El Calafate and El Chalten

We were told that ideally one would only spend a day in El Calafate to look at the glacier shown above (Perito Moreno) and then continue on to El Chalten; can’t say that we disagree with the masses. Unless of course, you want to spend more time eating Calafate ice cream, chocolate, and cordero (lamb). If you did, we wouldn’t blame you.

Hundreds of pesos later (worth of ice cream, chocolate and lamb) we headed off to El Chalten; the city of very strong winds, frequent power outages (no light, no internet, no water - which run on pumps), and lots of rain. The climbing was good, our accommodation was basic and cheap, but the wind eventually drove us to beer and pizza for salvation. We had a brush with fame when we saw Colin Haley, a famous young alpine climber from the US.

We ran into quite a few people we had met in South America. Luckily some Ecuadorian friends saved us from pitching our tent in the bushes. Before we arrived, the weather forecasted clear skies and sunny weather for a week, ergo, we rushed over. When we arrived, the weather quickly went downhill for about a week and we hunkered down to wait it out. After the rain and winds abated, somewhat, we headed off for a 6 day hike to look at Cerro Fitz Roy, Cerro Torre, and a huge glacier we spied on the map. The climbing was fun, the hiking was good, and the scenery was beautiful, but after spending a week in the wind and rain we don’t feel the need to go back there again, de verdad (it’s true).

Cerro Torre at sunrise