Ice, Wind and Rock

We have just finished our leg in Southern Patagonia with stop in Los Glaciares National Park. There are a few mountains there that are famous to mountaineers for their marked beauty and difficulty to climb, Mt. Fitzroy and Cerro Torre. Cerro Torre is arguably the most difficult climb in the Western Hemisphere. Kori and Lindsay did a backcountry trip to the base of these two mountains, while Dave and I tried our luck on another mountain to the north called Cerro Vespignani. We were unable to summit due to the condition of the glacier, but as a doorprize we did some ice climbing in a crevasse. Usually the setting around an ice climb is striking, but rising from the lip of a 40 foot crevasse to see the Fitzroy range was unforgettable.

Quick Story--Meat is huge in Argentina. On Sunday (Easter), we were camping near the park and taking it easy for a day. There were some Argentinian families grilling their Easter feasts in some of the surrounding campsites, the air reminded me of a tailgate party. We are sitting around relaxing, when a man who had stopped by earlier to borrow a lighter, approached us with something in his hands. He had a knife that could easily be confused for a small sword with meat skewered halfway up the blade. The man came offering part of his family´s Easter parilla, in this case a stack of lamb chops. After witnessing our devoration of the gift, he came back another two times, both with half swords full of lamb. The only lamb we are used to seeing on Easter was on the side of a PAAS coloring kit... And this will come as a surprize to many of you, but Kori tried AND enjoyed it!

We are entering the Lake district of Argentina. Thanks for checking in...

Parilla, with lamb on the spit


Fitzory rising 3400 meters above the Patagonian Icefield


Dave crossing the moat from glacier to rock


View from the Summit of Cerro Polo, mountains obscured by clouds



Great vid Dave took of the range & crevasse we explored