We are in Patagonia with glaciers and snow covered mountain peaks. The Argentinian Glacier National Park has lots and lots of glaciers! We needed to decide between the largest glacier, the tallest glacier, the closest glacier, whew, so many choices! Well we picked the one closest to Fitz Roy massif. Fitzroy massif is the heart of the trekking experience, and is located near Viedma Lake/ Viedma Glacier the tallest glacier in South America.
A 2+ hour drive (200 km) from our base in El Calafate, El Chalten is the home of trekking in Patagonia. Its name, Chalten, means blue mountain or smoking mountain in reference to the Fitz Roy Peak, an unmistakable 11,170 ft mountain often enveloped in clouds. The history of these impossible spires adds a special flavour. Named after Captain Fitzroy, skipper of Charles Darwin’s Beagle. Fitz Roy is one of the most notoriously difficult mountaineering destinations in the world.
We opted for lunch at an eco camp (they had llamas and lupine there) and a boat excursion to the face of Viedma Glacier. Viedma has an area of 380 square miles! With the shrinking of some glaciers, and the growth of others, it may be either 1 or 2 in size. It flows directly from the ice field to Viedma Lake. It’s front rises 130 feet above the level of the lake. Its origin is the very heart of the icefields, between 5,000 to 7,000 feet above sea level.
We were lucky to have the chance of coming close to the glacier in order to behold the colors, cracks, formations and listen to the sounds made by this wonder of nature. The icebergs, with hues ranging from white to extreme blue had been in the water for 1-2 weeks, were also a delight, aren’t they huge!
