Jorge Montt Glacier
The scenery in Western Patagonia, and especially along the edge of the Southern Ice Field, is magnificent. It exercises an almost irresistible attraction for lovers of nature, adventure, and for those who like to pioneer new routes and discover unknown wonders. The person walking for the first time in places where they believe no one has walked before, or navigating nameless rivers and lakes, absolutely alone in the wilderness of remotest Patagonia, has a feeling akin to the “high” an artist feels when they finish a piece to their complete satisfaction. The intellectual and physical challenge also involves a supreme personal effort to achieve apparently impossible goals which, in reality, are attainable for the majority of people even though they have forgotten how to live in the natural world because of their “artificial” life in the large metropolises. Walking and travelling by boat around the Ice Field is not only a wonderful adventure, it gives, in addition, a spiritual growth which stays with you for many years giving strength to face daily life with renewed vigour. Going off the beaten track by living, moving glaciers allows you to appreciate the origin of the landscape. In this natural, living laboratory you can see how valleys, rivers and lakes were formed after the last glaciation in this area some 14,000 years ago.
Departure point: Caleta Tortel
Today, the construction and recent opening of the Southern Highway to Puerto Yungay which lies 465 km south of Coihaique the capital of the Aysén region, has opened up to the general public an unknown and fascinating Chile, only dreamed of by a few. Nowadays, with a small inflatable kayak on your back, it is perfectly feasible to walk and boat from Tortel to Puerto Natales, or, at least, from Tortel to Puerto Eden. It requires careful preparation and a complete study of the route to be taken; there are no paths or signs along the route which traverses the immense 3,700,000 hectare Bernardo O’Higgins National Park.
We went on our expedition 10 years ago, in the summer of 1986, well before the opening of the road to Yungay. We started south of the Penas Gulf in Caleta Tortel, a small settlement at the mouth of the largest outflowing river in Chile, the great Río Baker. From there we walked through many valleys, woods and mountains; we crossed dozens of lakes, river and fiords, always staying near the edge of the Southern Ice Field. After 24 days without a rest we reached our goal of Puerto Natales, thus uniting the 11th region of Aysén with the Magallanes region. The greatest challenge was crossing the end of the Ice Field at the latitude of the Montañes channel through a pass we called “The Pass of the Wind”.
The Southern Ice Field, which lies between the Baker channel and Cape Earnest in the Montañes channel, is 430 km long. Its width varies between 90 km at Lago O”Higgins and 30 km at Lago Toro. It covers an area of 14,000 sq. km and its average height above sea level is 1,500 m.
The Northern and Southern Ice Fields give birth to no fewer than 300 valley glaciers many of which calve into the sea. Some glaciers are receding, some are stationary and some, curiously, are advancing. These glaciers flow both east and west and in beauty they can only be compared with the glaciers on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Alaska.
On our expedition we crossed the front of big glaciers such as Bernardo, , Témpanos, Eyre (or Ana María or Pio XI), Penguin, Asia, Calvo, Peel and many others unknown and unnamed on maps. We crossed also many valleys which connected the fiords of Angamos, Horacio, Ofhidro, Barnardo, Témpanos, Ringdove, Penguin, Worsley and many others. In a small rubber inflatable boat we crossed lovely lakes, most without name. We saw beautiful, elegant condors, eagles, happy and playful dolphins, caiquenes, kingfishers, carpinteros de pecho rojo, sea otters and we made friends for life with huemules when we discovered a valley of them. This is perhaps one of the last reserves of this marvelous andean deer which inhabits the more remote places in the south.
Crossing from Horacio Fjord to Ofhidro Fjord
In the first 15 days we had to travel by land and water to Puerto Eden situated on the Messier channel. Puerto Eden, another small settlement, was the last reserve of the nomadic “canoe” indians known as the Alacalufes of Kaweskar. Because of its strategic location on the Messier channel, Puerto Eden is a port of call for the large ferries which sail between Puerto Montt and Puerto Natales. It is a good finishing point for group trips or for re-provisioning with foodstuffs and equipment.
As a logistical support for the first 15 days of our expedition we contracted a little 9 m launch with a small 18 hp diesel motor. It was indispensable for re-provisioning us with food and we also used it for some short passages along the edge of the sea where there was no point in walking.
There were 8 people on the expedition. The master of the launch, his son and a sailor. The leader of the expedition and one of its main organisers was engineer Antonio Horvath K. now a senator. His motive for going on the expedition was to investigate the route for the possible continuation of the Southern Highway from Aysén to Magallanes which would unite Chile by land with only 8 ferries to cross in front of the main glaciers. Also on the expedition were Ricardo Astorga, Alejandro Colomés, Cristian Andrade and myself.
The first stage was between the Angamos and Horacio fiords. We walked for 4 days and went by boat for one. It rained a lot and the rivers were swollen so we had to make small rustic bridges or risk crossing in our small inflatable boat. We found beautiful evergreen forests and an interesting lake near Horacio fiord. In Horacio fiord we rendezvoused with the little launch to re-provision with both food and equipment for the next leg of our journey which was between the Horacio and Ofhidro fiords. This section consisted of walking and boating in our small inflatable. We crossed a pass with a magnificent view of the Ice Field which we christened “Lookout’s Pass”. We also crossed an extremely beautiful unnamed lake which we named “Mercer” in honour of the distinguished English geographer and glaciologist John Mercer. In the Ofhidro fiord we again rendezvoused with the small launch to re-provision for the next stage between the Bernardo and Témpano fiords. We crossed two delightfully pretty lakes close to one of which was an unnamed glacier. The Bernardo and Témpano glaciers are very accessible along their flanks. We climbed some hills to get good views and take photographs to capture, in part, the beauty of the area. From Témpano fiord we continued walking along the valley of the great river Kaweskar. Here we found 32 huemules so tame we could almost get close enough to touch them. At the end of the valley we encountered an immense, nameless and very active glacier. Later we crossed the mountain range to arrive at Puerto Grey where we rejoined the noble launch Susana. From here we continued to Puerto Eden, navigating the Messier channel and the Inglesa narrows off Wellington island.
In general the walking and boating of those first 15 days was not too difficult. It is a route that it is possible to do with normal groups of tourists. However, the journey from Puerto Eden to the south is much more of an adventure. The landscape is bizarre, there are lakes practically on top of one another lying both longitudinally and transversally. The climate is much harsher, the rain sometimes becomes hail or snow and it is very windy. From Puerto Eden south the logistical help we had was thanks to the Chilean navy and their patrol boat Villarica. We crossed in front of Puerto Eden towards Reindeer fiord walking and navigated across 2 lakes until we came to Bahía Escarchada. From this beautiful bay, with its abundant and aromatic Ciprés we continued to the immense and majestic Eyre glacier, also known as Ana María or Pio XI, the name depending on which map is used. It is one of the biggest glaciers of the Ice Field and is has a curious history of advancing, being stationary and receding. To the south we had one of the strangest legs of our expedition due to the eccentric geography of the area. Between Ringdove and Penguin fiords we had to cross 5 extraordinary lakes and do some improvised rafting down a river in our small inflatable boat. We also had to scale the heights to locate our next rendezvous point with the patrol boat Villarica. Later we did a one day trek between the Andrés and Calvo fiords the latter of which was full of drifting icebergs. Generally everything that we had done up to that point had not been too difficult although we had to be very careful when choosing our route so that we did not make mistakes in our rendezvous points with the launch. Where things became more difficult was in the last stage of our expedition between the Staines Peninsula and Worsley fiord. We crossed a pass only 450 m above sea level which cut across the end of the Southern Ice Field where it met the head of the Montañes channel. The obstacles we had to surmount included first crossing 3 fast flowing, icy cold rivers and later several kilometres of recently glaciated very unstable ground, the landscape of another world. We had to abseil down vertical rock walls, climb to the edges of great lakes and descend to valley floors with strong gusting winds which almost blew us off our feet. But in spite of these hurdles we achieved our goal unscathed and elated.
The Ice Field took its toll, we suffered in the last stage, but the spectacular views were more than sufficient compensation. We saw and experienced the formation process of the landscape, we felt fully the force of nature which almost exhausted our reserves of energy. The tenacity and spirit of the team plus the talents of the leader were the keys to the success of our expedition. This last stage is only to be recommended for experts. The preceding stages are feasible for ordinary people with a sensible measure of preparation and good physical fitness.
The route from Tortel to Puerto Natales is, perhaps, one the most interesting trekking and kayaking routes in the world. Perhaps its main disadvantage is the climate which is very variable and very wet, but the breathtaking beauty of the landscape more than makes up for this. Personally I believe that this will be one of the most important destinations for adventure tourism in the next few years. But we must be careful to develop it rationally and with great forethought to protect its scarce animal and plant life, a natural asset to be valued even more for being the first inhabitants of the impressive Ice Fields and glacial landscape.
