Patagonia Ice Cap Traverse

Guides and group size

Ratio is 1 guide/assistance per 3 guests. Maximum group size is 9 guests with 1 guide and 2 assistants guide

Difficulty and prerequisites

Guests must be comfortable using crampons to flat foot and front point on moderate angle ice up to 35 degrees.

These are all physically demanding days and participants must be in good hiking shape.

Guests are required to carry a backpack with their personal gear (clothes, sleeping bag, pad, etc), group (tents, pot, stoves, etc) and food. About 20 to 25 kg. Personal porters could be arranged in advance, if needed.

No mountaineering experience is required, however if you have had some, it helps a lot.

Transportation

Participants are responsible for their own transportation to El Chaltén, Argentina. Your travel agent should be able to arrange this for you. You can get there by flying to Buenos Aires, and then fly to El Calafate. From there, you can get on a 3-hour bus journey or you we can arrange a private transfer.

Weather consideration

The fame of the area regarding wind and fast changeable conditions are not a legend. Be ready to experience nature and all its beauties and power. We have two back up days and one rest day, which we use flexibly to make best use of weather conditions. It may be that some of these days will be spent waiting in a specific camp, usually “La playita” (see itinerary above), just before getting on the ice field.

Accomodations & meals

All food during the expedition is included.

Please let us know of any special dietary requirements you have when booking.

If you need any help with your lodging, do not hesitate to ask us. We can find the best for your taste and budget.

ITINERARY

Day 0

Bus ride to El Chaltén.  El Chaltén is our meeting point and where the trip gets started. We check the gear, brief the trip, get any last minute details. Hotel/Hostel Check-in and dinner. May be some barbecue lamb with a good red wine?

Day 1

We take a private bus to Puente del Rio Electrico (Electric river bridge), where our expedition kicks off. We hike for 2 hours through Lenga and Ñires forest (Beach tree, Nothofagus family). We pass by Piedra del Fraile hut and camping ground; our last contact with civilization for few days. Leaving the camping and forest behind, we keep hiking in a U-shaped glacier created valley, most of the time on a moraine terrain. After an hour’s hike, we run into Pollone Valley where we have to wade the Rio Pollone; sometimes this is an adventure in itself. We follow Rio Electrico until its first beginnings:  “La Playita” camp, rivers bed that Electrico river has left for us to camp on. We’ll find rock protection for our tents. After a rest or, even better, a meal, we hike to Marconi’s snout to check the next day’s route. Altitude gained 100 meter, 14 km, aprox. 6 hours.

Day 2

Today is the key day of the expedition. Glacier Marconi is one of the accesses to the ice cap. Most winds and weather come from west/north and funnel through passes like this one. Therefore, weather/wind permitting, we get up early, have breakfast and break down camp. Depending on glacier conditions, the guide will decide which route to take, between 2.  Laguna de los 14, with a tirolean rope, or through Marconi. We get on Marconi Glacier, a combination of bare ice and rock at first. We make our way to the base of “Cambio de Pendiente” (change of gradient). We rope up, put harness and crampons on. After a section of 30 to 35 degrees and 1 hour on the ice, we reach Marconi Pass. A breath-taking view of the 3^rdlargest fresh-water ice mass in the world just in front of us! We appreciate Koliker Range, Lautaro Range, Gaea Range and Mariano Moreno Range. Walking 1 ½ hour mainly flat on the pass, we step into Refugio Gorra Blanca or Refugio Garcia Soto, a Chilenian Institute of Hielo Patagonico Sur Studies hut. Depending on availability, we might sleep inside or camp outside the hut. Eat, drink and sleep. 800-meter altitude gain, 14 km, 8 to 10 hours.

Day 3

Everything packed and ready to go, we bear south for about 6 hours towards “El Circo de los Altares” (A bowl formed by the west faces of Cerro Torre and its satellite needles). We will be camping at the entrance of the bowl. Amazing views. Only the ones who get here and are lucky with weather get the chance to see this. We might spend a good time building ice walls to protect our tents from predominant north and northwest winds. 6 – 7 hours, 50-meter altitude gain, approx 15 km.

Day 4

Depending on weather and the physical condition of guests, we might stay one more day at this camp. We take advantage and hike all the way inside the Cirque, getting to the foot of Filo Rosso, beginning of Casimiro Ferrari route of Cerro Torre. It’s just amazing to think they first climbed this route in 1974! Back to Camp.

Day 5

A full day ahead! Today we’ll be walking on snow, bare ice, rock and grass! We leave from Circo de los Altares to Refugio Paso del Viento. We get off the ice around Vivac Laguna de los Esquies and keep walking passing by Laguna Ferrari and Vivac Ferrari (we might camp here if group is too tired). We start to see Mascarello range, a restricted reserve of Los Glaciares National Park. One more hour to the rustic hut of Paso del Viento. We use only the hut for cooking and we sleep in the tents.

Day 6

After a nice breakfast, we start our hike to Paso del Viento (wind pass). If we slept in Refugio Paso del Viento, we re-trace our tracks from about one hour 1/2  and one hour more to Paso del Viento. If we slept in Vivac Ferrari, we have just one hour and 1/2 to Paso del Viento. On the pass itself the views are breath taking: On one side the 3rd largest ice mass of fresh water, on the other Rio Toro Valley with Glacier Tunel Inferior and glacier Quervain. We capture these images with our memory (and camera) and we start the descent to Camp Laguna Toro. 900 meters descent on very varied terrain: Scree, grass, ice and even snow (depending on the time of the year). We cross Rio Tunel using the Tyrolean crossing (zip line over the river) or wading depending on conditions and decision of the guide. Half an hour later we are camping on the forest where we spend the night. Distance: 5 Km. Elevation gain/lost: 400 mts ascent y 900 mts descent.

Day 7

We head back to El Chaltén following Tunel river for an hour, then we start our gentle 500 meter ascent to Pampa de las Carretas. We stop for lunch at the end of our ascent, where we´ll see Lago Viedma with its turqoise colour. The descent begins, crossing some marshlands until we can see El Chalten from above. We pass in front of National Park office by the visitor center. Then, a very well deserved shower and dinner with the group! Distance: 14 km. Elevation gain and lost: 500 mts ascent & 500 mts descent.

Day 8

Back up day