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    Patagonia Ice Field

As I am sure we have mentioned, the Patagonian Ice Sheets are the largest mass of frozen water beyond the polar ice caps.  The environment is harsh, prone to sudden and frequent storms and ridiculously strong winds.  After having missed out on Antarctica we really couldn't think of a better place to head for.

Fully kitted with rope, crampons, ice axes, snow shoes, harnesses, self-rescue safety gear, camping kit, winter clothes, food for ten days and a sledge we said goodbye to Bee, signed out of Argentina and hoisted our packs onto our backs.  Greg's pack was close to 50kg and as we walked in, we were both wondering if it was actually possible to climb with such a weight.  Our progress on the walk-in was incredibly slow.  We were aiming for the only shelter on the ice sheet, a hut at the top of the glacier, but even with two days in hand it soon became clear that we were not going to make it up the glacier before the weather closed in.  After a fairly disastrous river crossing we made camp at the foot of the Marconi Glacier and hunkered down.  We were exhausted, wet and cold.

For days the rain came in sheets and the wind came in lumps and with plenty of time on our hands we sat contemplated our predicament.  Our tent was more than beginning to show its age and was not what you would call waterproof any more.  Water ran down the inner walls and soaked up from the ground beneath and despite our best efforts, our clothes and our sleeping bags joined the list of wet items.  In a brief spell of sunshine one morning we rushed out with everything wet and laid them out on the stoney beach.  The wind was still gusty so we piled boulders on top of everything.  But then the most almighty lump of wind hit us !  We grabbed what we could but Greg's sleep mat broke free of it's rocks and flew in to the air.  Despite a spirited chase there was no catching it.  It landed in the now raging river an hundred or so metres away and was gone.  Moments later, another sheet of rain came in from nowhere and we bundled ourselves and everything back in to the tent, our kit now even wetter.  We'd hardly even started and it was all going horribly wrong.  Were these omens ?

It was at this time that our hitherto faithful stove decided that it did not want to go on.  Our food for the trip was largely pasta and rice based (for the carbohydrates) so almost everything required a stove.  No stove = no trek.  After some coaxing we managed to get a cool, yellow, smokey flame from the burner but it was clearly ailing.  Bad fuel perhaps ?    As we settled down for another cold night, now sleeping on our rope for insulation, we continued to contemplate our predicament as the weather continued to rage.

We huddled in our tent for four days.  Before dawn on the fifth day we heard footsteps outside.  It was a rescue party.  They were looking for a German guy - last seen several days earlier on the ice, without a tent.  Weather on the ice sheet can be nothing short of ferocious with winds of 150kph and temperatures of -30C being common.  Given what we had endured down here in the relatively sheltered valley ... it was a chilling thought.  (He survived).

As dawn broke, we could see that the weather was improving at last.  At least it was a window of good weather.   This was decision day.  Should be go on, or turn back?  If we waited any longer we would not have enough food so it was now or never.  The cooker was sort of working and we'd eaten a good deal of food so our packs were lighter. Better still we'd laid out our sodden kit in the sun (under a ridiculous number of rocks) and before long most of it was passably dry.   Even better, a Polish group had joined us at the campsite, intent on taking much the same route across the ice sheet.  To have another group nearby up there on the ice was a very comforting thought. Things were looking up.   We packed up camp and picked our way through the rock jumble to the snout of the glacier ... to take a look.  We decided to give it a go.

This was by far the hardest trek I have ever completed, but having slogged our way up the Marconi Glacier the gradient eased and we were able to use our sledge to carry the heavier gear.  We kept a very close eye on the weather swirling around us but our main concern were the crevasses.  Every so often Greg or I would drop through the crust of the ice in to the abyss of a crevasse.  Some were small, but other times you'd look back at the hole you'd just punched in the crust and see nothing but a deep dark void.  Scary stuff, but the rewards were immense - the most incredible landscape I have ever seen and the huge satisfaction of achievement. We had just enough bad weather to convince me that this little expedition was quite enough, just enough good weather to fully appreciate and revel in our amazing surroundings and just enough food and good fortune to make it back to civilization.  

Over a fat juicy steak and a few bottles of good wine we celebrated our safe return with our four new Polish friends. I think I'm cured of my desire to trek to the north pole, but I have a sneaky suspicion that Greg's polar ambitions may just have been reinforced.  We'll see.

Still having camera trouble I'm afraid.  Our thanks go to the Poles (Darek, Antek, Marzanna and Agnieszka) for sharing all their pictures with us as well as a fabulous journey ...

The Photographs 

Patagonia Ice Field

The Map

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