Ice Cap Trek

Ever fancied trekking to the north or south pole,beautiful lakes fed by melt water from the
but the thought of coming face to face with aGlaciers, turning them a beautiful blue green colour.
polar bear or falling through a crevasses turn youYou spend the first night on a beach where you
off, then why not visit the Southern ice cap or aswill get some well needed sleep to prepare
it is known in Spanish "campo de hielo sur".yourself for the tough day ahead.
Trekking on this ice cap is like taking a walk backSo an early start the next day, where you wake
I time and seeing what the world looked likeup to the beautiful colours of a Patagonian
thousands of years ago. The ice cap is around amorning where the rising sun hits the massive
kilometre thick and is also known as the third pole.granite cliffs turning them fiery red. This is when
The southern ice cap is the largest mass of iceyou will first put on cramp on`s to help you grip
on earth aside form the Polar Regions. It is andthe ice and then you make your way to start of
incredible 350km long and is a site to behold. Thethe first glacier, Marconi Glacier. You leave the
journey to get to the southern ice cap is a trial inbeach behind and find yourself in what looks like
itself and that is before you even start the trek.waves of ice. You cross ice bridges and caves
Patagonia covers two countries, Chile andand stare into big gashes in the ice so deep you
Argentina. On the Chile side Patagonia starts fromcan't see the bottom and where one false step
just below a place called Puerto Montt, a smallwill leave you tumbling into the dark. As you look
fishing and shipping town on the edge of Chile.down the valley, the river of ice never seems to
Patagonia starts south of the Colorado River inend revealing a sight that has not changed for
Argentina and goes all the way down to Tierra delthousands of years and you get a sense of just
Fuego which pretty much means "the end of thehow massive and powerful this force of nature is.
world", not too far from Ushuaia. People say thatYou see the sheer cliffs on either side brutally
Ushuaia is the Southern most towns in the world,carved by this unstoppable mass ice and rock.
but we went there and it turns out that there isNow you make your way to the Paso Marconi,
a smaller town reachable by boat that is the realthe door to the southern ice cap. This pass has to
and of the world called Puerto Williams. If you gobe taken carefully as there is snow all around and
that far make the effort to go to the real tip ofabove so move as quickly and as safely as
the world.possible to avoid avalanche. You guide will know
So you have got to Patagonia, now you need tothe best route around this so not to worry. Once
get to a town called El Calafate. This is theyou have gotten over this point, which is the
starting point of your trekking journey. From heretoughest part of the trek your eyes and senses
you will head to another little town called Elare blown away by the sight that lays before
Chalten which is at the edge of the Glacieryou. The Glacier opens up into what can only be
National Park or Los Glaciares National Park. Fromdescribed as blankets of ice covering all in sight
here you will make your way to the start of theapart form the mountains that circle this white
trekking trail and take a easy two hour hike toriver of 1 km thick ice. This sight makes the
the nearest campsite where you will take aarduous trek all worth while and the pains and
breather and stop for a snack before you moveaches subside in the raw power of nature that
on to a more testing trail along Lago Electricayou see before you.
which is fed by the glaciers. You pass many