Tag: Patagonia

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Frey

Frey was one of the first destinations we had decided on for our trip to Argentina. The mountain destination came highly recommended from a climbing friend, and is easily accessible from the town of Bariloche. After a 3 hour hike from the Cerro Catedral ski resort, we arrived to Refugio Frey. Within the hour, before even setting up our tent, we were off to climb “El Diedro de Jim” (Jim’s dihedral). Our introductory climb in the area was a perfect dihedral followed by a perfect crack in the granite face of “Aguja Frey,” the nearest spire to the hut. A perfect start to the week…

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Siete Lagos

After a few days trapped inside recovering from a stomach bug, setting off on the road of Seven Lakes (the span of Route 40 between Bariloche and San Martin de los Andes) felt like a grand adventure. We rented a car (trusty Chevy Joy) and headed north with high spirits and lots of snacks. Just as we were leaving town, we picked up two Spanish hitchhikers who were headed to Chile – we were low on hitchhiking karma and always enjoy meeting other travelers. They had already explored the seven lakes area, and laughed knowingly when I insisted that we pull over to take in the view at the first mirador.

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Venga!

We first heard about Piedra Parada from the Petzl Roctrip, but didn’t think we’d make it there on this adventure. After talking with a lot of Argentinian climbers and seeing their faces light up when they told us about Piedra Parada, we knew we had to go. They were right. When we got off the bus, we stood in awe of the huge lonely rock in the middle of the desert. “Piedra Parada” – or “standing stone” – looks like a forgotten piece in a cosmic game.

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Lavender, Hippies, and Blue water

We arrived in the evening to the hippie paradise of El Bolson. First impressions: there’s an artisan market with tons of handcrafted goods, slack lines are set up in the square with a high line across the little pond in the center, people are lounging in the lawn in the shade of the trees. Someone is spinning fire within a drum circle. Half shaved heads, dreadlocks, headscarves and lots of crystals, a hippie town indeed!

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In the presence of giants

Two days of near perfect weather welcomed us to the austral paradise of El Chaltén. As our bus pulled into the town and we saw Fitz Roy and its neighboring peaks dominating the horizon as the sun set, the energy of the mountains struck us. The beauty of the landscape and excitement about tackling the next climb or trek filled the town, and no matter where we went, we overheard snippets of shared beta, retelling of gorgeous days in the mountains, and in typical Patagonia fashion, rumors of the next weather window.

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Hello, Patagonia!

We thought that we’d be short on light when we arrived at around 7PM to the airport at El Calafate. However, after taking a bus to town, walking and checking in to our hostel, and going grocery shopping, we still caught the sunset at 10PM! Our time in this beautiful town was short and sweet – limited basically to our night at the hostel and a visit to the Perito Moreno glacier.

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