hiking.
mt. tronador, otto meiling hut
while markus takes the bus further south i do another hike. today i’m in the mood for a high-speed ascend to the otto meiling hut on the mt. tronador glacier. after 2 hours of jogging through the woods along very steep paths i finally arrive at the snow border. the route turns wet and muddy. some guys with heavy climbing equipment battle their way up to the next saddle through the deep snow. considering the cloudy weather and my wet boots i lack the ambition to follow them on the last steep part to the hut. maybe i’m getting old and lazy. instead i take some pictures, look at the glacier, and have lunch. some wine with the ham and cheese would not hurt.
after returning to bariloche i visit the alpine club to check the weather conditions for the 3 day nahuel huapi traverse. the initially planned route along a long ridge can’t be used because of the deep snow on the paths but there’s an easy alternative through the woods.
mt. cathedral, frey hut
i follow the recommended route through the woods to refugio frey. again i’m a bit irritated by the information in the book: it’s not exactly describing the path i use and the mentioned times don’t really match either. i assume the indications are simply as inaccurate as the ones for the lanin hike. and as i see some footprints on the path i just continue. at some viewpoints i get bit suspicious: it’s not exactly as it should be. seems i missed a sign somewhere. maybe i haven’t a clue where i am but i believe i haven’t lost my sense of orientation. so i continue. sooner or later i’ll find out where i’m going. not really the usual german ‘done as planned’ approach, rather an american ‘let’s play it by the ear’ attitude. i’m a cosmopolitan anyway. at least i’m still going uphill and there are footprints on the path once a while. an hour later i find out where i am: in the middle of the skiing area, right in between the two official routes. congratulations. no path, just deep snow. now i know where i am and i start with plan b: find your own route. and there are not many options to choose from: simply straight up, through the snow, hoping to intersect the standard route at some point. the way i go is not in the hiking maps so i baptise it 'det's route'. the steepness deserves also a 'little crazy'. if hiking on top of the flat ridge through the snow is not advised then i wonder what the alpine club would say about climbing this slope. how come i’m not surprised there are no footprints anymore? with some chocolate to cheer up i continue. it’s a battle but it’s good fun. wet shoes and pants included. after an hour i reach the ridge. the people i meet are a bit surprised when i show up from nowhere. i thought the path on the ridge is blocked…i could have saved three hours, instead i did some extra work to shape body and mind...
i thought that i finished the worst part. well, no. ahead of lies what the book calls 'some minor hand climbing'. to me it looks more like ‘you better be very careful and concentrated’. one wrong step and down it goes to the bottom of the valley. this side of the mountains is even steeper than before, with a very narrow path of loose stones. for even more entertainment the wind blasts are unpredictable. perfect conditions to keep my adrenalin level high. i’m so focused on the path that i hardly take time to enjoy the breathtaking views or to take pictures. after an hour the weather gets worse: rain and light snow fall. time to get down to the hut. although the path is not steep it’s quite en effort to climb through the rocks with the heavy backpack. but the longer it takes the more i find my rhythm and the more i like it. after 2 hours a sign on a rock informs me that there’s more ahead of me to enjoy: two more hours to reach the hut. hey, it could be worse: really bad weather and tooth-ache. to make the story short: i finish the part through the rocks and end up at (surprise!) another steep snowfield that leads down into the valley where the hut is. the snow varies from ankle-deep to waist-deep, which has the advantage that i can’t fall down into the valley.
while i come down 2 girls (‘we’re from new york, we’re crazy’) ascend the slope and ask for directions to another hut! i’m more than surprised. where the hell do they want to go at 5 pm? they still have to go at least 3 hours and the weather is getting worse. i’m really a bit worried about them. they seem to travel light and i wonder if they have the proper equipment for bad weather. they look like the mountain-version of ‘city slickers’ to me. i don’t know if they are careless or carefree. probably both. or maybe their self-description is simply true: crazy. for sure they have guts. i guess if you survive in new york you believe you can survive in the mountains. the information about rain and snow and winds doesn’t keep them from continuing. seldom did i mean a ‘good luck’ more seriously. let’s hope they’ll do fine and i’m only hysterical about hyperthermia...
finally i reach the hut, not in the planned 3 hours of leisure walk but in 9 hours of serious hiking. that’s what i call maximization of entertainment. what a relief to get rid of the backpack and the wet boots. and i should mention the fantastic monster pizza. a group of israeli orders it, too, once they see it. except they order one for the six of them. wimps! but i admit i was quite hungry.
well, a remarkable hike, indeed.
refugio grey.
weather is perfect but i don’t have the energy to continue the tour following the path the girls took yesterday: i guess my hunger for adventure tours in the snow is satisfied at the moment, my boots need time to dry, and i’m really exhausted not only from the hike but from the permanent rushing of the past days. i have a feeling the weather will not stay like this for 2 more days. after i find enough reasons to convince myself to go down i descend with the guys from israel. today i learn where i should have come up yesterday. that would have been much, much easier, but not as adventurous. after 2 hours of fast but comparatively relaxing marching we reach the lakes in the valley. again picture postcard views.
bariloche.
whatever made me return earlier from the tour, it saved me from an extremely bad day in the mountains. it’s pouring and storming in bariloche. the mountains don’t look any better. i wonder how the new yorker girls are. today you want to be everywhere but in the mountains. i cancel the 60 km bike tour around the lakes and use the forced but needed break to eat and read and do nothing – exactly the things some people call vacation.
the dinner at the so-called best steak restaurant in town is disappointing. the guys at ‘el boliche de alberto’ have forgotten about the basics: the meat isn’t properly cut against the fibre of the muscles. so it’s hard to chew. i’m overcritical? if you want to be the best you have to offer the best. sometimes it’s these tiny things that make the difference, dudes.
bariloche, el clafate.
i book the boat from puerto natales to puerto montt.
during the flight to el calafate: my not so slim neighbour passes out. what a sight. 3 lovely flight attendants taking care of fresh air, sitting position ... i think one day i’ll try that too. i just have to make sure it's not one of the male attendants who takes care of me then.
i meet the 'crazier than myself' girls from new york from the snow field at refugio grey again. rather they recognize me when i offer to share a cab (stingy me): 'are you german? aren’t you the one...?' it’s a small world. so they made it after all.
we do a chocolate tasting tour in town. i have to keep myself from buying a piece of every sort – once you start with that you’re lost. it’s just too yummy. .. . the girls are good fun and i have to say if you have attractive women as company the shop keepers offer you much more samples to try. what a team: shopping frenzy combined with chocoholism! i can’t compete with their shopping endurance though. i organize the next trips and hikes and change my flights.
while markus takes the bus further south i do another hike. today i’m in the mood for a high-speed ascend to the otto meiling hut on the mt. tronador glacier. after 2 hours of jogging through the woods along very steep paths i finally arrive at the snow border. the route turns wet and muddy. some guys with heavy climbing equipment battle their way up to the next saddle through the deep snow. considering the cloudy weather and my wet boots i lack the ambition to follow them on the last steep part to the hut. maybe i’m getting old and lazy. instead i take some pictures, look at the glacier, and have lunch. some wine with the ham and cheese would not hurt.
after returning to bariloche i visit the alpine club to check the weather conditions for the 3 day nahuel huapi traverse. the initially planned route along a long ridge can’t be used because of the deep snow on the paths but there’s an easy alternative through the woods.
mt. cathedral, frey hut
i follow the recommended route through the woods to refugio frey. again i’m a bit irritated by the information in the book: it’s not exactly describing the path i use and the mentioned times don’t really match either. i assume the indications are simply as inaccurate as the ones for the lanin hike. and as i see some footprints on the path i just continue. at some viewpoints i get bit suspicious: it’s not exactly as it should be. seems i missed a sign somewhere. maybe i haven’t a clue where i am but i believe i haven’t lost my sense of orientation. so i continue. sooner or later i’ll find out where i’m going. not really the usual german ‘done as planned’ approach, rather an american ‘let’s play it by the ear’ attitude. i’m a cosmopolitan anyway. at least i’m still going uphill and there are footprints on the path once a while. an hour later i find out where i am: in the middle of the skiing area, right in between the two official routes. congratulations. no path, just deep snow. now i know where i am and i start with plan b: find your own route. and there are not many options to choose from: simply straight up, through the snow, hoping to intersect the standard route at some point. the way i go is not in the hiking maps so i baptise it 'det's route'. the steepness deserves also a 'little crazy'. if hiking on top of the flat ridge through the snow is not advised then i wonder what the alpine club would say about climbing this slope. how come i’m not surprised there are no footprints anymore? with some chocolate to cheer up i continue. it’s a battle but it’s good fun. wet shoes and pants included. after an hour i reach the ridge. the people i meet are a bit surprised when i show up from nowhere. i thought the path on the ridge is blocked…i could have saved three hours, instead i did some extra work to shape body and mind...
i thought that i finished the worst part. well, no. ahead of lies what the book calls 'some minor hand climbing'. to me it looks more like ‘you better be very careful and concentrated’. one wrong step and down it goes to the bottom of the valley. this side of the mountains is even steeper than before, with a very narrow path of loose stones. for even more entertainment the wind blasts are unpredictable. perfect conditions to keep my adrenalin level high. i’m so focused on the path that i hardly take time to enjoy the breathtaking views or to take pictures. after an hour the weather gets worse: rain and light snow fall. time to get down to the hut. although the path is not steep it’s quite en effort to climb through the rocks with the heavy backpack. but the longer it takes the more i find my rhythm and the more i like it. after 2 hours a sign on a rock informs me that there’s more ahead of me to enjoy: two more hours to reach the hut. hey, it could be worse: really bad weather and tooth-ache. to make the story short: i finish the part through the rocks and end up at (surprise!) another steep snowfield that leads down into the valley where the hut is. the snow varies from ankle-deep to waist-deep, which has the advantage that i can’t fall down into the valley.
while i come down 2 girls (‘we’re from new york, we’re crazy’) ascend the slope and ask for directions to another hut! i’m more than surprised. where the hell do they want to go at 5 pm? they still have to go at least 3 hours and the weather is getting worse. i’m really a bit worried about them. they seem to travel light and i wonder if they have the proper equipment for bad weather. they look like the mountain-version of ‘city slickers’ to me. i don’t know if they are careless or carefree. probably both. or maybe their self-description is simply true: crazy. for sure they have guts. i guess if you survive in new york you believe you can survive in the mountains. the information about rain and snow and winds doesn’t keep them from continuing. seldom did i mean a ‘good luck’ more seriously. let’s hope they’ll do fine and i’m only hysterical about hyperthermia...
finally i reach the hut, not in the planned 3 hours of leisure walk but in 9 hours of serious hiking. that’s what i call maximization of entertainment. what a relief to get rid of the backpack and the wet boots. and i should mention the fantastic monster pizza. a group of israeli orders it, too, once they see it. except they order one for the six of them. wimps! but i admit i was quite hungry.
well, a remarkable hike, indeed.
refugio grey.
weather is perfect but i don’t have the energy to continue the tour following the path the girls took yesterday: i guess my hunger for adventure tours in the snow is satisfied at the moment, my boots need time to dry, and i’m really exhausted not only from the hike but from the permanent rushing of the past days. i have a feeling the weather will not stay like this for 2 more days. after i find enough reasons to convince myself to go down i descend with the guys from israel. today i learn where i should have come up yesterday. that would have been much, much easier, but not as adventurous. after 2 hours of fast but comparatively relaxing marching we reach the lakes in the valley. again picture postcard views.
bariloche.
whatever made me return earlier from the tour, it saved me from an extremely bad day in the mountains. it’s pouring and storming in bariloche. the mountains don’t look any better. i wonder how the new yorker girls are. today you want to be everywhere but in the mountains. i cancel the 60 km bike tour around the lakes and use the forced but needed break to eat and read and do nothing – exactly the things some people call vacation.
the dinner at the so-called best steak restaurant in town is disappointing. the guys at ‘el boliche de alberto’ have forgotten about the basics: the meat isn’t properly cut against the fibre of the muscles. so it’s hard to chew. i’m overcritical? if you want to be the best you have to offer the best. sometimes it’s these tiny things that make the difference, dudes.
bariloche, el clafate.
i book the boat from puerto natales to puerto montt.
during the flight to el calafate: my not so slim neighbour passes out. what a sight. 3 lovely flight attendants taking care of fresh air, sitting position ... i think one day i’ll try that too. i just have to make sure it's not one of the male attendants who takes care of me then.
i meet the 'crazier than myself' girls from new york from the snow field at refugio grey again. rather they recognize me when i offer to share a cab (stingy me): 'are you german? aren’t you the one...?' it’s a small world. so they made it after all.
we do a chocolate tasting tour in town. i have to keep myself from buying a piece of every sort – once you start with that you’re lost. it’s just too yummy. .. . the girls are good fun and i have to say if you have attractive women as company the shop keepers offer you much more samples to try. what a team: shopping frenzy combined with chocoholism! i can’t compete with their shopping endurance though. i organize the next trips and hikes and change my flights.