Along the trailsof El Chaltén
Ten days in Argentine Patagonia, one trail a day and two nights under Fitz Roy, camera in hand, with someone beside you who has walked these trails before.
The trip is one trail a day, leaving early and coming back when the light gives out — which in the Patagonian summer is very late. The best hours here are the two ends of the day, and they almost always catch you mid-walk, far from the village. That is why the whole day is planned around where we will be standing when the light turns.
Between 20 and 25 kilometres a day, with real climbing on almost all of them. On two of those days you carry a tent, a sleeping bag and your food, because those are the nights we sleep at Poincenot, the campsite just below the mountain. Ten days in total, arrival and departure included. You do not need to be an athlete, but you do need to arrive trained: if you already walk long distances on weekends you will be fine; if you never have, the third day will break you and you will lose the trip. One or two months before, we hold a video call with the group: gear, boots, wind layers, and what fits in the pack you will carry all day.
Fitz Roy may not show. It spends much of the year inside cloud, and anyone promising you a clear mountain is not being straight with you. Sleeping at Poincenot is our answer to that: it is about an hour of climbing from the camp up to Laguna de los Tres, so when the sky opens — and sometimes it opens for forty minutes, before dawn — we are already beside it instead of four hours away. Do it as a day walk and you are betting on luck. Sleep under the mountain and you are still betting on luck, but with two more chances and the whole night to spend each one.
Photographic accompaniment
Not a guide walking the group to the right viewpoint. Someone beside you in the hours of light, and an honest conversation about what you brought back at the end of the day.
The right pack for the day
What goes in the pack you carry all day, and what waits back at the hotel. Extra weight on your back is less hiking time — we work that out together, before day one.
Composing on the move
The light changes while you walk toward the right spot, and Patagonian wind gives no warning before it hits. I am beside you reading both — camera in hand or on a tripod, knowing when it's worth holding your breath for a lull.
Review on a big screen
The day's images, talked through one by one — except the two nights at Poincenot, where the review becomes a conversation by headlamp, no screen at all.
Editing and final selection
A call after everyone is home, to close the series you brought back from Patagonia.
From a phone to a mirrorless body. If you have never left automatic, we start there. If you already know, we talk about something else — without holding up the group or leaving anyone behind.
One trail a day, two nights on the mountain
Arrival in El Chaltén
Transfer into the village, first night at the gateway to Fitz Roy.
Laguna Capri
The trip's first hike, with the first open view of Fitz Roy in the distance.
Laguna Torre and Mirador Maestri
Trail to Laguna Torre, with Cerro Torre and Mirador Maestri as the backdrop.
Mirador de los Cóndores and Mirador de las Águilas
Two viewpoints with an open view over the valley and the village of El Chaltén.
Hike up to Poincenot
Trek to Poincenot camp, where we sleep to be closer to Fitz Roy the next day.
Laguna de Los Tres, via the Fitz Roy trail
From Poincenot up to Laguna de Los Tres, with a walk to the nearby lagoons.
Back from Poincenot to El Chaltén
Lunch at Poincenot before the hike back down to the village.
Loma del Pliegue Tumbado
A high trail with a panoramic view over the Fitz Roy massif and Cerro Torre.
Chorrillo del Salto
A short, easy walk to the waterfall, with the rest of the day free around the village of El Chaltén.
Rest day and transfer to El Calafate
A day to rest, pack up, and transfer to El Calafate, where we spend the night.
Flight to Buenos Aires / Brazil
End of the expedition, with a flight back to Buenos Aires and connection to Brazil.
Included
- 10 nights of lodging, two of them camping at Poincenot
- All transfers from El Calafate airport
- Photographic accompaniment throughout the trip
- Preparation call with the group before we travel
Not included
- Flights to El Calafate (FTE)
- Travel insurance — mandatory, no exceptions
- Meals — we eat together, somewhere different each night, each paying their own
- Tent, sleeping bag and mat
- Boots, pack and mountain clothing: your own kit
- Extra nights, if you want to stay on
Terms
- Price per person, double or single room — on request
- Free cancellation up to two months before departure.
- Arrival must be through El Calafate airport
- The trip asks for fitness: 20 to 25 km a day, with climbing
- Fitz Roy is a mountain: the weather decides, and the view is not guaranteed