{"id":29654,"date":"2019-12-22T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-12-22T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kastoof-ontour.world\/?p=29654"},"modified":"2020-04-22T11:53:13","modified_gmt":"2020-04-22T09:53:13","slug":"torres-del-paine-the-alternative-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kastoof-ontour.world\/de\/south-america\/2019\/torres-del-paine-the-alternative-way\/","title":{"rendered":"Torres del Paine \u2013 the alternative way"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spoiler<\/summary>We never actually went to the base of Las Torres<\/details><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We spent Christmas in a tent, about halfway through the Torres del\nPaine trek, at the Franc\u00e9s campsite. We did things a bit\ndifferently, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our \u2018TDP adventure\u2019 started in Puerto Natales, boarding a boat\nto go up the lake to Balmaceda and Serrano Glacier<\/a>. The weather\nwas a bit hazy, with a light drizzle and chilly winds on the water,\nbut the views (when we saw them) were spectacular. We passed a\ncormorant colony on one of the islands, and made our way up to the\npier at the end of the Serrano lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our guides brought us along the lake which until the 1940s formed\npart of the glacier, and showed us the distance markers of the\nglacier \u2014 on average it recedes 40 meters every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back at the pier, we boarded another boat \u2014 a small, open\nspeedboat, which was to bring us up the Rio Serrano, all the way to\nthe Southwest entrance to the park. After a pit stop for a very tasty\nlunch of local Salmon, we were off, racing up the river, zigzagging\nbetween rocks and the river\u2019s edge. The guide was great, providing\ndetailed explanations of the natural environment we were crossing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We got our first views of the Torres and Cuernos (towers and\nhorns) and of the Southern Ice Field (which includes glaciers such as\nGrey and Perito Moreno).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trip ended too soon, in the Serrano valley, where our bags\nwere already waiting for us in our lodge for the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next morning, we left \u201cbright and early\u201d (9.30 am) for the\npark administration and Pudeto ferry. We caught the ferry to Paine\nGrande, from where we headed on our first real day of trekking…\nafter lunch, of course…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day was tougher than expected, as we soon realised how heavy\nour bags were. From Paine Grande to Grey, there is an almost constant\nNorthwestern wind, pushing hikers towards Paine Grande.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We arrived gratefully at the campsite and set up for our first\nnight in the tent, all the while looking forward to a warm cup of\nmulled wine. The tent and sleeping bags are incredibly effective at\nkeeping the cold out and, overall, we slept almost as well as if we\nhad a real roof over our heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next morning, we headed to the Bigfoot<\/a>\nbase, where we had booked a kayak tour to see the glacier from the\nwater. In fact, the tour \u201conly\u201d brings us to a line of icebergs,\nwhich have broken off the Eastern tongue of the glacier and gotten\nhooked in the shallowest part of the lake (40 m deep), about 1 km\nfrom the current glacier face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were blessed with (what turned out to be unusually) good\nweather and enjoyed the incredible colours of the ice. We saw a\ncouple of condors preying on a black-faced ibis nest and watched a\nstand-off between both species, as the ibis defended their young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the kayak tour, we had lunch in the camping kitchen, with a\ncouple who were finishing the \u201cO\u201d trek. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the afternoon, we took a peaceful walk to the suspended bridges\nbetween Grey base and Paso base, from where we had spectacular views\nover the glacier and ice field. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The return to Paine Grande the next day was significantly easier,\nwith less weight already and with the wind blowing (more or less) in\nthe direction we were walking. We continued on to Frances campsite,\nanother four hours\u2019 hike after Paine Grande. The last two\nkilometers from Campo Italiano to Frances fellt llike the worst of my\nlife\u2026 until we discovered that our camping platform was at the very\ntop of the steep campground\u2026 \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We took the opportunity of having hot water to take a quick shower\n\u2013 shortened by the fact that the boiler was turned off a few\nminutes after we got to the shower block. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had been trying frantically to change our reservations in the\npark for several weeks. We hoped to have a second night at Frances,\nallowing us to go to the Britanico viewpoint as a day trek. We had\nhad no luck thus far and our experience with the company Fantastico\nSur did not bode well\u2026 as it turned out, their lack of organisation\nand responsiveness worked to our advantage. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After receiving different replies from the camp staff throughout\nthe day (\u201cmove your tent higher up the hill\u201d; \u201cmove your tent\ndown the hill\u201d, etc.), we decided to stay put until another client\nwanted our spot and work it out with them. As it turns out, they\narrived while I was away from our tent and went to the check-in to\ncomplain. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The employee at the check-in essentially told them to chose\nwhichever site they wanted \u2013 and when we offered to free the space,\nthey told us not to bother as the next space was available and suited\nthem fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While all this was going on, Marc did the hike up to the Frances\nlookout, having given up on Britanico, due to the weather. Although\nthe photos he brought back are incredible, my feet were grateful for\na day off. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our last day hiking brought us from Fances to the Central camping.\nThere we had planned a Christmas dinner at the Las Torres Hotel\nrestaurant, where Marc had 3 desserts and half of mine. We were glad\nfor once not to have to cook and do dishes with freezing water and\nlittle or no soap. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day we had hoped to make it up to the Torres Base but\nwhen we woke up we saw the weather was grim and didn\u2019t think it\nwould be worth the eight hour hike there and back \u2013 this was\nconfirmed by a French couple we met back in Puerto Natales, who came\nback frustrated. We asked about doing the combined horseback ride and\ntrek the next day, but the guide talked us out of it, saying the\nweather would likely be worse. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Satisfied by our decision, we made our way back to Puerto Natales,\nready to move on to Argentina. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Total hiking time: 24 hours (+ 3 for Marc)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Total distance: 54.5 km ( + 8 for Marc)<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We spent Christmas in a tent, about halfway through the Torres del Paine trek, at the Franc\u00e9s campsite. We did things a bit differently, though. Our \u2018TDP adventure\u2019 started in Puerto Natales, boarding a boat to go up the lake to Balmaceda and Serrano Glacier. The weather was a bit hazy, with a light drizzle […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"\n

Spoiler:\nwe never actually went to the base of Las Torres<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We spent Christmas in a tent, about halfway through the Torres del\nPaine trek, at the Franc\u00e9s campsite. We did things a bit\ndifferently, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our \u2018TDP adventure\u2019 started in Puerto Natales, boarding a boat\nto go up the lake to Balmaceda and Serrano Glacier<\/a>. The weather\nwas a bit hazy, with a light drizzle and chilly winds on the water,\nbut the views (when we saw them) were spectacular. We passed a\ncormorant colony on one of the islands, and made our way up to the\npier at the end of the Serrano lake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our guides brought us along the lake which until the 1940s formed\npart of the glacier, and showed us the distance markers of the\nglacier \u2014 on average it recedes 40 meters every year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back at the pier, we boarded another boat \u2014 a small, open\nspeedboat, which was to bring us up the Rio Serrano, all the way to\nthe Southwest entrance to the park. After a pit stop for a very tasty\nlunch of local Salmon, we were off, racing up the river, zigzagging\nbetween rocks and the river\u2019s edge. The guide was great, providing\ndetailed explanations of the natural environment we were crossing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We got our first views of the Torres and Cuernos (towers and\nhorns) and of the Southern Ice Field (which includes glaciers such as\nGrey and Perito Moreno).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trip ended too soon, in the Serrano valley, where our bags\nwere already waiting for us in our lodge for the night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next morning, we left \u201cbright and early\u201d (9.30 am) for the\npark administration and Pudeto ferry. We caught the ferry to Paine\nGrande, from where we headed on our first real day of trekking...\nafter lunch, of course...<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The day was tougher than expected, as we soon realised how heavy\nour bags were. From Paine Grande to Grey, there is an almost constant\nNorthwestern wind, pushing hikers towards Paine Grande.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We arrived gratefully at the campsite and set up for our first\nnight in the tent, all the while looking forward to a warm cup of\nmulled wine. The tent and sleeping bags are incredibly effective at\nkeeping the cold out and, overall, we slept almost as well as if we\nhad a real roof over our heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next morning, we headed to the Bigfoot<\/a>\nbase, where we had booked a kayak tour to see the glacier from the\nwater. In fact, the tour \u201conly\u201d brings us to a line of icebergs,\nwhich have broken off the Eastern tongue of the glacier and gotten\nhooked in the shallowest part of the lake (40 m deep), about 1 km\nfrom the current glacier face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were blessed with (what turned out to be unusually) good\nweather and enjoyed the incredible colours of the ice. We saw a\ncouple of condors preying on a black-faced ibis nest and watched a\nstand-off between both species, as the ibis defended their young.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the kayak tour, we had lunch in the camping kitchen, with a\ncouple who were finishing the \u201cO\u201d trek. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the afternoon, we took a peaceful walk to the suspended bridges\nbetween Grey base and Paso base, from where we had spectacular views\nover the glacier and ice field. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The return to Paine Grande the next day was significantly easier,\nwith less weight already and with the wind blowing (more or less) in\nthe direction we were walking. We continued on to Frances campsite,\nanother four hours\u2019 hike after Paine Grande. The last two\nkilometers from Campo Italiano to Frances fellt llike the worst of my\nlife\u2026 until we discovered that our camping platform was at the very\ntop of the steep campground\u2026 \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We took the opportunity of having hot water to take a quick shower\n\u2013 shortened by the fact that the boiler was turned off a few\nminutes after we got to the shower block. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We had been trying frantically to change our reservations in the\npark for several weeks. We hoped to have a second night at Frances,\nallowing us to go to the Britanico viewpoint as a day trek. We had\nhad no luck thus far and our experience with the company Fantastico\nSur did not bode well\u2026 as it turned out, their lack of organisation\nand responsiveness worked to our advantage. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After receiving different replies from the camp staff throughout\nthe day (\u201cmove your tent higher up the hill\u201d; \u201cmove your tent\ndown the hill\u201d, etc.), we decided to stay put until another client\nwanted our spot and work it out with them. As it turns out, they\narrived while I was away from our tent and went to the check-in to\ncomplain. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The employee at the check-in essentially told them to chose\nwhichever site they wanted \u2013 and when we offered to free the space,\nthey told us not to bother as the next space was available and suited\nthem fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While all this was going on, Marc did the hike up to the Frances\nlookout, having given up on Britanico, due to the weather. Although\nthe photos he brought back are incredible, my feet were grateful for\na day off. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our last day hiking brought us from Fances to the Central camping.\nThere we had planned a Christmas dinner at the Las Torres Hotel\nrestaurant, where Marc had 3 desserts and half of mine. We were glad\nfor once not to have to cook and do dishes with freezing water and\nlittle or no soap. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next day we had hoped to make it up to the Torres Base but\nwhen we woke up we saw the weather was grim and didn\u2019t think it\nwould be worth the eight hour hike there and back \u2013 this was\nconfirmed by a French couple we met back in Puerto Natales, who came\nback frustrated. We asked about doing the combined horseback ride and\ntrek the next day, but the guide talked us out of it, saying the\nweather would likely be worse. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Satisfied by our decision, we made our way back to Puerto Natales,\nready to move on to Argentina. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Total hiking time: 24 hours (+ 3 for Marc)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Total distance: 54.5 km ( + 8 for Marc)<\/p>\n","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[24],"tags":[26,25,27],"class_list":["post-29654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-south-america","tag-chile","tag-patagonia","tag-trek"],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kastoof-ontour.world\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kastoof-ontour.world\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kastoof-ontour.world\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kastoof-ontour.world\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kastoof-ontour.world\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29654"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/kastoof-ontour.world\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29654\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29670,"href":"https:\/\/kastoof-ontour.world\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29654\/revisions\/29670"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kastoof-ontour.world\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kastoof-ontour.world\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kastoof-ontour.world\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}