Southern Patagonian Icefield Traverse

Duration

8 days · ~90 km

Group size

1 to 6 people

Price

From USD 1,700 per person

About this trip

An 8-day traverse entering through the Río Eléctrico valley, crossing the Southern Patagonian Icefield and coming out through the Río Túnel valley back to El Chaltén. Glacier terrain with crampons, moraines, stream fords and zip-line river crossings: one of the biggest physical and technical challenges in the catalogue. Meeting point and finish in El Chaltén.

Contact about this trip

Open departures, fixed dates

Full payment when booking

February 14–21, 2027

8 days · minimum 2 people

USD 1,900

per person

Join

For a private trip on your own dates, use the inquiry form below.

Day by day

Day 1

Meeting in El Chaltén, equipment check.

Day 2

Piedra del Fraile → La Playita. Transfer to the Río Eléctrico bridge and walk up the valley to Piedra del Fraile. We follow the shore of Lago Eléctrico to La Playita and camp at the foot of the Marconi Glacier.

Day 3

La Playita → Paso Marconi. We climb the moraine to the Marconi Glacier, rope up and put on crampons for a 30–35° slope to the pass. First view of the Southern Patagonian Icefield and a night at the Gorra Blanca hut or in tents.

Day 4

Paso Marconi → Circo de los Altares. We head south across the flat icefield, working around crevasses, and camp facing the west faces of Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy.

Day 5

Spare day for weather.

Day 6

Circo de los Altares → Laguna Ferrari. We continue south on the ice, leave the glacier near Laguna de los Esquíes and cross the lateral moraine of the Viedma Glacier to the Laguna Ferrari bivouac.

Day 7

Laguna Ferrari → Laguna Toro camp. Climb to Paso del Viento, with the icefield on one side and the Río Túnel valley on the other. We descend a large moraine, cross a glacier and ford a river to the camp in the lenga forest.

Day 8

Laguna Toro → El Chaltén. We follow the Río Túnel valley down, cross the river on a zip-line and climb the Loma del Pliegue Tumbado, with views of Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy, before descending to town.

Route map76,5 km · +2.370 m

Included

Certified mountain guide All meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) Safety and first-aid equipment (VHF radio, GPS, maps, first-aid kit) Participant insurance Group cooking equipment Transfers Tents Harness and technical equipment

Not included