Entries By elias de andres martos
The
Five Day Summit Climb May 8 - 12, 2017 reached the summit of Mt. Rainier this morning.
RMI Guides Elias de Andres Martos and Chase Nelson led a small group of climbers to the summit via the Ingraham Direct route. Elias reported strong winds with clear skies with improving conditions and a nice day. After a windy first night at Camp Muir and poor weather yesterday, we are glad this team was able to make a summit attempt.
Congratulations to today's climbers!
Greetings from the Southeast Fork of
Kahiltna Glacier. We flew in a day ahead of schedule in anticipation of the weather that kept all flights grounded in Talkeetna yesterday. With the current snowy conditions for routes in the Ruth, we decided to switch our destination. Yesterday we scouted the approach to routes like Mini Moon Flower, and Bacon and Eggs, a route that despite its funny name, is a treat to alpine climbers. Today we're doing the same for the Southwest Ridge of Mt. Frances, another objective we consider. We're hoping to climb tonight on the western flanks of Mt. Hunter and the ridge that connects it to Kahiltna Queen, dominating the end of this cup de sac glacier.
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Greetings from Chileno Hut. Uneventful 10-mile day we had... just astonishing views left and right as we contoured the Paine Horns into the
Ascencio Valley, which will eventually take us to the base of the Towers. Our goal is to see the sunrise, so we're heading to bed early.
We'll check-in from Puerto Natales tomorrow!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Good afternoon from "The Frances Domes Camp". We have just returned from our hike to what might be the visual highlight of our trip-
The French Valley. After two days of short stages and rainy weather, we had outstanding meteorology to surmount the trail that leads up to the amphitheater where three to four thousand feet rock faces reign majestic over the park. Needles like the Cathedral or the Sword, or massives like the Blade, the Castle, or Paine Grande are nothing but jaw dropping. Hanging glaciers, turquoise lakes, and lenticular clouds above added just the extra touch to make the eight-hour round trip worthwhile.
We're approaching the end of our trip, but everyone keeps enjoying the fascination that awaits around every corner like the first day.
Today we moved to geodesic domes, which at the shore of Lake Nordenskjöld, provide some sort of surreal lodging alternative; pretty cool indeed.
Tomorrow another long day awaits, as we get closer to connecting the loop we started well over a week ago.
Remain expectant to more surprises!
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos and team
Our second day at Glacier Grey Camp afforded us an opportunity to get up close and personal with the bottom tip of the
Southern Patagonian Ice Field, a massive expanse of glacial ice spanning 270 km. A gleeful 20-minute ride in a speedboat across Lago Grey deposited us at the foot of the moraine, where we set out on our approach across smooth, rocky ledges with their painterly striated patterns, fossil imprints, and telling scrapes and scars.
After an hour of scrambling through chutes and ladders, our Skittle-colored team of alpine outerwear landed itself at the gear cache our local guide team had waiting for us at the base of the ice. We transitioned into crampon and ice axe mode, but not before receiving a quick crash course on glacier travel skills. Up the slope we went, our metal spikes crunching along the firm ice. It was hard to keep our hands off our cameras, with impressive landscapes beckoning our gaze in all directions, but walking on the irregular surface required our full attention to keep a clumsy foot from plummeting into any one of the many nooks and crannies on the icy floor beneath us.
The pools of melt water were a brilliant blue color almost too fluorescent to believe that nature could produce it. A highlight of the trek was stopping to pose like alpine goddesses at the opening of a cavern where a stream of water rushed along the the icy chute.
A warm meal back at our hut sent us off to bed dreaming about our next day's adventure along the classic "W" route on the front side of the Park.
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Bridget Schletty
The equator of our journey has been reached; greetings from
Lake Grey. We had an interesting (by all means) hike between "Los Perros camp" and Grey Hut. With the longest of our stages ahead, an early start despite the lingering rain showers, was required. Soon after dawn we were packing up and heading uphill towards Gardner Pass, the highest point of our entire trek, with deteriorating weather. The rain became snow, and the wind gusts plastered it against our gloves, packs and faces reminding us of where we were. But the group didn't give in, and despite a long 3 hours of unpleasant coldness, slippery trails and loaded packs, we reached the saddle that would initiate our descent to the western slope of the Olguin Range.
Winds died down, precipitation vanished and clouds lifted; the Patagonian Gods had now befriended us as a recognition for the perseverance of everyone in the group. As a reward, they laid out a view of the Glacier Grey, one of the terminus of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, the third largest continental mass of ice on the planet. Wow.
The day continued uneventful, warm and pleasant, just with long hours of hiking to complete a 13 mile day of rugged terrain that, after five days, brought us to the place where day tourist visit coming by boat from the other side of the lake, completely oblivious of what it takes to make it here unmotorized.
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos
Good evening from "Los Perros Camp". Our third day marked a before and after on our trip; the start of the journeys along the less crowded "back side of the park" which is walked by a fraction of a percentage of the visitors, the narrower and more primitive trails, the more frequent but also elusive fauna (indigenous ducks, woodpeckers or owls were seen along the path...) are now our territory. But it also marked a change in the weather, which has confined us to our tents since we arrived to camp. Being in
Patagonia, is a synonym for mysticism, and glacial lakes, towering peaks and dense forests wouldn't be the same without its clouds, misty rain and restless winds. With the gradual climb that we started in the morning, we arrived at the highest camp of all where we'll spend a night. Not too wet, and in great spirits, we had dinner under the covered structure that the park service erected here, and we're now headed to bed in anticipation of the big day ahead tomorrow.
More to come from our adventure,
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos and team
And day two on the trails went by...
Greetings from Lake Dickson!
What a pleasant journey we had. Walking along the park boundary, following the Paine River, we had the Argentinean border at a stone's throw to the right for most of the day. We learned about several local flower and plant species (too bad the orchids were already withered) and experience also some Patagonian weather, with stronger winds and rain as we surmounted the highest point of the day "Paso del Viento", but that in no means slowed anyone down during the short time it lasted. Upon arrival to camp, the views of the first glaciers popped up from within the mountains and an evening hike along the beach of Lake Dickson, after dinner, brought us the reward of seeing small icebergs afloat its waters as dusk approached. More to come tomorrow, stay tuned and follow along!
RMI Guides ElÃas de Andres Martos
And Day One on the trails just happened. A cloudy and windy morning in Puerto Natales, gave way to sunny skies at the gate of the
Torres Del Paine National Park. The incredible relief of the rock monoliths was a huge contrast with anything around us so far, prompting constant jaw dropping photo opportunities, as curious guanacos (small camel like animals) posed to complete the scene. Our time along the trails was a pleasant warm up of five hours along the foothills of Cerro Paine, where a solid hour of hiking through wild daisy flower meadows was the most iconic. We're now camped at Seron Camp, where its cook "Pollo" prepared a delicious soup and chicken dish for us.
Stay tuned for more!
RMI Guide Elias de Andres Martos
Greetings from the land of the "big legged ones", (term used by Magellan to refer to the natives of the Australmost part of the American continent during the Spanish expedition of 1519 trying to reach Asia going west) aka Patagonia.
We are currently in Puerto Natales, resting in our hotel right across from the agitated waters of the "Última Esperanza" (last hope) fjord.
Our bodies are tired from 24 hours of international traveling, but after a quick layover in the southern hub that Punta Arenas is for the region, we drove to the gateway of
Torres del Paine National Park.
The views of the salt water meeting the towering mountains are astonishing, and the feel of being in our antipodes' "last frontier" is very real.
Sheep farms gave way to wilder land populated by foxes and "ñandúes" (ostrich like birds) and the human shelters are getting smaller and further apart.
Everyone is very excited for the adventure we start tomorrow. We will be posting next from the trails of our circuit... in the mean time, sit back and imagine what being in summer, surrounded by friends, good food and better landscape would be right now; well, we're there!
RMI Guide ElÃas de Andres Martos
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Wow!!!! The pictures are amazing! What a fabulous trip! Cannot wait to hear all about it!!! Lots of love! Have a safe journey home!
Erle
Posted by: Erle Broughton on 2/3/2017 at 9:41 am
The photos in these posts are fantastic! How are you getting these amazing shots? Are you using some sort of filter that makes them look like artwork?
Aspiring photographer here
Thanks
Tiina
Posted by: Tiina Moore on 2/2/2017 at 7:02 am
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