This was my 2 second summer trip to Bariloche , on top of 3 winter trips there,and on top of another summer trip in central Patagonia ( El Chlaten ) and a spring trip to Tierra del Fuego in southern Patagonia.So this implies something…
We went 4 couples .Lori and I , Abby and Rob , Reg and Jeff and Jane and Jay .The 3 couples flew a few days ahead of us, and spent time in Buenos Aires. The highlight was Rob being mugged and had his watch ripped of his wrist in plain daylight, but the perp was cought and the watch retrieved right away.
Our flight to Buenos Aires was followed a few hours later by a 2 hour flight to Bariloche. We stayed at Alma del Lago Hotel, in a room facing Nahuel Huapi lake. With the window open , it seemed that we were on a big ship boat in the sea. (or ocean ).Perfect weather.
We all had dinner along our guide Jorge and a a woman that just rock climbed with him that day at Alto el Fuego. The steaks are just incredible at this place, and never fail to disappoint.In the morning we met the other guides :Angie and Pablo.angie spoke perfect english and perfect Argentinian spanish(she’s Argentinian _.Pablo -just spanish.
Next day we hiked hiked for a vertical gain of 700m to the Frey hut, by Laguna Toncek . 10km each direction , and it took about 3.5 -4.5 hours to go up. The hike has quintessential Andean Patagonian views , of lake Gutterez, of the granite spires on top of the mountains , and of forests.It starts from the bottom of Cerro Catedral, which is the ski resort close to Bariloche.-about 30 min drive. The Stallmans went fly fishing that day, and the Kameans hiked half way, because Jeff had back pain from a herniated disc. Jorge and I split from the group, and picked up the pace of the hike, so we could get sooner to the refugio for a short break. We planned big rock climb .
Refugio Frey is small compared to the European refugios , but it had good food and wine , coffee and yerba mate (the traditional Argentinian drink).Its located on the shores of Laguna Toncek, above at 1748.92 m .The beautiful lagoon with a small lake at its center is surrounded by the jagged granite spires of Cerro Cathedral. Its a rock climber paradise , with numerous routes. After a short scramble Jorge and I climbed up Jim’s fissure, a 2 pitch crack and dihedral climb, rated as 5.10a.In the winter the Frey is the place to stay for alpine touring.
Next day we went horse back riding in the Patagonian steppe ( away fro the mountains and towards the desert )and had a great Asado after. Rob and Jay and myself went rock climbing with Jorge on some big rocky formations on the shores of Lake guttered, but opposite Cerro Catedral .Its called Ventana del Cerro. The girls played MahJong and Jeff and Reg strolled in the town .
The day after we drove through the National park for about 2-2.5 hours to Pampa Linda , which is the place where the hike to Tronador mountain starts. There is a small inn at the trail head, which is where the whole group (except Jorge and I ) stayed .The trek to the Otto Meiling refugio is 14 km long, about 1,000m vertical gain and takes around 5 hours.It goes through multiple eco systems. About third of the Jorge and I split from the group. They went to see the bottom of a very impressive waterfall under Castano Overa glacier .
Otto Meiling refugio is set on the shoulder of the Tronador peak, between the Castaño Overa glacier and the Alerce glacier at 1882m above sea level. I did didn’t have to carry water the whole trek -we could drink from the creeks .The water is pure.
We had dinner at 7, and by 8pm we went to bed .I have to say that the refugio underwent some improvements compare to my previous visit 2 year prior. Woke up at 2 am, and by 2:45 am we started our climb. In other words, literally in the middle of the night. Jorge and I were the ONLY 2 people climbing ! Very special feeling . Initially we had great visibility of the sky, and I noticed for the first time the Southern cross and the Orion constellation , and learned that the Orsa major is not visible from the southern hemisphere.
We were roped to each other and wore crampons and later on helmets. We also had head torches.Tronador means thunderer in spanish-this is because of the sound of big ice seracs detaching and falling from the glacier .We crossed big and bottomless crevasses, and narrow crevasses . We crossed a lot of crevasses .The wind was blowing in gusts , and it felt cold . I had to wear thick gloves, and a few layers of clothing. Eventually the sky turned dark. No moon, no starts. Just ice and wind , and one could see only his next step. I fell into a crevasse , but being on a taut rope I only slipped inside to my waist , and easily crawled out. Later on the same happened to Jorge .
We climbed a very steep and very narrow arette in the dark, but I realized it only later on when the dawn came.Than had to down climb this arette in order to continue the climb , and I was belayed from above by Jorge. An unsecure fall there would potentially be catastrophic , because at the bottom there a a narrow crevasse, partially covered by snow , followed a few yards lower by a very large crevasse.
After 6 hours, just about 100 -150m from the peak a storm came, with clouds and started to rain. We had to turn back , Jorge was concerned that we had no plan B in case of trouble (being the only ones out there ) and also about the descent in a white-out guided by GPS …The descent went faster, and we got to Pampa Linda at 3:45pm. 13 hour overall, for a total of 1,200m vertical up, 2300m vertical down for a total of about 25km.
We drove for an hour to Hotel Tronador , which is the only hotel in the park ( besides Osteria Pampa Linda , a modest inn). The hotel is right on the shore of Lake Mansardi, and had very beautiful views of the surrounding mountains. We went canoeing the next day .One of the guides was a professor in biology who was looking for a more relaxing lifestyle. And by the way, Angie, the climbing guide -had a phD…
The last day Karsches and Kameans went fishing, and Jay and and Lori and I went rock climbing at a very large basalt rock formation, called the “Biblioteca”.Jane joined as well , but just to watch . The rocks are reminiscent of Devil’s Postpile in Mammoth, Ca. We did a few climbs ,crack, chimney and dihedral. The crack one had a few 5.10 b moves, and it took a lot of perseverance and using the quickdraws to complete.
And so the trip came to an end, and we celebrated with another delicious meal at Alto El Fuego.
Lori and I stayed for 1 night in Buenos Aires , and the rest flew back home . We stayed at Sofitel Ricoletta, and walked in San Telmo, Ricoletta and La Bocca .Dinner was at one of the best steak house in B.A -Cabana Las Lilas, on the picturesque dock of Puerto Madero. However, in my opinion Alto el Fuego was better.
So my 8th trip to Argentina ended , but I still want to go back…and Climb with skis the Tronador!
Hasta Luego! No Adiós. Not for now
