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When you do something that pushes you to your absolute limits, and you don’t give up, it changes you in a very unique way. You prove to yourself you are capable of so much more than you ever thought possible. You walk away feeling empowered, confident and proud. That is exactly how the multi-day trek to Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre left me feeling. It is also why I wanted to share this story with you.
Towards the beginning of my trip, Refugio Frey was a place where I felt these kinds of changes. I felt them again in El Chaltén. Both times I was out in the mountains, using my own two feet to carry me from point A to point B across mountains, alongside lakes and through valleys. This time it wasn’t the length of the hike or solitude that allowed me to connect with myself on a deeper level. It was the intense weather and harsh conditions of the environment in and around Fitz Roy that really pushed me to learn more about who I am.
El Chaltén
There is just something so magical about the way the morning light hits the mountain tops in Patagonia.
What a Challenge
El Chaltén was the place that challenged me perhaps the most out of all of my time in Patagonia. On both a mental and physical level, I was pushed to my absolute limits. It was also one of the places with the most stunning views, especially at sunrise.
The challenges I experienced weren’t because the trails here are particularly difficult. And fitness levels weren’t an issue after completing hikes like Cerro Castillo and Cerro Tronador. It was the famous Patagonian weather that really tested me on my mission to see the Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre peaks at sunrise. It was the fact that the temperatures were -10 degrees celsius overnight while it was raining, snowing and sleeting during the day. I was prepared for the cold, but not for that level of cold at the end of Summer.
Planning the Hike to Fitz Roy
Arriving in El Chaltén after an adventurous border crossing, my French hiking buddy and I we were eager to get back out onto the trails. The weather was way too wild to attempt the Huemul Circuit, so on the advice of the local rangers we decided to combine two of El Chaltén’s stunning one day hikes. We mapped out our route that included two nights in the mountains; up to Fitz Roy and then to Cerro Torre via a linking trail.
As we went to bed in our hostel the night before the hike, I laid awake listening to the howling, rattling and thumping of the enormous winds outside throwing the town around. The weather was supposedly a little better near Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre than it was here and on the Huemul Circuit. Or at least, this is what I said to myself over and over again as I imagined sleeping in a tent in this weather the following night.
Fitz Roy – Laguna De Los Tres
While the cold made it more challenging, I’m glad I got to see it like this; with a dusting of snow.
Hiking to the Fitz Roy Camp Site
Despite the show the weather had put on the night before, the hike up to the camp site near Fitz Roy was surprisingly easy and wind free. It quickly became apparent though, that Fitz Roy was a lot busier than what we had experienced in the tranquil surrounds of Cerro Castillo.
While setting up camp we realised that what we thought was rain falling around the forest, was in fact snow. This was my first experience of snow in Patagonia. I was struggling to comprehend how it was snowing in Summer. We both glanced at each other with the same look of wonder and concern; were our sleeping bags going to be warm enough for snow? I guess we would find out.
Laguna De Los Tres
The Ascent
We soon arrived at the start of the steep ascent to Laguna De Los Tres at the base of the Fitz Roy peaks. The sign said it was a 1km trail that had an incline of 400m in altitude. I had heard it was going to be tough, but this sounded a lot steeper than I had expected. Thankfully, after leaving our main packs at camp we only had our very light day packs.
With this euphoric lightweight feeling we set off on our mission to climb as fast as we possibly, and safely could. The clouds were starting to clear more than they had all day. We began to pick up the pace even more trying to push it as hard as we could up each giant, rocky step to try and beat the clouds to the top.
My hiking buddy was a machine and was absolutely relentless. She pushed me on and enabled us to smash out the usual one hour final ascent in just 35 minutes. As we arrived to the top of the steps we were surrounded by several people staring, pointing and gasping in awe.
While I didn’t manage to get a photo of the peaks in the split second they were visible, I still got to take in all of their glory with my own two eyes. A couple we passed told us they had sat up the top for 90 minutes to see those few seconds of clear skies, so I guess we weren’t doing so bad after all.
Fitz Roy
There the peaks are, right behind those clouds! Elusive as they were, it was still an absolutely stunning place.
When we climbed over the last ridge to finally see the gorgeous lakes and mountains we were both stopped dead in our tracks. There was the most beautiful, ankle deep, dusting of fresh and fluffy snow all over the ground. It gave the whole area a very magical feeling. I had seen photos taken up here only two days before, with absolutely no snow. I felt pretty lucky to be able to see it like this.
That smile says it all.
Brisk Change in Weather
Here we were on top of a giant mound of rocks looking out over an intensely blue lake and an insanely green lake surrounded by mountain peaks and snow. It doesn’t get much better than this! Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, huge gusts of wind swept in. The type of wind that can literally knock you off your feet and what Patagonia is perhaps most infamous for.
The first bouts of wind were comical and exciting, leading to a few hilarious videos of my hair whipping around. But then when the wind increased and it started snowing at the same time we all knew we had to get out of there. Crouching on the ground to try and minimise the impact of the wind we tried to hurry back down. It wasn’t long before we could barely see. Full white out was ahead in this very spontaneous and unexpected blizzard.
You really can get four seasons in a day in Patagonia, and in the very literal sense. Despite a couple of slips and staggers here and there, we made it back to camp safe and sound. We said goodbye to our new friends ad began to brace for the cold impact of the night ahead.
Overnight Conditions
The weather continued throughout the night. The wind howled through the trees all night causing them to sway and creak in such a deeply unnerving way. Every now and then the trees would be bent far enough for all of the water they had gathered to come plummeting down in one giant bucket onto our tens. The sound of it hitting our tents all at once was shocking and intense.
Our sources tell us the temperature got down to -8 degrees celsius overnight. With the already damp surrounds, there was frost everywhere. Even with putting on everything we owned and cinching our sleeping bags, jackets and beanie closed as tight as possible we were still chilled deeply to the bone. Between the wind, the buckets of rain and the intensely cold weather, I don’t think either of us got any sleep at all.
Awaking on our second day completely exhausted from our sleepless night to find it was still raining, was a little defeating. This was the day when the real challenge began. Once we began our hike from Fitz Roy to Cerro Torre it was all out war with the weather.
Cerro Torre
The Linking Trail
Hitting the Trail
We set off on what should have been a blissful walk along the lake on the linking trail that joins the hikes to Fitz Roy and to Cerro Torre together. Unfortunately, the light rain only increased in it’s intensity as our hike progressed. With little shelter along the lake we became more and more soaked. Becoming wet wouldn’t have been such an issue if it wasn’t still so incredibly cold.
My waterproof jacket
worked wonders in keeping the rain away from my down jacket
and merino base layer. The rest of me however, was soaked to the bone. The tips of my fingers had become so cold that I could no longer feel them. My amazing hiking boots
, which had not let an ounce of water in even when I had walked through huge amounts of water and mud, were starting to fill with icy cold water. Apparently I was so wet that all of the water on my body and clothes were running down my legs and into my socks and boots.
With each step I grew colder and colder and began questioning why I was out here in the outdoors in the first place. My friend Anaïs was a very experienced hiker, having completed many solo hikes all over the world, including in the extreme cold of Norway. A little bit of rain wasn’t going to stop her, so she continued to urge me on and give me the confidence to continue.
Soaking wet and frozen, but still smiling!
At a Crossroads
When we finally found ourselves at a crossroads of choosing to continue on to the Cerro Torre camp site or to hike back to El Chaltén, it was a very difficult decision. Every fibre of my being was exhausted and frozen and wanted to go back to town. I had been dreaming of a warm bed, dry clothes and a fireplace for the last three relentlessly cold hours. But when I looked at Anaïs, she gave me the confidence I needed to overcome my fears and push on. She continued with her affirmations; if we didn’t die the night before, we weren’t going to die now. We could do this.
Just in case anyone is concerned, if we had believed we were at risk of actually dying from the weather conditions, then we absolutely would have turned back. We both knew we were being pushed to our limits, but that we were going to survive.
The Cerro Torre Campsite
This was the river that snaked around our campsite for the night. This probably didn’t help with the cold factor, but it was very beautiful.
Just when I thought I could never be colder in my life than I had been the night before, I was proven dramatically wrong. The temperatures had dropped below -5 degrees celsius in the afternoon before the sun had even set. By the time we had set up our tents and retreated to sleep it was around -10 degrees celsius. My sleeping bag was only rated to 2 degrees comfort and my thermal liner supposedly only added 5 degrees. I was quite a few degrees short of being even remotely close to warm or comfortable. This is by far the coldest I have ever been and may ever be in my life.
To add to that, most of our gear was soaking wet. I couldn’t even use extra layers over my dry thermals to give me the boost I needed. With everything cinched as tight as humanly possible, I could barely move inside my sleeping bag. Breathing through the tiny hole I had left open around my mouth at the top of the bag, I laid awake in my tent for around 12 hours. It wasn’t just the coldest night of my life, it was also the longest. Your brain does a lot of strange things in these types of conditions. Sleep deprivation is intense!
Sunrise at Cerro Torre
I could barely believe my eyes as the gorgeous hues of pink, purple and orange began to hit the peaks of the mountains and light up the sky.
My alarm went off, but I was already awake. Or should I say, still awake. I struggled to get up knowing that it was going to be incredibly cold outside and that all of my clothes were still wet. Although it was still dark outside, I knew we didn’t have too long until the sun rose. We both desperately wanted to see the sunrise at Cerro Torre, so we dragged ourselves out of our tents.
The viewpoint was much closer than anticipated and it only took us five minutes to walk there from camp. This unfortunately meant less time hiking and warming up, and more time standing around in the cold air in wet and freezing clothes. It wasn’t dark for long and before we knew it, the pinks and orange hues of the morning sun began to creep over the mountain peaks behind us.
The crazy weather meant that there were only a few other crazy people at Cerro Torre for sunrise with us, which was actually really special.
Then the peaks of the mountains surrounding the lake lit up in the most incredible colours I have ever seen. All of the soaking wet clothes, frozen fingertips and sleepless nights were suddenly worth it. This tremendous sight made everything else melt away and I couldn’t help but feel so satisfied and happy that I was here in this exact moment at this exact place.
In Retrospect
Feelings on Departure
I walked to my bus on my last day in El Chaltén in darkness, before the sun had risen. As I sat in my window seat, driving out of El Chaltén on Route 40, I looked back towards the town and the peaks of Fitz Roy. The clouds had miraculously cleared as the sun rose. For the first time in my entire seven days in El Chaltén I could see the Fitz Roy in all her glory. It was so beautiful I could barely contain my emotions.
The best part was that I knew Anaïs was hiking to see the southern view of the Patagonian ice fields on this day on the Huemul Circuit. She would be looking out over her views with similar feelings I was experiencing while looking out of my bus window. I will be back one day to tackle the Huemul Circuit and it will be so worth it. The Patagonian weather tried, but did not defeat me.
Can you see why the Fitz Roy peaks are so famous?
Was it Worth It?
I’ve never been as happy as I am in the mountains. With or without the crazy weather!
--Girl Seeking Purpose
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