Patagonia: 4 days of trekking and a much needed L'Chaim

On Sunday (3/13) Ethan and I left on a 4 day trek through the Patagonia wilderness. However less harrowing than our last adventure we still encountered many obstacles, impressive views, and a small army of Israelis.

Our route consisted of a 37 mile loop that encircled Cerro Huemel in the southern portion of Los Glaciares National Park. A spectacular way to experience much of what this area of Patagonia has to offer: Grassy rolling fields, wind, forests, wind, mountains, glaciers, wind, lakes, an enormous icefield, and windswept passes. If wind hasn't become a theme here than please let me enlighten you, it was WINDY. Well, most of the time anyway.

Our route

Where the green grass grows

Day 1 (5 hours - 10.5 miles) - We departed El Chalten around noon and headed towards our camping destination for the evening, Laguna Toro. The 10.5 mile stretch of mostly easy grassy and forested landscape seemed to 'breeze' by. With our packs being at their heaviest (around 40lbs) we still managed to complete the day in 5 hours. Along the way we met a trio composed of Swiss, Belgian, and Holland nationalities. We were also able to gain a new perspective of Cerro Solo.

Cerro Solo and company

Day 2 (6.5 hours - 7 miles) - I began the day with a scratchy throat. All the previous excitement, mediocre sleep, smattering of hostel germs dragged me into a state of sickness. As unfortunate as this was, I was happy to be hacking it in the wilderness rather than wasting away in a stuffy hostel. Plus, just think of all the tissues (ie toilet paper) I saved by being able to rocket out that excess fluid...

Within a mile from our campsite we prepared for our 2nd tyrolean traverse of the trip. This time over a gushing glacial river cut deep into a rock gorge. 

The disclaimer

Elated to suspend ourselves from the high wire, we prepared our rigging for the occasion. 

Enter Israelis. A group of Israelis who were camped out at Toro last night arrived at the traverse soon after us. Unknown at the time, we would be crossing-paths for the entire rest of our trek. The company out on the trek would be very welcomed as our endeavor wasn't as popular as one might expect. Frankly put, we were the only seven completing the trek within the same itinerary. 

Fred (for lack of my familiarity with Hebrew names and an overall propensity to forget even the easiest of them...) approached me, "Will you help us across?" I respond emphatically, "absolutely." 

Ethan crosses and I prepare the bags to be hulled across (This time there is a rope to get the pulley back and forth!). After, we assist the Israelis in getting hooked up and familiar with the rigging. Three cross the traverse while two others decide to wade their way through the river at a mellower point below the gorge. Upon safely crossing, our newly befriended Israeli brothers rewarded our efforts with a handful of chocolate covered peanuts (bueno!).

A collage of the traverse in play

Capturing the moments

The trail ahead, being just as advertised, lacked consistent markings. In general, we knew where we were heading, referencing the map occasionally. The trick was knowing the easiest way...We definitely didn't know this, with or without said map. The result? Struggle. Trying to avoid extended scree sections and class 5 rock, proved difficult. However, as they say, with great sacrifice comes great reward. The views on top Paso Del Viento (literally- Windy Pass) were incredible!

One of the many glaciers along the trek

Atop Paso Del Viento
In the foreground is massive icefield - one of the largest in the world

Our original intention was to walk out onto the icefield to gain the full experience...Ambitious as it were, we ditched this idea (along with the our trailrunning intentions). I guess I would attribute this change in itinerary mostly due to feeling terrible (sickness), and then probably due to the weight of our packs. Heavy travel over difficult terrain is arduous which is why I generally like to travel light. Unfortunately, that meant that we weren't going to need any of this glacier travel gear that is weighing us down...Oy

Preparing the evening's meal at the Paso Del Viento Refugio

Battening down the hatches

Good night Patagonia

I'll be the first to confirm that the winds in Patagonia are no joke. Luckily, Justin and Jenna spared their tent for the cause so we weren't the least threatened by the wind's wrath...Our neighboring Israelis didn't fair quite so well. Sometime throughout the night they had to perform an emergency measure to save one of their tents from full collapse.  The ol' trekking pole structural reinforcement maneuver.

Day 3 (6 hours - 8.5 miles) - After a fitful night of sleep (thanks wind), we emerged from the tent to discover we're right were we started the night before. With much relief we cook some breakfast, ready our bags, and hit the trail. Today's obstacle is Huemel pass. We were fortunate enough to be endeavoring on a much more emblazoned trail replete with all the wind and more from the day before...My guesstimate had the wind clocked at about 35-45 mph upon our crossing of the pass. 

Selfie video in Huemel wind tunnel

Hold on tight!

The other side? Peaceful.

Icebergs departing their mother glacier on their final journey to liquid H2O

Day 4 (5.5 hours, 11 miles) - Dawn begins to crack. I don the camera and head for the nearest hill. The climate and our lax schedule hasn't afforded us a prime sunrise quite like this mornings. The clouds were expansive and filled with every shade of orange, red, and yellow. The light changes with every moment that passes, endlessly morphing the sky scape. Additionally, this is one of the calmest periods of time we have experienced since leaving El Chalten 4 days prior. Ahhh. Peace...

Sunrise in front

Sunrise in back

Amusing cloud formations

Without much ado, our Israeli-American group readies our gear and step off. It has been great traveling with these chaps. They add comedic relief, good conversation, and Nutella (oh heck yea!) to the collective experience. I learned that every Israeli citizen, once completing secondary school, has to complete an obligatory 3 years of military service in the Israeli army. Once finished most of these will then travel the world for a year with their savings from the army. Hence our five backpacking amigos.

Making our way, as a pack

Composing the perfect photo

The trail on the remaining miles was much similar to the first day; flat and easy going. The one obstacle was our third Tyrolean traverse. The setup was, again, slightly different from the last two. This time we had a pulley leash that allowed us to draw the pulley back to the side we were crossing from. The pitch to the cable was flatter than the one two days prior. 

So we begin, one by one. This time trying to finagle the packs along with the traverser as it was prohibitive to send the packs by themselves given the setup. Five Israelis, one American and five packs successfully cross without much tribulation. 

It is at this point that I decided to relearn a lesson hard learned from the first traverse near Cerro Solo; never, ever, EVER cross with a heavy backpack on your shoulders. Ugh! My observation was that everyone was able to kick themselves 3/4 of the way across and then pull somewhat effortlessly to the other side. Me? Naw! I kick off, reach halfway and...stop. Ok, I guess I'll start pulling. Much to my chagrin it wasn't gravity that stopped me but rather it was the LEASH! Half way again back to the start, I began rescinding, arduously. Upon reaching the tangled mess, I struggle to keep my body at least parallel to the cable (fighting the weight of my backpack). After a minute or two of fighting my way out of this 'paperbag' I regretfully placed myself within, I continue pulling myself to the other side. At this point my arms are pumped and nearly useless due to the struggle with the leash and fight to keep my bag from overturning me. Once within a few arms length from the other side I am extended a trekking pole to bring me safely to shore. Sigh. Lesson learned. Again.

Teamwork

And on. We arrived to the glacier tour boat launch site just as a swarm of tourists were departing from their cruise boat. Our timing couldn't have been better. We managed to hire one of the van drivers to transport us the ~4 miles (as the crow flies) back to Chalten. Nice chap. He was thankful for the generous tip we gave him and the pictures of the glacier we shared, our gratitude was equal if not greater. The journey was finished!

In the end, we probably should have carried more food. We calculated our caloric intake to lie somewhere around the average of 1,500 Calories per day. According to Becca's math we should have been closer to double that. Oops! Our appetites reflect the latter. We stopped by 'La Waffleria' to recharge our stores. Two large Omelets and two plates of chocolate soaked waffles (mine with bananas, Ethan's with vanilla ice cream...Ice cream was a better choice...) later and we are...still HUNGRY!

Caloric restorationLater on we tackled lunch three/dinner one and a jug of wine with the Israelis. L'Chaim!

L'Chaim! (to life) - 'V' for Viento

We are now fine tuning our multi-pitch rope skills to embark on our final adventure for the trip. More on that soon...

Patagonia: Chop Chop

Admittedly, I tend to use the word adventure like it's another vowel. There isn't much that I enjoy doing that doesn't involve a healthy dose of adventure. But there is one word I secretly reserve for that rare breed of adventure, the EPIC adventures if you will. To me, an epic is an adventure that hides itself in the folds of moments that contain it, occurring when what you imagined and what reality is are two slightly (but profoundly) different things. But instead of failure or defeat you sharpen your focus and pull out some grit to overcome.

With this, I feel that nobody chooses to have an 'epic' day, but rather the epic days choose us, blossoming out of the conditions that we subject ourselves to. They happen when the situation presses us to our limits when all we have is the moment we are in and all that we can feel is alive...Without further ado, I share an epic day in the mountains of Patagonia.

It's 4:30AM. The alarm sounds sooner than expected. I cancel mine and within a minute my brother's echos our premeditated start to the day...I lie awake recounting our preparation from the night before and the somewhat unknown adventure we are about to depart on...Wakefulness transitions into movement and finally into breakfast (dehydrated granola and blueberries - 280 Calories/Kirk). 

We hit the trail with gumption. My brother sets pace for the route we embark upon, a mile of which we had explored the evening before. Within 20 minutes we are hanging inverted from our harnesses completing the first of the days obstacles, a tyrolean traverse across Rio Fitz Roy.

Tyrolean Traverse - is a method of crossing through
free space between two high points
on a rope without a hanging cart (googled it for ya).

We scouted out the traverse the day before.

As we near the first of our ascents we pass two camps; one whose inhabitants have already started out for the day (a group of three) and another preparing for their departure (a group of four). Today, Cerro (Mount) Solo will be visited by our collective company and not a soul more.

The day before, during our hike into camp, we were graced with the presence of a lad named Boyd from Montana. He had much to share during our 6 mile journey into Laguna Torre. As a professional photographer he happily enlightened (pun intended) us on the topic. To summarize, the most important aspects of taking a good photo were lighting, composition, and the right moment. Here goes Boyd! :-) 

Hiking and learning with Boyd

Cerro Solo is a 2221m (7287ft) mountain lying about 7 miles from El Chalten. It caught my eye as a 'warm-up' objective pretty soon after we arrived. It is set off by itself (hence the name) and is glaciated from the summit down a few thousand feet. According to the guidebook it is considered a moderate mountaineering climb.

Cerro Solo (framework compliments of nature)

Kirks (left), Solo (right) - photo cred: Boyd

Co. Solo profile (this is the side we'll ascend)

Once we arrive at the designated campsite we begin preparations for tomorrow's climb. The mantra is 'light and fast'. Without old man altitude slowing us down we will be able to move at a 'normal' pace for this type of terrain. Each Kirk will be carrying 4 cliff bars (250 cal/ea), random snacks in the form of cheese, crackers, olives, and cookies (mas o menos ~1,000 cal), 2 liters of water. From our ultra running experiences we are privy to the fact that you can get by with far fewer calories than you might expect for such an endeavor. Replenishment, not replacement is generally the idea. In addition to this fuel we'll have harnesses, glacier travel gear, one ice axe each, and layers for the lack of degrees or wind we may encounter. Oh, and many devices for capturing them rascally moments. :-)

Campamento

Din-din

Alright, enough fluff, so we were on this mountain in Patagonia, right? When we came across this cascading waterfall just beyond the second group of climbers...

'This is it' Ethan said. 

Nick, following somewhat blindly, agreed, 'OK'. 

We take a hard left and begin the ascent up alongside the waterfall. Our headlamps are the window into where we are and where we are going, straight up, or that's what it feels like if you asked any one of our four legs. We spot the twinkles from the groups above and below us.  

Getting our scramble on

Sunup came between 7-7:30. Boyd's words rang in our minds as we took the opportunity to capture several light sculpting shots of the surrounding peaks.

Cerro Torre (left), Fitz Roy (right)

Bam!

The scrambling was mostly 4th class (ie a rope is optional). Our route entered a narrow shoot where there were two or three 5-8' sections of 5.2-5.3 rock. 

The playground.

The shoot plopped us out right on top of our first ascent, onto a short ridge where our second ascent began in full force. At this point we had passed the group of three that was in front of us. I glanced down to see everyone's whereabouts and noticed that they had crossed over into the shoot we just ascended.

Nick: "Looks like they are taking our route."

Ethan: "Hah! They're following the clueless."

Nick: *giggles*

The second stretch was more of the same with the exception of two 8-10' 5.5-5.6 sections 

Second ascent

Backpacks make climbing more interesting

Fascinating rock formations
(note: this photo was actually from our descent)

11AM: Upon completing the second ascent within 2 miles from our campsite (think steep!) we break for some nourishment and to switch modes of travel. From here we will be traveling as a rope team in glacier travel mode. The purpose of roping up on a glacier is to ensure that if one person on the team falls in an unsuspecting void the other can arrest the fall and provide assistance in recovery from the fall.

Future framed photo for the loft?

I take the lead on this section

After a short section of glacier travel we embark on our third and final ascent. This time we will be on rope in simul-climbing mode. Simul-climbing is generally performed on easier climbs where protection is minimal and speed is desired. We decided on this mode of travel over pitched climbing (where one person climbs at a time and the other belays) for precisely the reason that this was supposed to be relatively 'easy' and because the protection (placement of screws or snow anchors) was going to be difficult due to the slope and conditions (the guidebook described the slope as 50 degrees).

The sun is shining brightly. The snow exposed to the sun's rays is soft and slightly packy.

Kick, kick. Step up. Swing, pull. Repeat.

The terrain is varied enough to keep the movements from being monotonous. I continuously adjust my grip on the ice axe as I move from low slope snow to rock to higher angled snow slopes. The pitch remains sustained at nearly 45-50 degrees interspersed with outcroppings of rock and the occasional section of ice where the melt from off the rocks has refrozen. As the movement takes us higher the risk takes resemblance. To increase purchase for my spare hand and feet I begin to chop holds with the Adze of my ice tool. 

The grandfathers of mountaineering know this type of travel well. Before the existence of the more modern style front-pointed cramp-ons, Alpinists had only their ice tool and boots with primitive traction devices attached. It was with this ice tool that they were able to carve out steps of which to gain their objective, the summit.

After about 200' of climbing we got to the head wall of almost vertical ice/snow. We consulted on our situation. Going down carried the inherent risk of slipping on the unprotectable slope as downclimbing is often much more precarious than climbing. Our prevailing decision was to continue climbers right across a section of softer snow to a bulge where we could then continue up. The traverse again involved chopping depressions for added security as we were now entering a no fall zone.

Traversing

Once across I belayed Ethan in with the Prussik on our glacier travel setup. Graciously he offered me his water and a clif bar. My nerves being a little tense considering the exposure and the gravity of our situation wouldn't allow me to obtain mine from my pack.

Now, we go up. The surface: gritty ice with a light coating of mushy snow. The slope: 60-70 degrees. My nerves: TENSE. I began chopping a step for each foot and one for my left hand, took one step and chopped another for that same side. The adrenaline was like blood running through my body. The soaked gloves, continuous swinging of my axe, tense legs, burning calves - almost imperceptible. The degree of focus on getting to the summit safely was unlike what I've ever experienced.

Ethan: "Dude, you're a hero!"
Nick: *mumble* - (thinking, 'I'm a dumbass')

There was a moment when the seriousness of our endeavors started to well my eyes with tears, I quickly refocused my energy on the next step, the next hold. The fear of falling made the risk feel as though life and death were existing in the same moment...After 2+ hours of ascending, the slope begins to shallow.

Ethan: "It might be easier to standup and walk from here."
Nick: (Still in the zone) "I'm not sure I would feel comfortable standing up."
Ethan: "Well you could turn around and look at me for encouragement."
Nick: Turns, looks, *smiles* - emphatically (still unable to speak)

From here, thankfully, Ethan takes the lead to the summit.

Heading for the summit (apparently my phone thought this would be better in Sepia)

You couldn't have asked for better weather, fairly warm and partly sunny for all 13 hours of daylight, 6.5 hours of which we had to hedge our descent.

Nick: "I feel like our adventure is just beginning."

Ethan: "Yup, getting up is optional, getting down is mandatory."

After a quick respite, a few photos, and a change of my shorts we head down.

(Sigh)

We decided to scout out a different route down, one with less sustained pitch and potential for rappelling. Towards the south East edge of the glacier we find a slope covered in softer snow. We were able to view photos of this section from Ethan's phone from the hike a few days prior. It appeared that this was our ticket out of here the only question was if there were any drops further down that we couldn't see...

Again, kicking steps for better purchase

After a rope and a halfs length of downclimbing the surface becomes hard and precipitous. Without much choice Ethan stops and builds an anchor out of the two ice screws we have. Ethan rappels first and determines that there is a drop in the glacier of about 15'. I pull one of the screws and bail off the second. All told the mountain captured one screw and a carabiner.

Rappeling

Our descent

Our ascent r

4,900' - 7 miles - 15.5 hours

Needless to say we are both thankful to be alive! And were especially happy to step foot back into town to engorge on pizza and beer the following day. What adventure doesn't end with pizza and beer? :-)

Up next? 5 days of trekking, camping, and trailrunning, oh my!

Patagonia: A return to the deep south

Hola!

It's been a week since Ethan and I left the comforts of the northeast and there's much to report! First off, 'the bags' safely made the journey. Yes all 170lbs of said bags completed the car ride (thanks Becca), the two bus rides, and five plane rides. When asked their one remark after the ~50 hour journey was 'oofta'. Consequentely the two Patagonia bags (thanks Justin and Jenna) are happy to be in the shared Chilean and Argentinean region known as 'Patagonia' that they are named after. 

The aforementioned 'bags'

Our destination is the quaint little trekking and climbing town in southern Patagonia named El Chalten (please excuse the missing apostrophe). Total population is somewhere around the square root of 100 (I would have googled it quickly but the internet here is at or below that of dial-up speed of the mid 1990's).

The self-proclaimed trekking capital of Argentina

Proof!

Our paid accomodations thus far have been at the one and only Rancho Grande set at the base of a rock cliff of which we have climbed on twice. The Rancho is a hostel not a hotel. For those out there less familiar with this type of lodging you often pay per person and are placed in a bunk room with several others. In our case we have been in four-bunk rooms with lockers for storing belongings safely. The facilities include shared bathrooms, showers, a cocina (aka kitchen, and for the record, yes, I did just max out my two word spanish vocab...), and a common area. Three observations I have made about hostel living in El Chalten: 

1) It's country soup. I've met people from Australia, the UK, Germany, New Zealand, Argentina, Chili, the US, the Netherlands, and even the Yukon Territory for fuck's sake. And that's only the ones we've talked to. 

2) Quiet hours is optional. 'Bedtime' is somewhere between the loud rukus American group checking in around midnight and the early morning cleaning shift...

3) If you suspect there to be a communist amongst the group keep your veggies and cooking oil with you at all times (RIP fellow delicious looking pototoes and onion and bread and salt and...).

Rancho Grande!

Our first stop after the arduous two days of travel was a vegetariana resto to get our bowels back on track with a little fiber. The seven airplane meals of ham and cheese (hold the ham) sandwiches left something to be desired (veggies).

Curried veggies and rice

The next few days (Saturday-Monday) we spent getting to know the area and what resources El Chalten has to offer. Which lead to more observations:

1) Holy restaurants! It seems like every other building is devoted to feeding the masses of hungry trekkers. To note a few, we drooled past two cervecerias (aka brew pub), two vegetarian cafes, a waffleria (yes Jenna, the Chalten version of the Creperie :-) ), a bistro or two, two Panarias (bakeries), and one sandwicharia (seems like what Ethan and I would call a sandwich shop if we opened on down here...).

2) The other 50% of the buildings are hostels. Travelers galore!

3) There's a car for every 100 pedestrians (for a town smaller than Boonville it is clear that walking is actually a fine way to travel in a rural area)

4) My spanish is worse than I thought, thankfully Ethan has been killin it.

5) Not every 'fresh' vegetable is actually fresh. Not to sound like a priviledged American or anything but dang some of the vegetables on the shelf look worse than those in my compost bin. Maybe it's the lack or perservatives (ie wax covering) or maybe these veggies are just waiting for their proper afterlife within someone's digestive track?

6) The supermercados smell like the central mercado in Peru. I'll leave it at that.

7) The weather is delightful this time of year! With the occaisional wall of never-ending wind we have enjoyed many hours and days of sunny cloudless skys, an occaisional sprinkle of rain, and temps in the mid 60s and lows in the mid 40s. Granted our sample size is small, so far we haven't a complain.

Food and lodging as far as the eye can see!

Ethan and I quickly realized that our budget wasn't realistic if we continued to eat out for every meal. Fortunately we have a kitchen to help us reduce our living expenses.

Chef Beek

If you search hard enough there is good ingredients everywhere

As far as the physical adventure goes, from when we arrived (Friday the 4th) to Monday we climbed 7 sport routes (out of a sea of hundreds within walking distance) and hiked to a few of the iconic view points near the village. We have been trying to hold our excitement at bay due to a bum knee I acquired just before leaving the US. Needless to say I've been throwing every trick and the book at it to get it to reliquish it's grip on my appetite for adventure. Enter icing, vitamin I (ibuprofen), stretching, trigger point release massage, compression, 'rest', and happy thoughts...I think I've made it through the worst of it.

View from the south of town

View of the Torre and Fitz Roy massif

I realize that I'm leaving out the past three days as today is Friday. For good reason that chunk of time is going to have to be captured in its own post...Cerro Solo awaits the Kirk brothers...