Climb the Central Tower in Torres del Paine via the Bonington – Whillans route (5 days)

I had been guided on this tour in the beginning of September for 3 days, one in the backcountry off Valley Nevado, one touring from La Parva base, and for the last we drove to Portillo. Weather was perfect even last significant snowfall was more than 2 weeks back. Being in Chile for the first time and in opposite season, my goal was to get ready for the winter, gain new skills and absorb the culture. The experience started with Explore-Share, who matched me with the guide even the tour was shown as not available for the dates I selected, and guide still accepted. I then hesitated to commit but all my doubts were cleared through communication. Kudos to Explore-Share. In my case, two guides had collaborated in background addressing my pre-trip needs, where I did not want to fly my skis and needed to select the best logging, which did help to get the best experience. All further uncertainties were cleared the day before the start, when my guide went an extra mile trying to select the best ski for me. I had a rental car and stayed in Farellones, and in short, the two first day’s tours met and exceeded my expectations. We ski toured, boot packed with crampons, and mountaineered (using Ice axes) to beautiful places, and of course skied off-piste. I had been pushed to but not over my limits. The pretty part of the private tour is that the guide had always adjusted to my desires, even not expressed explicitly, while selecting the best places to go, so each day ended up with a cheer. Conditions were good overall, even mostly packed snow at the attitude and spring conditions at the bottom. The last day was special as we decided to drive 3 hours to Portillo, and I would advise everybody to not limit themselves to Tres Valles. Portillo, as a premium and historic resort, with unique views and lifts, bring a possibility to ski steeps in a relatively safe manner, and with my guide, who also happened to be a staffer there, we had great time. Therefore, a superb experience overall. Thanks for organizing.

Everything was great- we lucked out and had good snow!

Cristobel was a very knowledgeable guide and he provided a good level of encouragement to push me through hard sections of climbing rather than letting me give up. Unfortunately, my original guide for two days of climbing was unable to make it and so I was rebooked for 1 day of climbing with Cristobel. What was upsetting about this was that it was more expensive to complete 1 day of climbing compared to the two days I was originally booked in for. I ended up having to pay more money for half the climbing. I think Explore-Share could improve by having a more consistent price structure for the guides, or at least being clear about why one guide is more expensive.

Great guide. Picked a well-rounded spot for a new group, with numerous options. Understanding of our lack of time at altitude. Great guy.

Excellent day at Portillo with Cristobal. He gave us several options in a planning session the night before. He also communicated well on the day of about current conditions and what we were seeing. We ended up doing a secondary objective due to what we saw in the field.