El Chalten trek is a bit more challenging. It is also a little more personable because you get to interact with the guides on the boat as well as on land. We certainly had some folks on the El Chalten ice trek who were pressing the limits of their abilities and would have been better off on the El Calafate ice trek.
The basic ´feel´ of the Argentinian glacial terrain was very similar to the Alaska glaciers I have been on. Seems that glacier ice is glacier ice. The big surface difference is the amount of rock and grit. While Alaskan glaciers have a lot of rock on them the Argentinean glaciers I was on were strikingly almost rock free. The ice surface here seemed ´looser´, a bit more ´melted´ than the Alaskan glaciers but the appearance of the surface and the crevasse and serac terrain looked very similar.
Both these trips were a joy, I´d recommend either one,
although the El Chalten hike is a bit more authentic, the Perito Moreno hike is very convenient.. No need to do both, I was just in the mood for ice...
Glacier Walks in Alaska:
The Brady Glacier Southeast The Brady Glacier Southwest The Brady Glacier - Spur Lake Lituya Glacier Walk
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sugitha
non-member comment
I am happy
Thank god, we have warm country(India). Alaska with full ice looks beautiful.