The best way to enjoy and get to know a glacier is to walk on top of it. That is our experience from our trip to the glacier Torre in Argentinean Patagonia.
Thousands of tourists cross continents, put on a backpack and then walk for hours and hours to see one of these giant spectacles. Others do it with a bit more comfort and expense, spending hundreds of dollars on a cruise, and then they just can’t resist the temptation of a good whiskey over a lump of ancient glacial ice.
A glacier has many wonders that could be mentioned to justify the passion of these true fanatics of the ice: its colors, which play from transparent to white then to blue; the amazing sound produced by even a small ice fall; its shapes; and its imposing and ancient presence.
We are also self-declared fanatics, who wanted to take the experience further and walk on the glacier. That’s why we headed toward the GlacierNational Park, where there are 356 of these enormous ice masses.
In the Argentinean trekking capital
From the city of El Calafate, and after 220 km on a tiring gravel road, one arrives at Chaltén. This small village of 300 inhabitants, which was founded only recently in 1985, is today already recognized as the trekking capital of Argentina.
The village is located at the base of the imposing Torre and Fitz Roy peaks. It justifiably gets its name from the latter, which was traditionally called “Chaltén” (SmokingMountain) by the Tehuelche Indians, given that its top is nearly always covered by clouds and it looks like an active volcano.
Although there are great trekking routes, we resisted doing them this time and concentrated on our main objective: to conquer the ice. We set off immediately to find the services of an agency. They told us that although we didn’t need previous experience, we did need to be in good physical condition, because we were going to have to walk for about 12 hours. Even though we weren’t in the best physical shape, we were really excited and full of enthusiasm to stand on the ice, and so we signed up for the trip. We would be setting off at 7 a.m. the following morning.
The conquest of the ice
- Did you bring sun cream? – Asked one of the guides.
- Yes.
-Sunglasses?
- Yes.
- Gloves? Hat? Walking boots?
- Yes.
- OK, then let’s start to walk.
We start to leave El Chaltén behind as we head toward the mountains. There are 10 members in the group but nobody speaks because we are concentrating on the route ahead and are a bit shaken by the path, which is getting steep almost immediately. I can hardly breathe and realize that enthusiasm alone isn’t enough, but I keep going. After two and a half hours walking, we arrive at the base camp of Torre peak (Thorwood), where we eat a small snack and they give us our equipment: a harness and a pair of crampons. We have to put the latter in the backpack.
Why a harness? Because in two more hours we will arrive at Fitz Roy River, and the only way to cross it is using a zip wire, pulling ourselves across with our arms. One of the guides crosses first, and it doesn’t look too difficult. Obviously this perception changes absolutely when one is there, with arms starting to tire and those few remaining meters seeming endless. But everyone in the group makes it without problems and we immediately start the most difficult part of the walk: “la morrena”.
The glacier looks very close but first we have to climb a fair bit more, then cross a small - but difficult – stream, and afterwards do a complicated descent with loose scree. All of a sudden we are walking between small rocks and ice, telling us that it is time to put on our crampons.
We start our adventure slowly, trying to use a technique that consists of walking with the legs a bit apart and treading firmly to push all the points of the crampons into the slippery ground.
Everything is incredible; the scenery, the colors, the shapes, even the sound of the crampons breaking the ice. We are crossing a totally irregular surface, full of mounds, cracks, little streams and enormous drains, which are deep holes that can sometimes reach the bottom of the glacier.
-Ufffff, we’ve come a very long way, it’s going to be exhausting to have to do it all again on the way back. –says someone in the group.
I smile, continue eating and think: Who cares? So what if my legs are aching and my heart is thumping. To be here is perfect!
HOW TO GET THERE:
El Calafate is 3000km from Buenos Aires and 315km from the city of Río Gallegos, capital of the Province of Santa Cruz. Flights leave daily from Buenos Aires to El Calafate (3 hours flying direct). Regular buses leave El Calafate twice a day for Chaltén
USEFUL FACTS
§ Only people 15 years or older can do this walk, and it is obligatory to take sunglasses, sun cream, hiking boots and gloves.
§ The companies that offer this expedition also offer overnight stays in Thorwood camp. This is a good way to make the journey less onerous.
§ We would recommend Fitz Roy Expediciones and Chaltén Travel
Photos courtesy of Boris Pfeiffer
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