and… relax.

It’s been a pretty good few months, but it’s hard work this holiday stuff. My poor wee knees are feeling the pace, and were just about ready to start some kind of strike action if I hadn’t taken some time out. Which is why I’ve found myself chilling out in Pucon for most of the last week.

It´s a good base for outdoor activities, or just for chilling out on the black volcanic sands by the Lake. I found myself getting back in a kayak (on a river) for the first time in around three years, which was brilliant! It really made me remember why I used to love it, so I’m looking forward to getting to New Zealand to give it another whirl. I even went for a wee wander up the local volcano the other day.

Ok, I’ve got to admit that I wasn’t that thrilled with the volcano, but that’s probably my own fault for expecting too much. Everyone raves about it here, but at the end of the day I’ve come to Patagonia on a walking holiday/photo mission, spending most of the last two months walking in some of the most magnificent landscapes you could ever hope for and for the most part doing it in perfect solitude. To ascend Volcan Villarica have to go with a guided group and after the last two months I found walking a snail’s pace, nose-to-tail up the hill kind of trying. It became so monotonous and mindless that the guy behind me kept walking into my rucksack every time we stopped.

That said, the views really were stunning. Particularly early in the day when we had a perfect cloud inversion for sunrise.

Perhaps I’m also judging it a little harshly as I’d really hoped to see some magama bubbling in the crater at the top of the volcano. Unfortunately the levels are apparently quite low at the moment and all we really got at the top was a whole lot of extremely noxious gas. On the whole it was still a worthwhile experience, and I’m glad that I went up; it just didn’t quite rate on the same scale as some other recent outings!

Tomorrow I backtrack a little down Chile to Chiloe, a large island near Puerto Montt. I’ve really not much clue what I’m going to do when I get there, but that’s because I’ve been doing some serious relaxing rather than thinking about things this last week. It’s been great, and I’m sure that Chiloe will take care of itself when I get there. I understand that it’s a particularly mellow and pretty place to visit, so I’m trusting that my return to The Mission won’t be too much of a shock to the system!

In the mean time, I took a stroll along the beach form town this evening. It might have been intented to be a week off from the photography mission, but it’s still a very pretty place to be….

No Paine….

First and foremost folks: a belated Merry Christmas to you all! Thanks to everyone that got in touch one way or another, and I hope that you all had a good one.

Personally, I had a great time! I took a few days to head back to the Torres Del Paine park to try and get some photos of the massive for a distance: as much as trekking the W offered some stunning views, there’s also something about the view of the range from a distance that is quite special. Once again, I was fairly lucky with the weather (right up till Christmas morning!), so I’ll offer up a selection of shots here, the theme being the Cuernos.

Have fun guys! I’m heading south in a few days, so am not sure if I’ll post again before New Year. In the mean time, take care.

the W

The route known as the W in the Torres Del Paine National Park has a reputation for being the best trekking in the world. I can’t say that I’ve tried them all, but it’s certainly not half bad!

It’s not a trail for those wanting to rough it or looking for a little solitude, but with four days of constantly changing landscape, good trails and the option of cooked meals and hot showers at the refugios it’s got a lot to offer. I was fortunate enough to meet some great people along the way: trekking the first two and a half days with a lass I’d bumped in Chaltern, then bumping into an Irish family that I’d played boules with below Fitz Roy, and getting to know (among others) a cracking English couple and their guide at the campsites every night. (If any of you ever need a guide in the Paine area, give Dave a shout: http://www.dittmaradventures.com/ )

From a trekking point of view, the weather was kind again. From a photographic point of view, it was exceptionally frustrating. Lots of “almost” great conditions, but that’s the nature of the game, and you’ve just got to make the most of what you get on the day. And I guess that the silver lining to the cloud is that on days when there’s lots of low cloud and it’s snowing at 4am you get to go back to bed rather than crawl out to try and take some photographs. And not every day was bad!

Spotlight on Torre Central

I tried not to worry about it too much. I am, after all, on holiday: not every day out has to produce perfect pictures. And to be honest, I still maintain that sometimes you get something more representative of the area, more real to most people, when the weather’s not quite perfect.

Coming down from the Torres and rounding the side of the mountains to a sudden view of Los Cuernos up close for the first time, or climbing up into the French Valley, watching the regular avalanches makes for constantly interesting walking. A suitably early start in the morning helps you to make the most of the trails before they get crowded. You still have the pleasure of some good company at the campsites every night, but avoid the crowds during the day – it’s the best of both worlds.

Paine Grande

I still can’t quite grasp just how much the landscape changes from day to day. Each section of the trail has it’s own very distinct geology and character. The imposing, ragged peaks and spires of Paine Grande could not be more different to the sculpted elegance of the Cuernos right next door. Equally, every valley or summit seems to have it’s own weather system. You can be standing in blazing sunshine by Lago Pehoe, watching the snow falling in Val Frances so hard that it completely obscures the mountains.

Paine Grande & Los Cuernos

I’m now back in Puerto Natales, taking a fews days rest to catch up on some processing, some sleep, and some washing. I’ll head back to Paine in a couple of days to try some alternative locations, and get the photos that I wanted from the W. Without feeling the need to complete a set trek, I’ll have more time to sit and wait for the light and the conditions that I’d like, and if I try not to leave my book on the bus this time, the waiting will be all the easier too….

I’ll let you know how I get on.

Puerto Natales

Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre

The changeable (or just plain bad) weather is a fact of life in Patagonia. There are plenty of horror stories about being stuck in a tent for weeks, of visiting Torres del Paine or the Fitz Roy area and not actually seeing the Torres del Paine or Fitz Roy, and just trekking around a big cloud for a week. That’s part of the reason that I’ve given myself so much time down here; time to wait for the weather to let me actually see these legendary mountains rather than just stumble around in their general area. And I’m glad I have. The luck I’ve had so far can’t possibly last.

I have spent the last four days trekking around the Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy area in the Los Glaciares National Park.

It’s not bad.

Day 1
A 3am start from El Chaltern allowed us to catch the sunset from a look-out, distant from the mountain (a Norweigan lad I met on a bus decided to tag along). I’ve read about these mountains in books and climbing magazine for years, and finally seeing them from the road into town yesterday really was quite something. Seeing them all lit up for sunrise was just exceptional!

Cerro Torre at sunrise

Once the sun was properly up, we carried on up the path to Laguna Torres, stopping occasionally when the view demanded getting the camera out.

After Svein departed to catch the late bus back to El Calafate, I scouted around to try and find a composition that I liked. The glacial rubble that constitutes the end of the lagoon made it hard to find a eventually found a nice spot by the river on the way back to the campsite.

Day 2
Another early start, but a slightly more acceptable 4:30 rise. Alas, the conditions weren’t as good as yesterday, and with the low cloud my nice composition went out the window. That said, the atmosphere of the place still made for spectacular viewing!

Moving on, the campsite below Fitz Roy is well shaded in the trees, but step out and you get a grandstand view of the mountain. Watching the sun set behind it was plenty of motivation for another early start the next day.

Day 3
A brutally steep climb for 4am takes you to Laguna de Los Tres, right at the foot of Fitz Roy. The laguna itself is frozen over, but you’ll not find a better place to watch the enormous rock faces burn with the sunrise then this. I tried to set up a timelapse and botched it: schoolboy error. A bit of a mad scramble when I realised this led to a couple of reasonable stills shots while the mountain was still glowing, but I couldn’t help wonder what I’d have got if I’d just stuck to what I know and saved the timelapse for later.

To be honest, I rather liked the colder atmosphere of the shots that I got just after the orange glow faded – it seems slightly more forbidding. That said, I wanted that sunrise shot….

Day 4
It’s hard to get out of your sleeping bag at 3:30am to go climb a mountain (again) when the wind is howling and there’s snow falling outside the door of the tent. In contrast to the dozen or so people that were hiking up yesterday, I was the only one on the route… it’s almost as if they knew something I didn’t. But I gave it a go. It was obvious from the campsite that there was a lot of cloud on the top third of Fitz Roy, which is unfortunate, but I hoped that I might get lucky and if could either lift or even just stay and add to the atmosphere of the scene. About 2/3 of the way up I realised that there was also a lot of low cloud on the horizon and there wasn’t likely to be the same display as yesterday so backed off: time for plan B.

Plan B

There’s been a few things taken me by surprise over the last four days:
- The stunning weather
- How much heavier a 25 to 30 kilo bag gets after 3 ours of up-hill
- Winning at bouls against the Americans and the Irish
- How difficult it is to find a composition to call your own in this place

It seems counter-intuitive to say that it’s hard to find a photo I’m happy with in a place so overtly beautiful. It’s just so stunning, so dramatic and so picturesque that it’s almost tempting just to stand back and take a snap. It’d still be a good photograph, but would be the same as any other photo: it wouldn’t be mine. Besides, the big mountains only tell half the story. They may act like an anchor for your attention almost all the time, but they are only a part of the landscape, they don’t tell the whole story on their own. In the end I found a couple of shots I was happy with and for the first week of shooting that can’t be bad.

I can see this being more of a challenge than I thought….

Cerro Torre Junior