Fitz Roy, El Chalten Argentina.
Ever since my visit to Torres del Paine in Chile in 2010 I have wanted to visit Fitz Roy in Argentina. The voyage to
Antarctica provided an opportune moment for me to add it at the end before my
return to Australia. Because of the wildly fluctuating weather in this region,
I allowed five days to see it and managed to see the object of my quest on the
3rd. I was not disappointed, being rewarded with stunning views.
I left Ushuaia on a midday flight and stayed in a hostel at El Calafete . They
organised a bus for me to get to El Chalten at 8:00am in the morning. I was
not aware that buses now run according to flight arrivals and I could of gone
there straight from the airport buying tickets at the airport. the Ken
Keu hostel in El Calafete was comfortable and perched on a hill in town which
gave good views of the lake.
The trip to El Chalten is quite long being around 200km. The bus left
promptly at 8:00am, was quite comfortable and had a toilet (bus Sur). We broke
down just 10km out of town, but fortunately another bus was only minutes away
from us and the driver kindly allowed us to travel on his bus the rest of the
way, even though he was from a different company. We arrive in the early
afternoon. A few people were trying to hitch, but it looked as though
they were being dumped in the middle of nowhere and the bus wasn’t going to
stop for them. It is much better to catch the bus rather than trying to save
50 or so dollars – what ever it was - and hang around all day getting to
nowhere.
We had a brief lecture at the national park headquarters in El Chalten in
English for us English speakers and Spanish for the locals. This was to
explain the hygiene requirements, intentions notice if venturing away from the
main park areas and where camping is permitted as well as a weather
report. I was surprised that there are no fees to enter the park nor any
camping fees, that’s a bonus. Although it was raining, I elected to start
walking right away and headed for the glacier at laguna Torre. I did not wish
to stay in the town as I needed to be with nature – whatever it wants to dish
out, I don’t care. We were given a map of the tracks in the park and informed
that the ones with dashed lines should be registered with the park rangers.
Day 1: hike to laguna Torre.
This was a fairly easy trek in wet weather and hence a good choice to start
off with. My goal was to visit the glacier today, with achieved after
setting up camp and waiting out the rain. The beauty of the summer is that the
days are long so it wasn’t an issue to wait a while. What a
beauty, inclement or otherwise, this glacier is worth the effort.
Initially I thought I could of walked this track in trail running shoes,
however the last km was strewn with rocks and scree, so I was glad I chose to
use the hiking boots.
The track is well sign posted and the free park map adequate for purpose.
The alpine flowers are very beautiful, there sporadic placement enhancing the
rubble and glaciated scene.
Camping was by a the glacier fed waters, though brown in colour was perfectly
Ok to drink.
The campsite dunny was luxury !
My new tent a Dyneema composite high tech number made by
Zpacks is a beauty.
Weighing less than a loaf of bread at 600gm it cuts down the pack weight
significantly. There is loads of room for me and all my stuff & even
another person if need be. It is supported by trekking poles (which
incidentally weigh 120g each, made by
gossamer
. now there is a 3 piece pole made which would better fit inside the back
pack) or free standing can be achieved by using carbon fibre cross braces. I
found the cross braces flimsy in high wind, but they are useful in that access
is easier into the tent without the centre trekking pole. There were quite a
few admirers from the camp site.
Day 2: hike to Fitz Roy.
Early morning exit from Laguna Torre. Brilliant weather. Sensational views all
the way, teasing me with ever grander views of my quest.
Water, my other love on this planet of ours balances the otherwise barren
mountainous structure both with the lakes and glaciated snowy cap.
The walk up to the lake in front of Fitz Roy – laguna de los tres is a real
kicker. If you are not up to it, there have been plenty of sighting options
along the way.
And... with a breathy hard push, assisted with the knowledge that others are
struggling in more or less thought processes, there is a reward, or may
actually. There are a couple of lakes to explore and the grandeur of the
mountains and glacier towering above is somewhat an emotional experience.
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