Gorra Blanca alpine climb in 5 days

Meeting in El Chaltén, where we will check the equipment before leaving. We will also have a talk about the characteristics of the region. Private transfer to the Eléctrico River Bridge which will be the starting point of our first day of trekking to the base of the Marconi Glacier. The first two hours we’ll walk along a well marked path that follows the waters of the Electrico River through a forest of Ñires and Lengas. At the end of the forest we will find the Piedra del Fraile Camp which will be our last contact with civilization for a couple of days. There we will leave the vegetation behind and a wide glacial valley will open before our eyes. From Piedra del Fraile we will border the Eléctrico Lake by its southern bank crossing glacier moraines and rock formations eroded and abandoned by the Marconi Glacier years ago. Then we will begin to follow the Pollone River from where we can admire one of the highest walls of Mount Fitz Roy. Another hour of hiking will take us to the west bank of the Electrico Lake where we will set up camp on the shore. We will be only 20 minutes from the Marconi Glacier, which we can visit after a well-deserved rest.

Today is an important day of our ascent. The glacier and the Paso Marconi are one of the accesses to the Patagonian Southern Field. The majority of the winds come from the west or north and when arriving at the pass they are accelerated by a “bottleneck” effect.

So we will get up very early in the morning, have breakfast and leave. After about 30 minutes of walking we will ascend the Marconi Glacier, which combines ice and rock. We will reach a point where we must use harnesses, crampons and ropes. After a section of 30 to 35 degrees of snow/ice and an hour of hiking, we will finally arrive at the Marconi Pass. In front of us: Gorra Blanca!

Summit day! We will carry a light backpack with only the necessary for the day. Our goal is the Cerro Gorra Blanca’s summit. For that we will walk among seracs and cracks always pointing towards the west edge. Once on the edge, we will continue eastwards zigzagging “snow mushrooms” (a geographical formation of the place).

The last meters before the summit will be fixed with ropes. If the weather is good the scenery will be amazing. Finally, we will return to the camp in the Marconi Pass. It’ll be 1200 meters of altitude changes and 8 to 12 hours of walking depending on snow conditions and the physical level of the group. If the weather is bad we may consider ascending Cerro Marconi Norte.

We’ll return by the same route to El Chaltén where a delicious and deserved lamb will be waiting for us.

Back up day in case of bad weather.