Slideshow

Itinerary

Equipment List

Dispatches

Extras

Sunset on the Fitzroy Group from the Patagonian Ice Cap

Ascend Cerro Marconi Sur and Gorra Blanca; traverse an eastern portion of the Patagonia Ice Cap.

Camp on the icecap.

The immense ice cap of southern Patagonian remains one of the least explored mountain areas in the world. Encompassing vast glaciers, hundreds of peaks, and some of the most beautiful and difficult summits in the world, the area exerts an intense draw on our instinct for exploration and adventure, This expedition will include one or two climbs, spectacular and very rare views of the huge west face of Cerro Torre, and a short traverse of an eastern section of the Patagonian Ice Cap.

After flying through the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, we continue on to Calafate in Patagonia’s Santa Cruz Province and meet fellow team members there. We drive around scenic Lago Argentino and Lago Viedma to the small settlement of El Chalten which lies at the foot of the Andes directly east of Cerro Fitzroy. There we meet our support staff, check gear, and complete an expedition orientation.

The scale of glaciers here is large, and terminal walls can be over 100 feet, tall.

Our mountain journey begins with a backpack through a forest of lengas and Antarctic beech and then up the beautiful Electrico Valley from which we will enjoy excellent views of the North Face and North Pillar of Fitzroy. We trek around Lago Electrico and establish our first camp at its west end, just twenty minutes below the Marconi Glacier. The next day we will make our ascent to Marconi Pass, climbing first on dry and open glacier, then skirting large and small crevasses that gradually become more hidden by snow as we move higher.

Camp near Marconi Pass.

We will establish a camp just short of the pass near Cerro Marconi Sur and spend two days there making attempts on that peak as well as the snow and ice covered Gorra Blanca. Those summits can provide some of the most impressive views in the range, reaching from the pampas in the east, to immense Fitzroy and needle-like Cerro Torre to our south, to the vast Patagonia Ice Cap stretching west towards the Pacific Ocean.

The following morning we will cross the Marconi Pass and move out onto the ice cap. While each team member carries his or her personal gear, our assistants will pull sleds with group gear (tents, food, fuel). Conditions vary greatly, and we may use crampons part of the way, boots only, or snowshoes if necessary. Weather permitting, the views on the ice cap should be tremendous including the active Lautaro Volcano to the northwest as well as the Mariano Moreno Range to the west which rises up amidst the ice cap, almost as high and greater in bulk than even the Fitzroy group.

Moderate terrain typifies this traverse.

Our travel will be on a relatively flat glacier that is similar to Antarctic terrain with an ice depth of approximately 3000 feet. Because the surface is devoid of major rises and drops, the glacier lacks icefalls, and as a result, the crevasses that we encounter will be fairly easy to negotiate. We move south on the ice cap to camp on a shelf near the foot of Cerro Torre’s 5,000-foot West Face. This is the "Circo de los Altares" named by Italian climber Casimiro Ferrari who led the first successful expedition to the face in 1970. This is among the world’s most scenic camps, with close up views of elegant Cerro Torre and a sweeping landscape of ice, snow, and isolated peaks to the west.

Support staff will pull expedition supplies in sleds where the terrain allows.
Here a great view of Fitzroy (left) and Cerro Torre (center), with Torre Egger
and Cerro Stanhardt (just left of Cerro Torre).