Form VI Patagonia Trip 2025
This was a trip 18 months in the planning.
We were treated to spectacularly fine weather after the region had endured two weeks of cold, rain and snow. While there, we felt privileged to enjoy the company of our two amazing guides, Koen and Chris, and two porters, Hugo and Daniel.
We climbed Cerro Castillo (1000m) as a warmup peak, visited 5000-year-old cave paintings near Lago Sarmiento and enjoyed sightings of condors, cara cara, guanaco, Humboldt skunk, many interesting birds and even saw the fuzzy ears of a puma sleeping in the Patagonian pampas.
We then went on to complete the arduous and incredible W-trek (134kms + 6314m of ascent) over 10 days. We camped and cooked for ourselves, carrying full backpacks weighing about 14-18kgs. Along the way we trekked over the Grey Glacier (part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field) and below the shattered pinnacles of Paine Grande.
We climbed up the spectacular French Valley where we watched seracs collapse and avalanches tumble down, and below the sheer granite faces of the Cuernos. We hiked along the edge of the milky-blue Lago Nordenskjold and, finally, up to the iconic Mirador des Torres.
The views were simply stunning, of course, and everyone found reserves of strength they didn’t know they possessed. Nothing was ever easy, but the shared experience, the brilliant company and entertaining conversation made the trip, many agreed, a turning point in our lives.
We learned a great deal about ourselves and about each other; about a very beautiful landscape and its people; and about the importance of adventure.
