A Patagonian Mountain adventure update from August to November 2012

Today, after 4 months of continuous mountain and ski guiding trips in the Andes, finally I can seat down in a beautiful Patagonia rainy day, drops bounce on the roof and seems that can collapse, but will not!! Well anyway,

 Can be anywhere, but is the backcountry of Northern Patagonia and Lake Districts!

August was a month of multiday hut to hut ski trips, up to Frey hut, few days there , back to town, pack again and back up to the mountains. For sure, more days in the mountains than at home.. (be carefull for what you ask!!) . The long hut to hut Patagonian trip didnt work that much this year due lack of snow, but conditions , even with just enough snow were great above treeline...

Ski touring is an esthetic sport!

Marcos in the Backcountry of Cerro Catedral, Bariloche, Argentina!

One of the classics of Bariloche, Argentina

We had the opportunity to work with the guys of Powder Magazine in late August and help Grant Gunderson, KC Deane and Michelle Parker to shoot some pictures for an article. You will see it soon!

Granite and Snow, I think heaven is a bit like that!

Then, by end of August drove down south to ski near Fitz Roy massif, the town of El Chalten was empty with just 2 restaurants open and 2 lodging places. The real thing, the ghost town, the feeling of huge loneliness and vast spaces sink deep and make us appreciate how little we are!
We had a wonderful week there.

Later on September- October was a month of skiing volcanoes in Chile, and in this trip we were lucky with weather. Not every year we can summit all as planned, but this year we did it:
Casablanca, Puyehue, Osorno, Villarica, Llaima and Lonquimay, in all of them we stand up and had a 360 degrees view of the Andes.
Well, I think in Villarica we had few clouds.
Congratulations to the team of Llaima, because we did 1900 mts in only 4 hours and 20 min, this is a good achieve for 50/60 year old dudes!

Ricardo, il italiani con piu motivazzioni dil mondo
(bad Italian... I know) 

Volcan Lonquimay, the jewel of Chile

Then, we had few trips to Tronador, I didnt guide them, but both were successful because of my good friends guides Craig and Pablo.

Mt Tronador, we do it through the back side, no people, no bullshit!! :)

Then, November we did a 3 week trip with 3 amazing human beings, Duncan , Camilla and Sarah, also weather was much better than expected so we had a week in the Ice cap summitting Gorra Blanca and then Cerro Vespignani, drove along road 40 and summit Tronador in a quick 2 day trip

rockn rolling!

View from the Patagonian Ice cap towards North, Lago San Martin/ O'higgings, Glaciar Chico

Views of the Patagonian Ice cap!

Cerro Pollone, Piergiorgio and Cerro Torre!

Now hope we have some time off to go climbing a bit, then we will have a busy season in Iceland and Norway skiing for most of March and April 2013!

Thanks to all my clientele friends that I enjoy them as a family, Thanks to First Ascent- Eddie Bauer for helping out with gear for Andescross!

Añadir leyenda

Skiing the backcountry of Northern Patagonia with Seth Morrison

Finally mid July,  I returned from the beautiful Alps and Chamonix overcrowded scene,  that  have been very nice, but I didnt know how much I  enjoy the loneliness in the Patagonian mountains where you hardly see anybody, any tracks... Only condors, few locals and once in a while maybe an airplane that flies high , high to show lakes and mountains to the visitors. Guiding in Argentina is amazing!

Anyway, since arrived to Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina barely slept at home, for the last 2 weeks I have been ski guiding in Frey hut backcountry and surroundings of Bariloche with excellent guys, enthusiasts and outdoor adventurers! Thank you!

At first Daniel with his girlfriend Sarah and Heather came to visit, all of them from Boulder, Colorado, so we never stop talking about El dorado canyon and the nice climbs around there.

We got one night of a nice storm and next day we ski three amazing couloirs, all of them with 30 cm of  new fresh snow.

Right after that, next day , after guiding for the entire week showed up the Oakley team and Seth Morrison to do a gear test movie to try their new clothing products.
So 11 guys from Oakley went to Frey hut with me, we departed with 60 km winds, and later up in the ridge some gust for sure passed the 100 km/h wind speed, some hard work there and then gladly next day was beautiful and sunny, so we hiked and skied to do some wor  and spend few days  getting good film and photography here in the Northern Patagonian Andes.

Oakley team working! 

When I got home watched An Ordinary Skier, an story about Seth Morrison life and  made me happy that some of the footage was made here in Bariloche, Argentina

Then few days of rest, and another week ski guiding in my backyard.
Conditions are very good to do some steep couloirs in many face aspect now, but  anyway have not been snowing a lot.
Next week we expect a good storm....

In few days more we are heading to Volcan Puyehue to ski around there after a year of human inactivity  due the recent eruption of this volcano in June 4th , 2011... tell you more later!

Skiing in Southamerica August- September 2012?

The upcoming Southamerican and Patagonia ski season is showing up with good cold temperatures, we had few days of -12 C in the town of Bariloche this first days of June  and mountains are already white with some snow forming a nice snowpack!

This picture below is to invite and seduce you to Ski Refugio Frey wonderland , a magic terrain full of chutes, cirques and open bowls, and even tree skiing for bad weather days!

From here is easy to combine a trip to do Hut to Hut Ski touring traverse in between the logistics of cabins/ lodges in the heart of  Nahuel Huapi National Park in Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina.

Skiing Monk's chute back in 1999!

Another great option is to combine hut to hut ski traverse with beautiful ascent to Monte Tronador (3554 mts), biggest and tallest glaciated peak  of Nahuel Huapi National Park.

Cerro Tronador-3554mts

For October, best option is to ski the Volcanoes of Chile, joining the main 5 summits of Volcan Osorno, Volcan Villarica, Lanin,  Volcan LLaima and Lonquimay, at least this are the one we love the most!

Comes November and starts the expedition time to ski in the Patagonia Ice cap, famous peak Gorra Blanca with majestic views of Cerro Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre!

Norway Lyngen Alps

During and after Christmas time in Argentina we did some guided biking trips,

some nice long treks in the mountains of Northern Patagonia near Bariloche. Also,

some rock climbing safety and glacier crevasse training/ courses at mid January around Refugio Frey and Monte Tronador

Late February we went for a week of ski touring to the Lyngen Alps in Northern Norway, sailing and skiing out of a beautiful wooden sailing boat, experiencing the northern fisherman villages . Skiing near paralell 70 north above Artic Polar circle, was kind of early season and the short days and sunsets made the experience amazing! Norwegian culture is wild amazing similar to Patagonia!

Sailing towards Lyngen Alps from Tromso

Right after breakfast, heading out from the boat to ski in freshies!

Simon taking the liners, to dry them up in the engine room!

Matteo. rip IT UP!

Antarctica 2011

Orcas!

Summiting some remote peak in King George Island!

I finally, seated down and sorted out some pictures from trip to Antarctica, pictures says more than anything!!

We left Nov 8th, with 4-6 foot seas across the

Drake Passage

We visited first South Shetlands Islands, where we didnt land as first since was in a total blizzard, then at the end of our journey we came back to ski there with sun!

Compared to Antarctica trip in 2009, weather was more challenging what personally I like it more, as my Slovenians friends said to me once in Patagonia: " grr, is sunny.. Sunny is ok, but bad weather, yes ... adventure!! " I love blizzards!!"

Anyway, we went south all the way to the Anvers Island through one of the most beautiful places on Earth , the Neumeyer Channel, skiing near Mt Franze area and across that area in the continent we skied beautiful peaks surrounded by amazing fiords near Almte Brown Base (Arg)

That area offer endless, endless opportunity for backcountry skiers, sometimes the limitation could be the access , the strong winds and the packed ice where is difficult to transit in the little zodiacs.

Our crossing back through the Drake Passage was amazing and wild, finding big seas of 30 ft , the wildest experience that I had in the ocean!

Huge huge thanks to Doug and Karyn, thanks to First Ascent for support too!

Thanks to the crew on the Clipper, to Laurie and his zodiac crew, to captain Gunner!

... thanks to life! Yahhhhuee!

Skiing the farm!

leopard seal below!

More pictures in our facebook page here :

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150418601769796.379794.76867224795&type=1