We were told that the weather in El Chalten is unpredictable and more often than not, rainy and windy. Imagine our delight when we wake at sunrise to find a clear pink sky and beautiful day. Time to go. We ready ourselves quickly; scarfing down a breakfast of eggs and toast, lacing boots, filling water bottles and ensuring we have all the necessary cold weather gear. We are on the trail an hour after sunrise. 
The air is still, clean and invigorating. The view from the first 100meters of the trail sends adrenaline pumping through our bodies. The seldom seen jagged peaks of Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy loom in the distance. Our clip is fast, we serge uphill passing slower hikers. This is our day. Not a cloud in the sky.
We wind our way up the path through wind swept meadows and forests. The surrounding trees are short, trunks twisted by the weather. Their small leaves are ideal for resisting the wind and cold. The trickle of a stream creates soothing sounds. The hike feels strange, reminiscent in so many ways of the thousands of Colorado hikes stored in my memory. The landscape is similar, but tweaked just enough to be exciting and slightly unsettling.
The air is still, clean and invigorating. The view from the first 100meters of the trail sends adrenaline pumping through our bodies. The seldom seen jagged peaks of Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy loom in the distance. Our clip is fast, we serge uphill passing slower hikers. This is our day. Not a cloud in the sky.We wind our way up the path through wind swept meadows and forests. The surrounding trees are short, trunks twisted by the weather. Their small leaves are ideal for resisting the wind and cold. The trickle of a stream creates soothing sounds. The hike feels strange, reminiscent in so many ways of the thousands of Colorado hikes stored in my memory. The landscape is similar, but tweaked just enough to be exciting and slightly unsettling.
Two hours in and we have left tree line behind. Rock stretches out before us as far as we can see. Igneous, granite and sedimentary samples shift below our feet. I am walking atop every geologists dream. The sun is warm on our backs. The wind makes us aware of our altitude, whipping at our jackets and hair.
Over the bend and I can’t believe my eyes. Surely, this can’t be real. Lord Of The Rings has nothing on this moment. Stretching out before my eyes are the most jagged and daunting mountains I have ever seen. Their peaks rise in spires, like the castle complex of a fictional ice queen. Glaciers are tucked into crevasses, hanging like small accessories on the cold faces of the mountains. The wind pushes and pulls at my body, but I don’t care in the least. Places like this only exist in the distant recesses of my imagination. Julie and I are the only people here. For the moment, this place, this view is ours and ours alone. We watch the newly forming clouds drift and swirl in the wind. Birds drift and float atop the upsurges of mountain air. All is silent but for the wind. This is living!
Ot
her pictures from El Chalten: 
her pictures from El Chalten: 
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