El Chalten, Argentina

Just 3 hours from El Calafate lies a small mountain town called El Chalten, part of Los Glaciares Nacional Parque. Deeming ourselves now to be pro trekkers, and with El Chalten being described as the trekking capital of Argentina, we decided we must give it a go. We were immediately shocked by the remoteness of the place, being able to walk from one end of town to the other in about 3 minutes. The town's sole purpose is tourism and we have since discovered that, come winter, the town is deserted entirely. You might be able to imagine then that communication, entertainment (other than trekking) or shopping is rather limited. Just one of my mum's kitchen cupboards at home would rival the entire supermarket here!

Our first trek was to Cerro Torre, a 3,100m jagged peak surrounded by snow capped mountains and glaciers. The weather was slightly dubious in the morning and we began to fear that the entire peak would remain engulfed by clouds all day. By the afternoon, however, the sun graced us with its presence to unveil the true beauty of the landscape, another Patagonian wonder. We ate our lunch around Laguna Torre, a beautiful glacial lake at the base of the mountain. Another tough but amazing journey! We rewarded ourselves with a delicious lamb stew, one of the treats the Welsh colonists brought with them when they settled here back in the 1800's.

Unfortunately on our second trek to the larger mountain, Cerro Fitz Roy, we were not quite so lucky. The clouds refused to move and throughout the day the weather turned from bad to worse. We had to cut our trek short after being told the trail can be very dangerous during storms. It was a massive shame but, in truth, I think we both felt a little relieved after struggling somewhat with the hike. We know now not to drink anything the night before big treks!

Each trek has been a totally different experience to the previous one. None were alike in terrain, sights or encounters! Although the numerous 24 hr coach journeys have been horrendous, we are really glad to have made the effort to go so far south.

We've now started our journey back up to warmer climates with a quick stopover in Puerto Madryn where we hope to see some killer whales, penguins and seals!

Nicola & Harry

Copa Del Sh*thead Scoreboard: NH 98 - 114 HF