Ascending to the Marconi Pass

This is the chance of a lifetime to sample Antarctic like terrain and visit the magnificent granite spires Mount Chalten (Fitzroy) and Cerro Torre. In my opinion Fitzroy is the finest looking peak I have ever seen!

The objective is to establish a basecamp on the Patagonian icefield. From there we shall make “alpine style” attempts on some of the remarkeable summits surrounding the icecap. Clients should be well prepared for glacier travel and living in a harsh environment many days from human habitation!

Proposed Itinerary:

Day 1 – arrival in El Calefate by air. Transfer to Hotel.

Day 2 – Day in El Calafate buying food and provisions. Hotel.

Day 3 – Transfer by bus to El Chalten at the foot of Mt Fitzroy. Hotel.

Day 4 – Walk in to the campsite by the Lago Electrico know as “La Playita”. Level, sheltered and good, clean water available. (6hrs walk)

Day 5 – To the Paso Marconi via the Marconi Glacier. 7hrs glacier walking with only 1 section of badly crevassed ground. Establish basecamp.

Day 6 – Climb Corra Blanca (White Cap, 2860m) alpine F/PD+ grade.

Day 7 – Traverse southwards on the icecap to the Cirque de los Altares

Day 8 – Southwards again coming off the ice below the Paso del Viento. Camp near to the Lago Ferrari.

Day 9 – Up to the Paso del Viento and down eastwards into the Tunel valley.

Day 10 – Walk out to El Chalten.

Days 11 and 12 – rest days.

Days 13 to 19 inclusive – Alpine style trips exploring the glaciers at the foot of Fitzroy and Cerro Torre.

Day 20 – Return to El Calefate for plane home.

Days 13-19 will be used in the event (likely) of bad weather on the icecap itself.

Further details at http://www.spanishhighs.co.uk/patagonia-icefield-expedition.html

Huayna Potosi

We are beginning to put together a rough itinerary and plan for the trip next June to the Cordillera Real in Bolivia.

Itinerary:
Week 1. Acclimatisation in and around La Paz trekking around Lake Titicata and low foothills
Week 2. Set up base camp in Khara Kota valley.Training climbs on peaks of about 5500m
Week 3. Huayna Potosi (6088m) via either the normal route (PD+) or the Ruta de los Franceses (AD+) if in condition. Also possibly Illimani (6438m PD/AD).

Training:
To take place in the Sierra Nevada this coming winter, including routes of up to Alpine AD grade.

Our good friend, mountaineer and skier, Bob Redwood, died recently due to brain tumours of a type known as “Glioblastoma Multiforme” the most common and aggresive type. This has led us to this fundraising effort. The aim is to raise awareness and funds for the Brain Tumour Research Campaign. Brain tumours affect people of all ages. There is a great need for a better understanding of what causes them, how the brain reacts to them and how they behave – and an even greater need for better and more effective treatments.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving. They never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they will send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So its the most efficient way to donate – we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now at http://www.justgiving.com/spanishhighs.

More information about Glioblastoma Multiforme

You can also copy the following widget onto your own blog or website to help. Many thanks.

A small group of friends from Spanish Highs Mountain Guides are planning a trip to Bolivia in June 2010. In a 3 week stay they aim to climb peaks of 5000m, 5500m and 6000m. The exact choice of target peaks will not be ascertained until the end of 2009 but the trip will be a massive challenge for all of us.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving. They never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they will send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So its the most efficient way to donate – we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now at http://www.justgiving.com/spanishhighs.

More information about Glioblastoma Multiforme

You can also copy the following widget onto your own blog or website to help. Many thanks.

I remember we had camera troubles on the trip. Both video cameras broke and some digital still cameras got wet or failed in the cold. However, interesting editing effects and an annoying computer generated narrator, called Paul, add interest to the marvelous photos and the dramatic scenery. Some great music too. The definition is not great at times, but the video does convey the isolation of the icefield.

When I re-ran the 20 minute video I immediately was inspired to return to this wonderful part of south America. The sense of isolation when on the icefield itself can never to be forgotten. It is the closest you can get to an Antarctic experience without actually going there. Can’t wait to get back!

We also have a good quality photo slideshow of some of the photos used in the film with some descriptions.

Expedition photos

Day 1

Rolling across the Patagonian Steppe on un-surfaced roads on a crowded bus was how this journey began. Nothing for miles but open grassland and hills on the horizon. My daydreams were interrupted by a stop at an Inn in the middle of nowhere where we were treated to coffee and delicious home-made cakes.

As we arrived in El Chalten, so did the rain. We sought refuge in a friendly restaurant opposite the bus stop. The owner just happened to own a 4WD truck and kindly dropped us at the start of our trek. It seemed like a good omen when the rain stopped and we made our way through a forest of lengas and Antarctic beech to a cosy little mountain cabin, Piedra del Fraile. We camped at the small campsite adjacent to the cabin. Views of the mountaintops were shrouded in cloud so we consoled ourselves with local liquors sold at the cabin.

Day 2

Clear blue skies, sunshine. We awoke to a different world. Lovely coffee was available from the cabin which gave is time to dry out the tents. Our route took us up the beautiful Electrico Valley, our view dominated by the surrounding peaks. We stopped for lunch on ‘La Playita’, a small beach by Lago Electrico which is often used as a campsite by groups due to the sheltered location and plentiful supply of fresh water.

A short scramble from the beach and we made our way along paths in the frontal moraine to the foot of The Marconi Glacier. The first section of dry moraine led onto a truly spectacular section of open crevasses. Richard led us through a seemingly impassable maze of chasms and deep melt-holes. Once through the danger zone we set up camp for night two. Sleep was interrupted by the distant rumbles of avalanches and the cracks and groans of our icy campsite.

Day 3

Our route continued up the more snow covered section of the glacier and care had to be taken to avoid HUGE hidden crevasses. Then crampons were exchanged for snowshoes as we headed out over the pass. As the pass opened out onto the ice-cap the view was shrouded by a head-on light blizzard. I have to say, this did not spoil the day- it just added to the ambience of being in such a remote place !

The ice-cap was all we could see in all directions as we set up camp for the night, making sure our tents were sheltered from the famous Patagonian wind. Throughout the night the wind roared, like a train passing overhead and the snow fell deeper. My quasar tent shuddered in the onslaught.

Day 4

Finally the wind had abated and we dug out our tents and set out into the icy wilderness. The mist and light snow shrouded any view of the mountains and all we could see in every direction was ‘white’. For a few moments the mist cleared and I saw another group of people heading in the opposite direction, tiny black specks on the ice, then they disappeared and I wondered whether I’d imagined it !

This was an amazing day, just utter isolation. I can see how easy it would be to become hopelessly lost and wander for days without seeing another soul. In every direction it looked the same! We reached Cirque de los Altares where we set up camp.

Day 5

We should have seen Cerro Torre in all her glory from this position but again the cloud was unkind to us. The tip of her summit is all we would see before the cloud moved in again!

The sheer expanse of the ice-cap was visible for the first time as we headed south on our journey.
Today we could see the mountains looming out of the deep ice and the effects of the sun and cloud gave some truly awesome views.

As we headed east of the ice-cap, half of me was disappointed at the prospect of heading back to civilisation, the other half relieved that we had made it back safely (as Messner once said) ‘from such a dangerous place’! Our route then took us over the gruelling lateral moraine piles of the Viedma glacier to our camp on the shores of Lago Ferrari

Day 6

We were treated to spectacular panoramas as we crossed over Paso del viento and flanked the Tunel glacier and followed the Tunel river down its course. This day had an interesting start with a river crossing. After carrying sandals for six days they finally came into use !

Day 7

Our route then took us back to El Chalten via the Loma del Pliegue Tumbado where we were treated to some fantastic views of Cerro Torre and Fitzroy which we had missed the previous few days.

Final thoughts………When you embark on a trip like this, the guide can make all the difference. Spanish Highs Mountain Guides’s attention to detail throughout the seven days was certainly noticed and I felt safe at all times. His good humour made me laugh on the most strenuous of days. Thank you for providing a once-in-a – lifetime adventure and I hope to see you in the future for more ‘aventuras extremes’

A 200-foot ice tunnel on a glacier in Argentina collapsed in a rare winter rupture some park wardens blamed on global warming. The collapse on the Perito Moreno Glacier in the Los Glaciares National Park in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz was “the first time the glacier has broken up in the wintertime,” siad park warden Carlos Corvalan.

The glacier, an important tourist attraction, collapses into Lake Argentino every two to 10 years due to water pressure from the Brazo Rico side of the lake. But the collapse usually occurs in the Southern Hemisphere summer, December through March. Wardens speculated the winter collapse was due to global warming. The glacier was first reported to have ruptured in 1917 — a spectacular collapse that took with it an ancient forest of Chilean Myrtle trees. It last ruptured in 2006.

A few tourists and locals on a nearby observation platform witnessed the latest collapse of the ice tunnel roof. The glacier is one of 48 glaciers fed by the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, located in the Andes system shared with Chile. The ice field is the world’s third-largest reserve of fresh water.

Source: London Telegraph

You can find details of the itinerary on the Spanish Highs Mountain Guides Patagonia Page

We all know Joaquin was fighting a battle against depression. He loved his trips into the mountains with us, however, and we believed that the hills and mountains would become his “healers”. Sadly this was not to be the case.

He came with Jane, Kiersten and I, in November 2006 to the Patagonian Icecap. I guess that when you travel 13 hours on a plane with somebody, or share a shelter against the harsh patagonian winds, then you really get to know someone? He didnt speak much english so we communicated in my “pidgin” spanish. For all that, we never were at a loss for words or discussion topics.

He was very proud of his role of “Liason Officer” in Patagonia. He organised taxis, buses, hotels, food etc most efficiently. He also was in charge of his most favourite subject, which was the acquisition of cigarettes!

I will miss him. May he now Rest In Peace.