I’m going to devote a whole post to this one day. We were aware that this would always be the crux of the trek. The guide says 9 – 12 hours. A time guide, I’ve found over the years is far more informative than the distance, as the distance covered on the flat and that covered In mountainous terrain can differ in time by many hours, add in a heavy pack and the distance is no longer of any great use, but how long it’s likely to take you is.
We are at Camp Los Perros and the check out time is before 07:30. All the other campsites are 09:30… a little ominous. The reason soon becomes clear! We could see that the snow line was around the 650 metre mark that’s 600 metres below the height of the pass. The question is how much snow would there be. My thoughts are that the pass itself will have little or no snow as the wind is pretty much a constant as the cold air is drawn and funnelled through the pass from the Grey Glacier below… that means that the worst of any lying snow will be on the East side of the mountain blown by the constant wind, the side we were ascending. The only question is, what condition will the snow be in. If it’s fresh wind blown snow it could be soft, which makes it hard to walk in and break trail. If someone’s already broken trail then the steps are already cut and it’s like walking up irregular stairs. If, however, the snow has had a couple of nights freeze, thawing then it could be treacherous without crampons, but easier walking if you have the right equipment, as long as you don’t slip! No one of course was geared for full on winter conditions! I did, however, have a pair of micro spikes, smug git that I am! My thought was that these would come in handy on the descent.
The snow was soft and over the last couple of days the trail had been blazed by many trekkers. Although, if you wandered off the trail just slightly it wasn’t unusual to go thigh deep and then spend the next minute or so fighting your way out of the hole! The summit as expected was devoid of snow as the wind gusted at 50 – 60km an hour. There was only one occasion when I had to lean forward, using the full weight of myself and pack to stop from being blown backwards. Once over the crest the wind miraculously eased and the long, steep, slippery for some, descent began. I, of course, used my micro spikes, worked a treat!
The views once you crested the path were worth the climb. There in front of you is the snout of the 28km long Grey Glacier as it winds its way down from the massive Patagonian ice sheet. The glacier dominates the view as you take, what feels like, a very long descent to Camp Grey and well earned beer, oh and first shower of the trek!
