Paso Superior

Owen and I are resting back in town after slogging our way up to Paso Superior with all our gear. This is the bivvy site that most parties start out from when attempting Mt. Fitzroy or any of the other peaks along the same ridge line. The walk isn't so bad except for when you have to carry half your body weight the whole way! It is a popular tourist walk from El Chalten up to Lago de los Tres before things get a bit more involved and you have to skirt around a lake with steep sides and then up a glacier to a relatively simple alpine ridge leading to the Pass. 

Poincenot, Fitzroy and Paso Superior from just above Lago de los Tres. The red line is the approach we did.

We took about 9.5 hours and ended up at the windy and wet Paso Superior to find a free pre-dug snow cave which was awesome. It was cold and uncomfortable but out of the weather. 

Owen looking a bit too happy to be cold, wet and residing in a mound of snow.

The next morning it started out windy with gusts so strong it was hard to stand up outside. We thought we might be stuck for another day up there but the wind dropped off enough for us to retreat. Most of our gear is up at the pass now except for our glacier traveling gear stashed at the base of the glacier. The weather looks like it will be good enough for a crack at Mt. Fitzroy this Friday so we are having a couple of days rest before heading up again with a bunch of food for a prolonged stay.

Fitzroy on the walk back down.