Expeditions Posts and Images
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Memories of Blizzards
December 3, 2021 by RichardBlizzards, snowdrifts, gales, frostbite, snow blindness, buried tents, floods, hardship, cold, sleepless nights. It must be summer then in deepest Patagonia.This memory was one of the toughest two days of my mountain life. But, it was an experience I wouldn't have wanted to miss! It was supposed to be a relatively easy day. Reaching the flat plateau of the Icecap mid-afternoon. We had gone well to start with and were above the serac barrier and onto the long but slow rise to the Paso Marconi when we got caught in a whiteout. Strong winds were blowing spin drift into our faces. Visibility went and we were surrounded by a grey howling mass. It was the worst possible place to get...Trips to the wild and windswept Patagonian Icefield
January 27, 2021 by RichardA summary of our expeditions to the Southern Patagonian IcefieldsOh Patagonia. You've got to love it! Then all hell breaks out. What feels like hurricane force winds hit us face on. Any tracks left by the others vanish in seconds. We manage only a few steps at a time before we dig ice axes into the snow and brace ourselves for the next gust which tries to rip us off the planet. We have to keep going. We are beyond the point of no return and safety lies ahead of us not behind us. Daylight is running out, our energy is running out and we need to make camp....Debilitating effects of Snowblindness, a personal experience
January 23, 2021 by RichardMy own personal experience of the effects of becoming snow blind, after a tough time on the Patagonian IcecapBecoming snowblind is one of the most debilitating hazards of being in the high mountains. This article relates my own personal experience on the Patagonian Icecap with this painful condition. I am not a medical expert and haven’t read up on all the facts, so if you want the medical stuff then do a Google Search. I relate below only my own experience. I guess after spending over 40 years walking in the mountains I’ve been lucky not to have contracted snowblindness before. Sure, I might have had some mild symptoms before, some sore eyes that I always put down...Patagonian Icecap Expedition 2016
December 15, 2016 by RichardThe expedition was beset by unsettled weather and enforced route changes due to unseasonal warm weather.The plan was to access the Patagonian Icecap via Paso Marconi as usual but then head off across the icecap to climb the remote and rarely climbed peak of Cerro Mariano Moreno. Due to the collapse of the Marconi glacier a new access route had to be found NW of Playita up to Laguna de los 14 and onto the lower Glacier Gorra Blanca Sur. The warm weather gave unusual conditions. As well as soft snow, lagoons had formed of knee deep slush over vast expanses of the icecap. Clearly too dangerous and arduous for venturing over to Cerro Mariano...Expedition Trip Report Patagonian Icecap November 2014
December 17, 2014 by RichardTrip report, personal thoughts and recommendations after this years expedition to the Patagonian IcecapA trip report, photos and video links together with some personal thoughts, recommendations and musings after this years expedition to the Patagonian Icecap in November 2014. The original plan to visit the "nunateks" of Witte and Viedma had to be cancelled due to warm and dangerous snow conditions. Instead we reverted to the normal traverse down the icecap from the Paso Marconi to Paso del Viento. This was completed in generally good weather and light winds (for Patagonia!) with the loss of only 2 days to the weather.  *Walking in front of the west face of Cerro Torre, Cirque...Lounging at the Altar of the Patagonian Mountain Gods
May 17, 2013 by RichardIt’s a tough trek to the Cirque de los Altares in Patagonia. The outcome is never certain. Raging rivers, complex moraines, huge glaciers and of course the constant battering from the prevailing westerly winds provide the main obstacles.The Cirque is to be found on the western side of the Cerro Torre massif, at the eastern edge of the great southern icecap which stretches 300 miles long and 50 miles wide between Argentina and Chile. In fact this is the largest piece of ice outside the polar regions. A huge line of seemingly impenetrable and jagged mountains separates civilisation from the cirque. For those of us not blessed with the necessary skills to climb over them we have to walk round them. This three day journey from either the north (via Paso Marconi) or south (via Paso del...
Oh, Patagonia, to leave you we shall weep!
December 9, 2011 by Michelle WrightPoem by Michelle Wright about her time spent on our 2011 Southern Patagonian Icecap ExpeditionTHE ICE-CAP SO WILD STILL Finally, in El Chalten we arrive To face this southern cap of ice Our team of six come from far wide Would we achieve her illusive prize? The Patagonian gods mocked us with a sunny display Only to veil Cerro Fitzroy Torre for days But with better reports, a little patience, We were on our way. Across tangeled forests boulders Condors welcomed us in full view Held by icy winds, La Playita became our refuge And so, the resident mouse did too! A short delay, we tiptoed our way up the Marconi Grumbling avalanches spin...White-throated Caracara in Patagonia
January 19, 2011 by KierstenThought you might like to see one of the characters I met whilst in Patagonia recently. Its a White-throated Caracara (phalcoboenus albogularis).We had walked to the Laguna Torre to get a nice close view of one of the most iconic mountains in the world, Cerro Torre, whilst admiring the view the Caracara came along and gave us a great half an hour or so of entertainment. Even people who had no interest in birds were taking photos and video. IMAGE REQD In the books it is described as shy and wary, well I can say I think the books need to be re-written as our bird seemed to thoroughly enjoy its encounter with humans. If you want to see more photos...The Videos from our 2010 Patagonia Expedition
December 10, 2010 by RichardOk here we go, the long awaited video from our trip. Hope you dont get too bored! Patagonian Expedition 2010**Icecap Trailer**. This just shows a period of 36 hours in which we got onto the icecap and then managed to retreat from it in appalling weather conditions. 7 mins 44 seconds long. youtube "6X74TGdk7es","Icecap Trailer" **Patagonian Expedition 2010**. This is the full video including the Icecap Trailer (above). Also shows the before and after segments including trekking round the incredible peaks of Mt Fitzroy and Cerro Torre. 23 mins 38 seconds long youtube "Q-Gs5yTHQY8","Icecap 2010" **Blizzards** Blizzards, snowdrifts, gales, frostbite, snowblindness, buried tents, floods, hardship, cold, sleepless nights. It must be summer then in deepest Patagonia. youtube "MiFEpBCwCB4","Icecap 2010"...Surviving Patagonia 2010
December 8, 2010 by KierstenWe have to keep going, we are beyond the point of no return and safety lies ahead of us not behind us. Non of us have ever experienced anything like the 36 hours that that we lived through.Two taxis arrive to take us to the trailhead at Rio Electrico. From the trailhead we walk a few hours through a forest to our camp at Los Troncos. You have to pay a small fee as you pass over private land but on the plus side there is a small cabin where its your last chance to get food and drink. We did treat ourselves to one last bottle of wine but I could not pursuade the others to one last pizza! The next day we move on to camp at La Playita (the beach). Here we stay put...Patagonia Icefield Expedition Diary 2006
April 18, 2009 by Jane FieldsReport from Jane Fields on her experiences on the Patagonian Icefield Expedition in 2006Day 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. IMAGE REQD 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...