Glorious Glaciers - Trekking in Patagonia

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I rumbled over Ruta 40, following the Andes spine down into Patagonia from the Lake District. The bus ride from Bariloche to El Chalten took almost 30 hours, which was exhausting. The scenery along the way was spectacularly barren and remote. There was not a cloud in the sky as the bus chugged past Estancias (farms), roaming llamas and ostriches. Desert fields of dust and sprouting dry grass stretched on for miles on either side of the gravel road. The sun shone relentlessly all day ensuring the environment remained dry, harsh and near lifeless.

The entire route is gravel, apart from a few miles of tarmac. The bus was in fair enough condition but the seats did not fully recline which ensured the two nights spent on the bus were uncomfortable and icy cold. The bus driver seemingly only realising the frost-bite inducing conditions on the bus a couple of hours before sunrise. The sunrises over the desert, igniting the flat landscapes were awesome though and were equally matched by the sun sets. There is some work clearly taking place to tarmac the entire route which I think will really zap the romanticism out of it. I'm sure it'll cut down on the 30 hours though, which wouldn't be a complete disaster!

Ruta 40 is an iconic road in Argentina and follows in the footsteps that the famous Argentinan revolutionary Che Guevara rode on his motorcycle tours of South America. The road also passes an Estancia where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid lived for a couple of years raising cattle before their fatal expedition into Bolivia. The road eventually bumped onto reliable tarmac (a huge relief after 24 hours of being constantly vibrated in my seat) and cruised into El Chalten. The bus approached the small town in the morning as the sun rose slowly, casting a fiery red on the jagged toothy peaks of the Fitz Roy Mountain Range which is nestled in the Andes.

El Chalten is an exceedingly quiet town and forms the northern part of Los Glaciers National Park. The streets are very quiet in this small town which consists only of a few quiet streets. Popularity and therefore progress are coming to this sleepy town though - the amount of new constructions being testament to this. New small hotels and restaurants are being quickly thrown up, some of them are unfortunately particularly ugly. For now though the town remains wonderfully quaint with good bakeries and restaurants housed in beautiful wooden cabin style buildings and surrounded by attractive mountains.

The town is full only of hikers, which is the principle activity here. The Fitz Roy's stand majestically over town, their jagged granite peaks a permanent fixture of the skyline. Mount Fitz Roy is one of the toughest climbs on the planet because of its sheer granite faces and difficult approaches. Climbing to the top was not on the agenda, but embarking on a couple of the day hikes which takes trekkers much closer to these epic peaks was. I checked into my hostel, which had a lovely lodge feel, and groggily set off right away.

I had arrived in El Chalten on a wonderfully clear day after yet another awful night sleep on the bus. I was advised by the hostel that the weather was due to change the next day and it would be a good idea to set off as soon as possible for one of the treks to ensure good views. I had arrived in El Chalten at 7am and by 8.30am I was beginning the first hike to Laguna Torres. Tired, cold and hungry I began on the trail which, unfortunately, began steeply.

The hike was beautiful and I soon forgot about my lethargic state. The walk began with lovely sweeping views of El Chalten from above before plunging into lush forest. The track skirted past vertical cliffs which fell down into a gushing river that had come all the way from the peak of Cerro Torre which loomed ahead. The path soon flattened and crept in and out of forestation providing beautiful, crisp meadow scenery, colourful vegetation and fresh gushing streams.

Cerro Torre was the final destination, which is one of the peaks that sits beside Fitz Roy. The closer I got to the peak the less vegetation I encountered. Soon I was walking on loose stones, climbing over rocks to reach Laguna Torres - a glacier fed lake at the foot of the mountain. My first glimpse of the iceberg laden lake was amazing. The sky had remained a crisp blue and the spiky peak of Cerro Torre fell sharply from its grey point down into a circular lake. The lake was a milky colour with large icebergs floating serenely on the surface. They had begun to melt and implode as the sun began to rise higher in spectacular sploshes.

I walked around the lake further over gravel until I approached the outlet where the river I had been following earlier began. The river was impassable at this point and the only way across was a rope pulley system installed by mountaineers to get closer to the summit. I tried to shimmy myself across by failed to get any further. I was content to sit on a rock and watch the sun shimmer on the lake and illuminate the glorious Cerro Torre whilst eating my cold empanadas.

I made my way back to El Chalten the way I came, reluctant to leave the glorious vista before me. The rubbish sleep on the bus began to catch up with me and so the hike back took longer than I remembered. I eventually reached El Chalten tired but immensely satisfied at what I had seen. I spent the evening with a few travellers I had met along the route in one of the cosy breweries in town. One of the guys was a sports climber and told me of some great routes to try in the area. We gathered a group and decided to do some climbing the following day on the surrounding cliffs, hiring the equipment from a local store.

We set off early the following day, collecting our equipment and setting off for some cliffs that were on the other side of town. I had never climbed outdoors before so it was an entirely new experience for me. The climbing was great fun and we top-roped a variety of routes and grades from 4 to 6A. It was certainly much different to the bouldering I am used to as there are more ways to climb any one route. The highest we climbed was around 30 metres, which feels much higher than it sounds when you're up there - especially when the wind was whipping up around me!

On my final day in El Chalten I embarked on the most popular trek in town - the hike to Laguna Dos Tres. The day began disappointingly overcast but the sunrise still shone a burnt red colour from behind the clouds which looked stunning. The Laguna Dos Tres trek is longer and harder than the previous trek but the finale is apparently much more rewarding. The start of the trek is steep before flattening out for quite a distance. The views, even under the overcast skies were epic. Enormously wide valleys, gushing crystal clear rivers, twisted dead trees, boggy lakes and marsh land as well as thick green forest were my constant companions en route.

The scenery was as beautiful as it was varied and Fitz Roy loomed forever larger in the foreground. The final part of the hike was very difficult. After hiking for 12km or so through forests, fields and rivers the final 2km was 90 degrees up hill. The climb was very exhausting, the spectacular views behind me having no real effect as I was concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. Sweat poured off my brow and into the rocks I scrambled over. My thighs throbbed and my calves burned as the vegetation thinned out and the stones became even more precarious underfoot.

Above my head the clouds had began to part and, miraculously, as soon as I reached the summit of the steep climb the clouds had unwrapped themselves from their tight embrace around Fitz Roy and rolled on down the valley. What was left was mesmerising and easily beat the beauty of Laguna Torres a couple of days ago. Fitz Roy sat stubbornly vertical at around 3,500 metres before me. Glaciers slid down its lower slopes into a circular lake below. The large pool of water was an incredible turquoise blue because of the rock flour sediment in it. The colours were fabulous and combined beautifully to create a glorious scene. The area was all quiet apart from the sound of the waves of the lake lapping against the pebbly shore.

I walked around the lake, transfixed by its beauty to another rocky viewpoint. Laguna Dos Tres filters out by a waterfall which falls steeply into a river below. This glacier fed lake runs into another which combine to form the Rio Grande. On the other side of Fitz Roy the other lake was visible far below. Further up the steep valley the Cerro Torre glacier, which had melted some way up the mountain, proceeded to shed large chunks of ice into the lake far below. The melted shards took forever to hit the lake far below, the sound of the crack reaching me a quite a few seconds after it first broke off.

I returned to the main lake to gaze more at the beauty of the scene. I walked around further to more rocky viewpoints and waded in the freezing cold waters of the glacier lake. My legs were frozen after a few mere steps. The clouds had now completely cleared and left a stunning vista before me. I drank it in for a couple of hours before beginning the return trip. The gruelling track back was incredibly tiring but it was worth it for what is perhaps one of most beautiful vistas I have ever seen. I'm sure it is made even more amazing because of the tough trek that is required to get to it. The reward is definitely worth the effort.

The next morning I caught the bus to El Calafate, which was a mere 3 hours away on a proper road - luxury! El Calafate forms the southern part of Los Glaciers National Park - its centrepiece being the Perito Moreno Glacier. This particular sight is something I have been looking forward to for some time and was one of my main reasons for coming to Argentina in the first place. The sights I have seen, the incredible scenery I have enjoyed following the Andes down the western side of Argentina had been building up to this point.

It was therefore one of the first things that I signed up for at the hostel I had checked into. The bus ride into the National Park was scenic enough as it worked its way out of town and followed the shores of Lago Argentino. This lake is fed by the Perito Moreno, as well as other glaciers and is the largest in Argentina. The lake is flanked by large snow-capped mountains and browny-yellow fields which serve to emphasise the glorious blue green colours of the enormous lake.

We next drove further and entered the park; the bus rounded a corner giving me my first glimpse of the glacier. It is an incredible sight, even from a distance. The wide icy river snakes down between the large snow-laden Andes peaks and glistened in the morning sun. From this vantage point I could see how incredibly wide the glacier is, stretching the whole way across Lago Argentino. The bus continued on the road, the glacier occasionally reappearing larger and more ominous than before.

The bus then stopped at a boat dock where a large viewing boat was waiting. I boarded the boat and was soon speeding off towards the glacier's face. The boat sails to within a hundred metres of the glaciers southern toe and allowed me to fully appreciate the size of it. The stats are incredible - 74 metres high, 3 miles wide and 19 miles long make it one of the largest fresh water reserves on the planet. It is also one of the only glaciers in the planet that is not retreating and creeps forward an average of 2 metres a day. It doesn't get very far though, as about 2 metres falls off in large chunks each day also.

The glacier is an awe inspiring sight of ethereal blue which glows in the morning light. It's not just the sight of the glacier that is amazing though - the sound is also incredible. As the sun hits the glacier it begins to creak and crack as it inches forward. Thunderous sounds of ice splitting and fissures widening can be heard as large chunks of ice break away from the face and plunge into the lake below with a huge splash creating a wave that permeates away from the glacier face.

The bus sailed up and down the glacier face allowing me to take in the jagged sharp shards of ice that form the enormous face before returning to the dock. I re-boarded the bus which proceeded to the main lookout areas. This comprises of a variety of walkways which give access to wonderful panoramic views of both faces of the glacier. The walkways allowed me to get so very close to the glacier toe and listen to the thunderous crack of moving ice. The walkways are very well done and as opposed to the boat which enables you to look up at the glacier, the walkways allowed me to look over the glacier from where it snakes down from the mountains.

The river of ice looks fantastic in the morning light and both faces of the glacier are spectacular. From the panoramic viewpoints I walked down to the glacier face where camera toting tourists have their lenses trained on a particular part of the glacier which looks as if it is about to go. Naturally I joined them and caught a few of the large chunks breaking off. The glacier moves at quite a slow pace - it takes 300 years for the snow that falls from the top to compact, form ice and flow down to the bottom. I took in my final views of the glacier, illuminated in the glorious sunshine before returning to El Calafate.

El Calafate is a purely tourist town that has sprung up and grown with the popularity of Los Glaciers National Park. The town has a lodge feel and is quite an expensive place in relation to the rest of Argentina. There is not much going on in the town itself - the warm sunny days are great for enjoying a beer in the central area but aside from that there are some great nearby lakes. On my final day in El Calafate I wandered around the lakes before my flight back to Buenos Aires.

The lakes are beautiful - they sit next to the enormous Lago Argentino which was a shimmering a glorious green in the afternoon light. The two lakes are beautifully still and surrounded by daisies and horses chewing on the boggy grass. There is plenty of wildlife surrounding the lakes with pink flamingos and an array of other birds fluttering around - their reflections against the mirror-like water a beautiful sight. The colours in this area all combined to create a beautiful vista - pink flamingos, white horses, hundreds of yellow white daisies and the great green expanse of Lago Argentino flanked by the snow caked Andes was fabulous.

My final views of El Calafate were from the air as my flight took off into the bright burnt orange sunset towards Buenos Aires. Patagonia is a stunningly beautiful part of the planet and has raised the bar on some of the mesmerisingly beautiful sights I have seen already. The flight time was just under 4 hours with a stop in Trelew before touching down in Buenos Aires - much more efficient than the combined 60 hours it took the reach Patagonia by bus!

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Photos

Glorious Glacier
Perito Moreno

Lago Torres
El Chalten

Rock Climbing
In El Chalten

Sunrise
El Chalten

Fitz Roy
Laguna Dos Tres

Perito Moreno Glacier
El Calafate, Patagonia

Ice Break
Ice falling from Perito Moreno Glacier.

Comments

[Mum Dad and boys]

Stunning views and exciting treks
Michael, some of these views are absolutely stunning and probably even more so in reality. Ben Nevis will never be quite the same for you now you have conquered Fitz Roy. Well Done. It sounds utterly amazing about the glaciers and I bet not only do they look more stunning than the photos but the sounds of the ice breaking and falling must be incredible. Another thing that needs to be seen to be believed. Wow! That is amazing that the snow breaking off takes 300 years to compact, form ice and sink to the bottom. I did not know that! How on earth will you outdo this trip. Take care and enjoy. Speak to you soon. Fantastic.