- Six-hour hike to Laguna Torre with a view of the Glaciar Grande and Cerro Torre
- Organize onward travel
Our last day in the wonderful El Chaltén has already begun. Finally fully recovered, we pack our things and bring the rucksack to the depot room. Then we start the hike to the region's second well-known mountain lake: the Laguna Torre. After a steep start, the path leads through the typical light forest of the region mostly just Ahead. At the first vantage point, we can already see them Granite peaks of the Cerro Torre.
For a long time the mountain was considered to be impassable, but the Italian Cesare Maestri and his Tyrolean Toni Egger, who died in an accident during the descent, still claim the mountain successfully climbed as early as 1959 to have. This first ascent is made in specialist circles doubted until today, because the technical requirements at that time were not yet mature enough.
In 1970 Maestri returned to the mountain to prove his skills again and to remove doubts. Using a compressor and about 300 hooks he bored his way to the summit, but did not climb the unstable snow mushroom there, which critics again do not see as an ascent. The ascent, which is clearly documented and therefore recognized, was finally achieved by an expedition in 1974.
Always nice and flat towards the foot of the mountain, where after a little over 2.5 hours we can see the cloudy glaciers Laguna Torre to reach. Some are drifting here smaller icebergs near the shore. The longer the more the sun is able to displace the last strip of cloud and when the wind is exceptionally calm it gets really warm. This gives us a perfect view of one of the most difficult mountains in the world to climb.
At the end of the lake is the spectacular Glaciar Grande to see which covers the neighboring mountains with eternal ice. We have a picnic stop in this wonderful setting and then photos are taken. Finally we make our long way back to be back there on time. Before we leave, it's just enough to go out for a shower and something to eat. Before our at 7.30 p.m. Bus goes back to El Calafate, where we arrive after a three-hour drive. Under the late evening sun, the landscape looks like the badlands in North America.
