El Chaltén, Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre

Cameron finished up his medical rotation in Peru in time to make the quick trip (hah!) down to Patagonia. Call it Colorado luck or something, but we were absolutely charmed with weather. Camping out under (almost) a full-moon and star-filled skies and hiking in fresh fallish weather made for a great trip (and lots of photo-taking frenzies... here are just a select few!) We took a few pictures with the Denver Post Travel section for a chance for some local publicity:) Keep an eye out on Sundays to see if we make it in there!

Here with the Fitz Roy range in the background.









We did a little loop, hiking for three days and camping two nights. Again with Fitz Roy in the background.












Many people we met spent multiple days waiting for the clouds to part so they could see Cerro Torre, the tall thin spire in the background. It is located right on the edge of the Southern Continental Ice Field and therefore has its own microclimate. It is basically like a cloud machine that constantly envelops the peak in blustery clouds. Brave climbers wait a long time in this campsite for a day that is clear enough to attempt the summit. With our ridiculous luck, it was right there waiting for us! The next day hiking out we saw a group of people waiting at the viewpoint, patiently hoping it would emerge from the thick clouds... we thought about showing them our pictures but thought it may seem like we were trying to rub it in:)





Here at Laguna de los Tres, a lake one hour up the hill from our campground. We climbed up the night we arrived to see the view just in case the following morning was overcast.










Which fortunately it was not!!! We arrived at the top to enjoy a serene display of colors as the sun hit the peaks, glaciers, and finally the lake. I felt like I was on a movie set with a fake background because it was SO GORGEOUS!!!!














Not Photoshopped... I swear.