Hiking in El Chalten

Claimed to be the hiking capital of Argentina, El Chalten is definitely a place worth visit. After four hours of bus from El Calafate, we reached there at 10pm. Lucky to us there was a cheap hostel costing only 35peso each (the common roam and the kitchen were small). We settled for a day of touristy excursion to the Glacier Viedma, then the next day we went hiking to see the nearby mountain Friz Roy.

It was raining and not a good day to start, but we should not wait for longer for the six-hour track under sunlight. Our rain-gear were finally useful, especially my poncho which was with me since high school. Crossing the town we followed the handwritten-like tourist map and the track was clear and well maintained. We passed a rocky hill which should be ideal for rock-climbing. Then rain came. It was our surprise that the rain later turned to snow and our first time to hike when the snow started falling and the ground was still green and yellow. Then the snow turned heavier and we turned out walking in a valley with strong wind and snow storm. We did not see much of the mountains far away. It was a special experience in that hard weather but the surrounding was serene and fresh. After seven hours of hiking we were back to the town.

The next day we went to another trail where we could see the cerro torres. However, the rain was heavier than the day before. We waited until the rain got lighter at 10am. There was no snow on the way this time but a long way on the valley to the glacier.

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We wanted to buy a good meat (but there was no good meat anyway) and just found that it was labour’s day and the supermarket was closed. There was also no carniceria. As the bus to Bariloche was 3am, we stayed in the hostel till late (lucky that there were not many people in the small hostel). We were yet lucky to enjoy El Chalten because of the weather. Hopefully next time there is better weather so we can climb Friz Roy (which costs 300peso per day to hire a guide for 3-4 days).

The touristy ice-trekking in Glacier Viedma in El Chalten

Instead of paying for 800 Argentine peso for ice-trekking (called the Big Ice) on Perito Moreno (of which we enjoyed just standing in front to see ice collapse), we paid 500 for ice-trekking on Glacier Viedma. It is 5 times larger than the former. It is still a touristy expenditure. However, we have no crampons and know nothing about glacier, i.e. we can’t go by ourselves. Then we cannot escape from experiencing it without paying. So we “brush” our credit card easily in a touristy way and joined the excursion happening half an hour later, in our first morning in El Chalten.

 

After an hour of bus and boat trip on Lake Viedma, which was the same size of Hong Kong, we saw the glacier wall on water but were unlucky to see any clashes. Then we went on the rock, wore the crampons and stepped onto the glacier. It was like walking on a foreign planet with ice ever moving and changing shapes. It will be different landscape a few days later. The guides kept exploring and trying new route out of their experience. It was an interesting walking for two hours. Due to global walking this glacier was also receding. We kept seeing big holes with water melting into it. We heard that there were adventurous divers going underneath the glaciers and dived into the lakes.

We saw a wedding proposal in our tour group. For a bit a luxury, we had bailey with ice to end the journey. It is what a touristy excursion about.