Fitz Roy

I am now back in El Calafate. One might think this shuttling back and forth via bus would get old but truthfully, it seems to be the most effective way for me to get some shut eye.

Fitz Roy really deserves its own paragraph. It was truely magnificent to see the towers jutting up high above the landscape below, and the other snow covered peaks that look prime for carving a few turns in the distance (well, maybe with a heli and a few more feet of snow). Round trip, it was about a 25k hike. The top portion, much like Torres del Paine, required climbing up rocks the size of pets and small children. At some point, I did not want to go on. As is stopped to snap some photos and watched others continue further up to the top, the aching in my feet said, ¨ahh the view is good from here, no need to go further, Laguna de Los Tres, it´s just another lake...¨. But my heart said, ¨go on, you know there´s a reward for you up there¨. And so I pushed on. Part way, I saw Ian and Dave make their way down from the top, we exchanged a few words and they assured me it was only another 2 minutes.

The wind picked up as I approached the top but sure enough, the glory of the towers and the turquoise colored laguna at the base were more impressive than I could have imagined. The wind was pushing the snow from the steeps down creating a mysticism. The sky was still blue but large clouds began to close in around the tower. Moments after I snapped my last photo and packed up to head down, the wind slammed down from the top sending everyone to find a boulder to grab onto. Then the snow began to whip around. It became imperative to get down the trail as quickly as possible. As I pounded my way back down, I was giddy with disbelief in the good fortune I had to have approached Fitz Roy moments before the weather ravaged it from view. I felt sorry for everyone I passed on my way down who were making their way up. I turned around near the first lookout I ran up to earlier that morning, and could find no sign of the towers.

I met up with Dave and Ian for dinner. Over gigantic Argentinian steaks we were all still glowing from the fantastic day we had at Fitz Roy. They were impressed with my self-motivation to arise early enough to get a start on the trail as early as I did. I nodded and gave myself the proverbial pat on the back.