February 5, 2015

A panorama of the Silence Valley with La Fortaleza in the middle-left and El Escudo in the middle-right. (Tye Chapman)

Chris Meder called in again from Refugio Chileno in Torres del Paine National Park with another great report!  The team enjoyed some nice weather as they trekked up into the Silence Valley today. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the Silence Valley requires special permits so it’s quite common to not see anybody on the trail, but today they bumped into three climbers who were coming off a climb of one of the towers.  Turns out they were friends of Roberto, our local guide who is keeping the team on track. Small world!

Today was an out and back day so no heavy packs – they just went as far as they wanted, taking in the views of La Fortaleza (The Fortress) and El Escudo (The Shield).  Once they’d had their fill, they turned around and made their way back to the hut for dinner. On the menu tonight: Bean Soup, Chicken & Pasta & some fruit cocktail.

Tomorrow is a relatively easy day as they make their way along Lake Nordenskjold over to the base of Los Cuernos (The Horns).

Tye Chapman

February 4, 2015

Chris Meder called in from Refugio Chileno this afternoon reporting that all is well in Torres del Paine National Park. The team left the hotel on schedule this morning and after a couple photo stops on the drive, they were officially on the trail at around noon. Keep in mind they’re +5hrs from us here on the west coast.

The weather started off cloudy but as luck would have it the sun busted through as they made their approach up to the towers. I didn’t get all the details from Chris but he did say that the team is doing great and everybody is having a blast – good enough for me!

Tomorrow, they’ll put the daypacks on and head up into the Silence Valley. The Silence Valley is a pretty special part of the park and requires a special permit to enter, which means they’ll likely be the only trekkers up there tomorrow. After the better part of the day up in the valley they’ll make their way back down to Refugio Chileno for one more night.

Tye Chapman

February 3, 2015

Chris Meder texted (isn’t technology great) in a report from Puerto Natales, Chile this afternoon. No big surprise, the team had a great day! Step one was team introductions. Step two was a quick tour around Punta Arenas with a couple important stops along the way – the money exchange and the grocery store for some snacks for the drive! After the morning stroll it was into the van and onto the Penguin Rookery. “There were lots of juvenile penguins making a heck of a lot of noise. A few groups waddled by for some close-ups. Love those little guys” Chris said. From there it was onto Puerto Natales for some shopping. Yes Shopping.

Due to the storms back east Debra’s duffel didn’t make it to Natales, but between the extra gear amongst the group, and the local gear shops, they were able to piece it together for Debra. To quote Chris – “We’re shopping like we’re on a reality TV show here”.  It’s a bummer not to have your own gear, but not the end of the world either!

After the shopping spree it was onto dinner then back to the hotel to pack up to be ready to go in the morning. Tomorrow they start their trek. Day one takes them to Los Torres, the first postcard moment in the park.

Tye Chapman