Paso Marconi 4-day glacier trekking trip

Meeting in El Chaltén, located at the foot of Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. We’ll have the equipment checked, making sure we have everything we’ll need. We will then have a brief talk to explain the characteristics of the region and the most important details to take into account during the expedition. We’ll check in at our Hotel / Hostel and meet for a group dinner. Lamb roasted with a good wine will be the menu.

Private transfer to the Bridge of the Electrico River that will be our starting point for our first day of trekking to the base of the Marconi Glacier. For the first 2 hours we’ll walk along a well marked path that follows the Electrico River through a forest of Ñires and Lengas. At the end of the vegetation we will find the Piedra del Fraile Camp, which will be our last contact with the civilization until arriving at El Chaltén at the end of the expedition.

There we will leave the vegetation behind and a wide glacial valley will open in front of us to let us see the Cerro Treinta Aniversario and the Marconi’s North and South. From Piedra del Fraile we will skirt the Eléctrico Lake by its southern bank crossing glacier moraines and rock formations eroded and abandoned by the Marconi Glacier. Less than two hours away we will have to follow the Pollone River from where we can observe one of the highest walls of Mount Fitz Roy. One more hour of walk will take us to the West bank of the Electrico Lake where we will set up camp only 20 minutes from the Marconi Glacier, which we can visit after a well deserved rest. All meals included. Total walking time: 6 hours. Distance: 12 Km. Altitude change: 80 m.

Today is an important day. The Marconi Glacier and the Marconi Pass are the accesses to the Patagonian Ice. The majority of the winds come from the west or north and when arriving at this pass they are accelerated by the “bottleneck” effect. We will get up early, have breakfast, disarm the camp and leave. Depending on ice conditions we will take one route or the other to climb the Marconi Glacier. If we go to the Laguna de los 14, we will cross a fairly large river with zip lines. Once on the Marconi Glacier, we will find a combination of ice and rock. Now we must put the harnesses and crampons on and use ropes. After a section of 35 to 40 degrees of snow or ice plus an hour of walk, we’ll arrive at the Marconi Pass. The landscape takes our breath away. We’ll appreciate the Kolliker, Gaea, Mariano Moreno and the Lautaro Volcano. We will set up camp in an area passing the Paso Marconi, on continental ice or we can go to the Gorra Blanca Hut, depending on the weather and group conditions. All meals included. Walking time: 7 to 9 hours. Distance: 10 km. Altitude change: + 900 mts.

After breakfast we’ll disarm camp and start the descent. On the way down we can appreciate the west face of Mount Fitz Roy and its nearby needles. The goal of the day will be reaching “La Playita” camp where we’ll spend the night.

We’ll return to El Chaltén by the same route. According to the physical condition of the group we can enter the Pollone River Valley to admire its homonymous needle. We will then pass by Piedra del Fraile and after 2 hours our transfer will be waiting in the bridge of the Electrico River to take us back town.