Happy New Year everyone, hopefully things change for the better this year and we can all head off on a few adventures. I figured I'd start the year off on a good note - this was (and still is) the single best days walking that I've ever been lucky enough to enjoy!
The view this morning when we crested John Gardner Pass is etched into my memory.
Today would be the crux of the walk and it was the day that I had been looking forward to the most, yes all going well today we would go over John Gardner Pass. So I was somewhat relieved when I climbed out of the tent this morning and gazed skyward to see blue sky and fluffy white clouds. After a quick breakfast we were on our way by about 7:30am this morning hoping to make the most of the good weather window. Leaving Campamento Los Perros the track initially climbed in and out of the trees a couple of times before leaving the cover of the trees and starting the long climb up the rocky snow covered slopes below John Gardner Pass.
Crawling out of my tent at Campamento Los Perros first thing this morning conditions were looking promising.
Progress has begun.
That's John Gardner Pass on the skyline. Initially we passed through a couple belts of trees as we climbed.
Once out of the trees it was up, up and up! The small lake is the terminal lake below Glacier Los Perros near where we camped last night.
After negotiating the sections of snow we'd regroup on the clear rocky spots.
We had to ascend about 640 metres from Los Perros this morning to crest the pass and the snow cover was making it hard work. Our guide Mauricio broke the track through the sometimes waist deep snow, trying to pick the best line up towards the pass. Sometimes I would post hole waist deep into the snow which was funny the first time although the next 50 times were just hard work! It didn't help that I was walking with Petra, who seemed to dance pixie like over the top of the snow hardly making an indentation. The views though were getting better and better as we slowly climbed, with snow covered jagged mountains and glaciers in almost any direction that I cared to look.
There was no shortage of views to take in on the climb.
Progress was still being made.
Have I mentioned the views...?
That's the top of John Gardner Pass over my shoulder.
Our group shuffling the last few metres onto the pass.
After topping out in John Gardner Pass suddenly Glacier Grey was ahead of us.
After numerous stops to recharge the lungs and my leg muscles we crested John Gardner Pass at 10:30am. The view that unfolded before us was as good as I had dreamed and is etched in my memory. Ahead of me on the western side of John Gardner Pass was the massive expanse of Glacier Grey and the Southern Patagonian Icefield all hemmed in by spectacular snow capped mountains. To top off everything there was barely any wind so we were able to scramble around to get plenty of photos without being blown off the pass. From the John Gardner Pass, Glacier Grey looked like an enormous frozen river of white water. Glacier Grey stretched for kilometres below us however looking south into the distance we could see the terminal face of the glacier at Lago Grey... we would now spend the rest of our day getting there.
The windswept John Gardner Pass.
Glacier Grey from John Gardner Pass.
I'm feeling pretty content with life around now!
Our guide Maurico did most of the hard work on the climb breaking a trail through the fresh snow.
There was a very decrepit pole line marking the route off John Gardner Pass.
All too soon we had to start descending from the John Gardner Pass. The going was a lot quicker on the way down through the snow, I was able to use the snow as a shock absorber for my knees which made for a relatively comfortable descent for most part although I still had to be careful of post holing. The stunning views continued as we wound right and then left and then headed for the tree line. Once in the trees progress slowed a bit as the snow was softer and you had to be careful of the trees and bushes buried in the snow. We got to one section that was so steep that we glissaded down 15 metres on our bums using our heels as brakes. We must have made quite a sight all giggling like happy children although the bottom of the slope resembled a crash site with tangled bodies and back packs littering the slope.
Just as on the climb, there was plenty to see on the descent too.
Glacier Grey would be our constant companion for the rest of the day as we followed it down to Refugio Grey.
It wasn't just the glacier demanding my attention though.
Dropping down towards the tree line again.
Before reaching the tree line it was time for another break.
Once down into the trees we enjoyed glissading a short section.
Fred and Rita enjoying a little downtime.
When the snow did finally disappeared for good the track became incredibly slippery, the leaves, mud and slope all combined to make this descent the slipperiest of the trip. I was glad to have trekking poles going down here however I still managed to go arse over once or twice. We stopped for lunch at Campamento Paso and I used the opportunity to shed my wet weather gear and get back into my shorts, the weather gods were certainly smiling on us now. After lunch we pushed on towards Refugio Grey the long walk being punctuated by stunning views of Glacier Grey as we continued to mostly contoured the side of the mountains.
Once below the snow line the track was incredibly slippery in spots.
Petra is looking happy with how the day's going!
Dropping down through the Lenga Forest towards Campamento Paso.
Glacier Grey was a constant this afternoon.
The view away from the glacier was pretty sweet too.
Arriving at Campamento Paso it was time for lunch and to shed a few layers.
There was another nice view point near Campamento Paso.
The walk from Campamento Paso to Refugio Grey was only around 10km but it was a fairly hard walk (especially after climbing the pass in waist deep snow that morning). As I've mentioned the track generally contoured the sides of the mountain beside Glacier Grey, however there were constant rises and falls as the track negotiated different obstacles. The major obstacles being a couple of long ladders that were attached tenuously to the side of a couple of ravines. The first ladder wasn't too bad as we had to ascend it, once getting over the fact that the ladder was anchored by bits of rope tied around boulders, and that the two sections were also tied together with rope it was a simple enough climb. The second ladder upped the degree of difficulty a bit, this one we had to descend, mounting the top of the ladder required stepping off a loose ledge with around a 15 metre drop and then turning 180 degrees with your pack on to grab the hand holds. Despite a few tears the whole group did really well and everyone got down safely. Just before arriving at Campamento Los Guardas we passed a trail closed sign, yes John Gardner Pass was officially closed and we had only been allowed over because we had a guide. This was to gain us much trekker cred for the rest of the walk.
By late afternoon we were getting close to the end of the glacier.
Glacier Grey, Torres del Paine National Park.
Glacier Grey, Torres del Paine National Park.
We were starting to get into an area that had been burnt in a wildfire a few years earlier - the fire escaped from a walkers campfire...fuck!
Paine Catedral - it almost looked fake it was that perfect!
Crossing these ravines was slightly dodgy.
Climbing out of the first ravine wasn't too bad... once I got my head around the fact that the ladders were tied together with flimsy pieces of rope.
We arrived at Refugio Grey at 7:30pm having been walking for twelve hours today however that 12 hours was some of the best walking of my life. We walked straight to the refuge for a celebratory drink tonight, Fred and I shouting Mauricio and Nico and gushing about what a great day it had been. After the days exertions it didn't take too many beers to start to feel a bit light headed tonight so I was glad when dinner finally arrived. After dinner I checked out my tent and was happy to see that it was on soft dry grass and good nights sleep looked on the cards. Before crawling into my sleeping bag though I headed to the showers in the refuge to wash off the days accumulated grime. It was amazing the standard of this refugio, it was like a reasonably good hotel... this was our first taste of walking the W section of the trail. The W is like a condensed highlights section of the longer walk we were doing and is a pretty famous trek (well, if you are a bit of a walking train spotter like me!) After my shower I headed back to the bar where we continued chatting until the 'last call'. Oh yeah...I did indeed sleep well that night!
Nearing the end of our trek along the side of Glacier Grey.
Glacier Grey calving into Lake Grey.
Descending this ladder into the second ravine demanded a bit more respect.
Thankfully it was also well secured with pieces of old rope.
Arriving at Campamento Guardia we found that John Gardner Pass was officially closed.
The day was a ball tearer from start to end!
The Dirt.
I walked around 22 kilometres and climbed around 1000 metres on what I'd call a hard day's walking. Over the 4 days of my Torres Del Paine walk so far I've walked around 61.5 kilometres and climbed around 2500 metres. As I've mentioned the walking today was stunning, the view as I crested John Gardner Pass was jaw dropping... that said we were extremely lucky with the Patagonian weather today, with blue sky and more importantly bugger all wind the weather conditions could of hardly been more benign. The track itself was fairly easy to follow where it wasn't under snow, when it was snow covered things were a lot tougher. This day could be split up with a camping options at Campamento Paso and Campamento Los Guardos. Once again water wasn't an issue today although I'd be treating anything I got from the side streams. Back when we did the walk there was two particularly gnarly eroded gullies that had to be negotiated on very rickety ladders, I believe the ladders may have been replaced by long bridges now however if the ladders are still being used then they demand caution. Refugio Grey was a substantial complex, with a restaurant, lodging, hot showers, flushing toilets and a bar. I used the notes and basic map out of Cicerones Torres Del Paine - Trekking In Chile's Premier National Park.
Relevant Posts.
Our last look at Glacier Grey this afternoon before we dropped down to Refugio Grey.
Arriving into Refugio Grey we headed straight for the bar and the restaurant.
After last drinks it was one very contented walker who crawled into his tent and settled in for a very good nights sleep.
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