Conquering Mount Fitz Roy
Jutting 11,020 feet out of the southern Patagonian landscape, the imposing sheer granite walls of Mount Fitz Roy makes it the one of the crown jewels of southern South America. Technically challenging climbing routes coupled with notoriously bad weather makes it one of the toughest climbs in the world, but the view from the top makes it all worth it.
Day 1
Our journey starts off in the sleepy little town of El Chaltén, Argentina, right at the footstep of Mount Fitz Roy. Our group meets up to discuss our routes in the upcoming days - the weather looks like it'll be manageable, but in this part of the world, that could change in the blink of an eye.
We set off for Fitz Roy, and we're immediately in for a treat. The fall foliage is in full swing surrounding the misty Rio Fitz Roy, making for an absolutely gorgeous view. We won't be here long however, as the terrain quickly starts to get much more challenging.
After several more miles of walking, we start to approach the base of the mountain and get our first up close view of the surrounding peaks, Techado Negro and Aguja de la 'S'. They're beautiful, no doubt - but they pale in comparison to the peak we're headed to next. Nightfall begins to set in, so we set up our tents and call it a day.
Day 2
The day started off fairly easily - a straight forward climb up the mountain. However, our plans quickly got derailed when a storm approaches us, making any technical climbing an impossibility. We decide to instead take cover in a rocky outcrop and wait it out. Conditions finally improved just enough for us to continue on - and we begin to make our ascent up near-vertical granite cliffs. We had originally planned on setting up our tents on a small, flat plateau a couple hundred feet away - but due to previous setbacks, we fall behind and the darkness combined with driving rain makes any more climbing far too dangerous. We're forced to precariously hang our tents off the side of the mighty Aguja Poincenot instead.
Day 3
Conditions still aren't great, but we continue to push on. The granite cliffs are coated with a thin layer of ice and storm clouds begin to roll in, making things far more dangerous than we had originally thought. However, despite the conditions, we persevere and finally reach the peak of Mount Fitz Roy. We proudly set up our Argentinian flag and take in the beautiful view - its just as good as you would imagine.
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-korver
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