In order to get the most from this piece, please be sure you’ve read the previous 15 chapters previously posted on this web site.

Wednesday, January 30, 1991

A group of Frenchmen partied into the wee hours, affording me a poor night’s sleep. No matter, in the morning I got ready, left a bag of gear I wouldn’t need on the next leg of my trip with the hotel owner, and caught a cab in the pouring rain to the airport. There, I had a comfortable wait until my plane took off for its 95-minute flight to Neuquen. Austral Airlines has a fun thing they do on each domestic flight – they have a drawing for a free flight. This time, the 2 winners were part of an American group on a tour, and since they decided they wouldn’t be able to use the tickets, they gave them to me. After the stop in Neuquen, we took off again for our 45-minute flight to the city of San Carlos de Bariloche. Situated in the center of the Argentine Lake District, it is set amid deep blue lakes, forested mountains, glaciers and pine forests. Skiers flock here from around the world when the Northern Hemisphere is broiling under the summer sun.

Once we landed, I took a bus into town and visited the Austral office where, sadly, they informed me that the tickets could only be transferred to immediate family members. Oh well, easy come, easy go. Next, I visited the CAB (Club Andino Bariloche), which turned out to be closed. Luckily for me, 2 Aussies I met on the street sold me their map of the local mountain areas. Bariloche is famous for its mountains and good access to them, so that was why I’d come here in the first place. It had now been 6 days since I’d been in mountains, and it was high time to immerse myself in them again.

I caught a city bus which went up to the ski area, the largest in South America. In the winter, this place is a madhouse but was quiet now. Once off the bus, I met Ana and Valéria, two 18-year-olds from Buenos Aires. Together, we hiked from the ski lodge parking lot along level ground for a long while at around 3,445′ elevation, then relentlessly uphill, Ana striding along on her long legs while we tried to keep up with her.. It was a clear, hot, sweaty day. The mountains around Bariloche are teeming with refuges where one can stay for a small fee. Here was one we passed in the forest at around 4,395′.

Finally, after 3 1/2 hours, we arrived at the Refugio Frey.

The girls were staying there, so I went and set up my tent near the shore of Laguna Toncek at 5,775′ elevation. It had been a climb of 2,330′ with full pack over a distance of 9 miles, and it whipped my ass. There were a lot of boisterous Argentines camped all around, but they quieted down later. There was a full moon, and ducks squawking on the lake. Many of the peaks in the area of Cerro Catedral are rugged spires, very scenic. You can see Cerro Catedral in this photo, it is about 7,800′.

Thursday, January 31, 1991

After a good night’s sleep (sleeping in late for a change), I was getting my pack prepared when Ana and Valéria stopped by to give me their address in Bariloche. Today promised some alpine fun, all higher up among these great-looking peaks. I set out along the north shore of the lake, and once I reached its west end, headed steeply uphill on a good trail following dots of red paint. It didn’t take long to reach the shore of Laguna Schmoll, where I got quite a surprise – a gorgeous chica from Buenos Aires was sunbathing nude. We talked for a while (that’s all, just talked!), then I headed up to the level area on the ridge they call the Football Field. From there, I took this picture of the lake.

Near here is where I had this first view of the biggest peak in the area, Cerro Tronador – this was exciting, maybe I could even try to climb it in the days to come.

What followed was a steep, loose descent into a beautiful valley, which you can see in the above photo. Once down, the trail meandered through a pristine forest, then up above tree-line again. Next was a long, steep climb to the next ridge. When I reached it, I dropped my pack – what a relief! Heading along the ridge, I was forced down. Passing snow patches, I climbed again and finally reached the summit of Brecha Negra at 7,110 feet. It felt great to be sitting on a mountaintop again. From there, I had an even better view of Tronador.

After a brief stay, I made my way back to my pack, feeling pretty tired by the time I got there. A rest, a snack, and I was ready to move again. I descended another steep, loose hillside to finally arrive at Refugio Jakob, at 5,150 feet elevation.

This was an impressive spot. Once I arrived, I ate, washed up in the fresh mountain water nearby and talked to those who had paid to stay in the refuge. On my part, I was camping nearby for free. The sky was clear, and it was windy and cool here, and it felt like I was really out in the mountains again. Today had been a vigorous day, with 4,500 vertical feet climbed with full pack and 8.7 miles covered.

Friday, February 1, 1991

It’s hard to believe but it has been a full month since I stood on the summit of Aconcagua. It seems so long ago and far away. After a good night’s sleep again in this pure mountain air, I set out late, at ten o’clock. As I headed downhill from the refuge, the day warmed up.quickly. It wasn’t straight down, but rather many ups and downs. Finally, I reached a gravel road. A guy stopped and gave me a lift to a paved highway, where I caught a bus into town. The trek from the refuge put another 11 miles on my boots.

I had a lead on a place called Hotel El Mirador, so there I went. The elderly lady who owned it is a bit odd – she made me wait an hour before showing me a room. She decided I was worthy to have space under her roof, a nice room with a double bed and my own bath. A dollar now fetched 9,250 A, so this only cost me four bucks a night – sweet deal. The weather is fine, pleasantly warm in the sun but cool in the shade. I talked to some people about climbing El Tronador, and it sounds like it requires crampons, ice axe and better boots, which I can rent.

It seems like a good idea to have a rest day here in town tomorrow, so I’ll run lots of errands now. I visited a casa de cambio, where I met other foreigners who, like me, wanted to change dollars into Australes. We were pretty excited to get so much bang for our buck. Back at my room, I washed a few clothes in the sink, then paid a quick visit to the girls I’d met on the walk in to Refugio Frey.

Saturday, February 2, 1991   Well, here’s a mystery for you. I have no record of this day in my diary – it’s as if I wasn’t alive on Planet Earth. The timeline from the 1st to the 3rd is smooth, with nothing missing, so I have no idea what I did or where I went on the 2nd. Maybe aliens kidnapped me and erased my memory.

Sunday, February 3, 1991

I slept in, then walked down to pick up my rented climbing gear. After stashing it in my room, I visited El Museo de la Patagonia, which was pretty cool, especially considering the 75-cent admission fee. When visiting a strange town, something I like to do is hop on a city bus and ride it through its full circuit, just sitting back and enjoying the scenery. I did this on two different bus lines, and one of them went out of town to Lago Gutierrez, a spot popular with the locals.

Back in town, I packed for my trip to Tronador, then went out for a supper of pizza, salad and beer. After that, I walked the streets, looking in shop windows and killing time – I felt very lonely, craving human companionship. Back at my hotel, I bumped into the two Aussies who sold me their map a few days earlier – turns out they were staying there too. We sat and talked in their room until late. Alan and Suzanne had just returned from two nights at the Refugio Meiling high up on the shoulder of Tronador.

Monday, February 4, 1991

I woke up early, packed, vacated my room and walked down to the Club Andino. At 9:00 AM the bus arrived – there were only a few of us on it. We drove for a while, disembarked, walked across a footbridge, then got on to another bus with the same driver. In short order, that second bus broke down, so we all waited until repairs were made and continued, arriving at a spot called Pampa Linda three hours after leaving Bariloche. I needed information, so I went and talked to the guardaparque, a nice guy who was really helpful. The idea was to climb to the summit of El Tronador, the biggest peak in the entire region (the name means “Thunderer” in Spanish, because of the noise from avalanches and seracs toppling). Here’s a link to a satellite image of the mountain. It didn’t see its first ascent until 1934, has 8,668′ of prominence and boasts 8 glaciers on its flanks. Here’s what he told me.

With the cloudy, rainy weather I’d have a hard time staying on the upper part of the trail to the Refugio Tronador. Hmmmm…… I then discussed with him going to the Refugio Meiling, which ends you up in a different place. The RT puts you in the best position to do the Chilean Peak (10,703′) and the International Peak (11,431′); the RM, to do the Argentine Peak (10,457′). The RT is just a shell, okay for a bivouac; the RM is a commercial refuge run by the Club Andino de Bariloche, and they’ll rent you a bed, climbing gear and even sell you medicine. After talking to him, I decided that I’d have a better chance to summit something from the RM. In addition, he thought I might need 2 days to get to the RT because of poor visibility. Well, that was impossible, as I had no tent or bivi bag. So, I started up the 12-mile-long trail to the RM. Barely had I set out when I thought “Why carry my sleeping bag, I’ll just rent a bed”. So, I returned and left my sleeping bag with him, then headed out on the trail again. The weather was not good – spitting down rain, cold and windy. Before long, I completely psyched myself out, turned around and went back once and for all.

There was a restaurant at Pampa Linda, so I nursed a cup of tea and relaxed, chatting with a group from the Club Andino. A family from Bariloche was about to head back to town so I bummed a ride with them – they were kind enough to drop me off right at the hotel, and the Señora gave me back my same room. So much for my big plan to climb El Tronador. I have another week before my flight back to Buenos Aires, so I’ve decided to do more traveling from here. Later on, I met with Alan and Suzanne – we ate together in their room and discussed travel plans – they’re going to head into Chile the same day as I.

Monday, February 4, 1991

This morning I went into town to return my rental gear, then found a laundromat to get caught up on my dirty laundry. I met Alan and Suzanne for tea, then we bought tickets to Puerto Montt in Chile. Also, I visited the Casa de Cambio and bought $60.00 US worth of Chilean pesos at 330.5 to the dollar – good old stable pesos. That evening, the 3 of us cooked supper together down by the shore of Lago Nahuel Huapi, the huge lake on the north side of the city.

Tomorrow would be the next stage of my adventure, heading back into Chile for a few days, and I was really looking forward to it.

Please stay tuned for the next installment of this story, Part 17.

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