Captain Fitz Roy

Coyhaique, Chile, 27 -29 Nov 2007
Bus from Coyhaique to El Chalten 30 Nov 07
El Chalten, Argentina, 1-5 December 2007

From Chaiten we boarded what would be an 11 hour journey to Coyhaique. This is a really beautiful trip down the Carretera Austral with stunning scenery. It´s almost a pity to take a public bus as it seems to whizz past too fast. Once in Coyhaique we checked into Albergue Las Salamandras for 3 nights, 2km outside of town, cooked ourselves a good meal & hit the sack.

As we were about to head to Patagonia I took it upon myself to convince Claire we needed a tent, & once this task was completed to find and buy one. The purchase was finally made in a local supermarket, yes supermarket. Nestled between the canned fruit & dairy produce the store also had some camping equipment. So, for the princely sum of 24,000 Chilean Pesos (32 Euro) we had our top of the range two person tent which I´m sure will live up to the harsh Patagonian wind & rain, yelp!!!

Not too much to say about Coyhaique, we just took it easy for a few days. We watched "Touching the Void" in the hostel & decided we wouldn't take any solo attempts to climb previously unclimbed mountains. We booked our tickets, which would be our longest journey to date - though we didn't know it at the time.......

Leave: Coyhaique at 7am on Friday morning
Arrive: Puerto Ingeniero Ibañez, 9am
Leave: Puerto Ingeniero Ibañez by ferry
Arrive: Chile Chico (Little Chile)
Leave: Chile Chico by minibus (cross border into Argentina)
Arrive: Los Antiguos, Argentina
Leave: Los Antiguos by overnight bus at 4pm
Arrive: Rio Gallegos at 8am on Saturday morning Leave: Rio Gallegos by bus
Arrive: El Calafate
Leave: El Calafate by bus
Arrive: El Chalten at 11pm on Saturday night

We wanted to take the route called R40 direct to El Chalten but it is only opened during high summer (ie a few days from when we were travelling) so we had to take the circuitous route. Think of it as wanting to go to Donegal from Dublin but being forced to pass through Cork on the way!

Needless to say we slept like babies that night. So, the next day, showered & refreshed we set about preparing for our first solo camping experience. We were heading to the National Park (Los Glaciars) for 2 overnights in our new tent. El Chalten was very windy & prone to sudden downpours so this would be a real test! Claire was in charge of food, so she packed up enough supplies for 3 days in the hills.

We set off at 8:45 the following morning. Our route took us first to Laguna Torre, where we spent our 1st overnight & then over the base of Fitzroy where we would spend the 2nd overnight. Miraculously, Day 1 was dry & sunny! It was nice to put our tent up in the absence of wind & rain. Sure, clearly it wasnt the most expensive house on the lot but it survived 2 nights and paid for itself. We knew we´d have views of Laguna Torre & hopefully Cerro Torre (a huge slab of vertical rock which draws rock climbers from all over the world). What we didn't realise is that there would be a very nice glacier (Glaciar Grande) leading down from the mountain right to the shore of the lake. In the end we didn´t get to see Cerro Torre as the upper half remained constantly in cloud.

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After a few short walks , our evening meal & a few hands of cards we retired to bed. The temperature by this stage was dropping down, down & where it would stop nobody knew. Well, later on we did find out. It stopped at icy cold!! Claire looked like a female body builder on steroids with so many layers of clothes on. There wasn't´t a whole lot of sleep got that night, but again – thankfully the wind & the rain stayed away.

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The following morning, it made us feel better to hear others around the campsite talk of what a cold night it had been. Them with their fancy tents and their big fat sleeping bags. No time to feel sorry for ourselves, it was time to pack up our tent and belongings and start the trek over to the other campsite, Poincenot.

Another nice day for walking and we arrived at our destination without incident. Once the tent was up & we had food in our bellies we struck off for the Piedras Blancas (White Feet) Glacier. This trek proved to be a bit tricky as it involved more & more bolder hoping the closer we got to the glacier. Claire's ribs were still very sore & she found this activity only aggravated matters. Still she battled on & we were quickly rewarded with stunning views of the glacier. It was considerably more impressive than the one we´d seen the previous day. We both ate glacier ice. The ice melted in our mouth & our bodies absorbed the millennia old water & it became part of us. Quite a thought. With a little foresight we could´ve brought some Johnny Walker & Waterford Crystal tumblers. Next time.....

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The walk back to the campsite was long & we were both tired & grumpy. It was definitely much milder than the previous night, that is - until the sun went down. It didn't get quite as cold but it still necessitated full battle gear to be worn in the sleeping bag. While we didnt sleep much it felt good in the morning knowing that tonight we´d sleep in a comfy bed in a warm hostel with hot showers. Funny how you have to experience hardship to appreciate the simple things in life.

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Our last excursion before heading for home was up to the Laguna de los Tres. This was a tough hike uphill to a lagoon located at the base of Fitz Roy himself! Fitz Roy is the most famous landmark in the region. Like Cerro Torre it´s very popular with rock climbers & like Cerro Torre it spends most of it´s time hidden in cloud. This walk provided the most spectacular 360 degree views of our 3 days, 2 nights in the National Park and we even got good views of old Fitzy boy so we felt privileged.

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We then dropped back down to the campsite, packed up & headed back to El Chalten. Once there we stopped into a microbrewery for some home brew & a bowl of pumpkin soup. Ah bliss, hot food again. We then hit the hostel where we both collapsed & slept for about two hours. Next on our way to full recovery was the hot shower followed by fresh clean clothes then the "piece de resistance".... the Argentinian Steak dinner washed down with a bottle of vino tinto. So feeling brand new we continued to splurge in a local bar where we guzzled beer & baileys until we eventually staggered home feeling very happy with ourselves indeed. While we may have suffered some hardship in El Chalten we came away with far more happy memories as a result of our experiences. Steak & wine never tasted so good.
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Fitz Roy

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Which Way?

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Claire beside Glacier Grande