Trekking Cerro Huemul loop, El Chalten

Meeting with the Guide in the morning; debrief about the details of the program and check of the gear. We´ll start the trek at noon from El Chalten and hike towards Toro lake, passing by the Pliegue Tumbado hillside. This hike takes about 6 hours and has an elevation gain of 500 meters (1640 feet). We will camp at Laguna Toro (650 meters or 2132 feet a/s/l).

Meals: Box lunch and dinner.

After 30-40 minutes of hiking, we cross the Tunel river, either by wading through the river or using a fixed cable and harnesses, depending on the conditions. We continue the ascent towards Paso del Viento. The main part of the ascent is along trails, moraines and the Tunel Inferior glacier. From here we can appreciate a part of the Patagonian Ice Field, the nascents of the Viedma glacier, and mount Mariano Moreno amongst others. We descend to the Paso del Viento refuge (900 meters or 2950 feet a/s/l) where we will camp. It is a 7 hours hike with an elevation gain of 900 meters (2950 feet) from Laguna Toro to Paso del Viento.

Meals: Breakfast, box lunch and dinner.

We continue the hike bordering Cerro Huemul towards the East until we reach Paso Huemul (1000 meters or 3280 feet a/s/l). There are great views of the Viedma glacier during the entire trip. From Paso Huemul we can appreciate the front of the Glaciar Viedma and the homonym lake. It’s also common to see condors flying close by. The hike takes 6-7 hours and we will camp at Paso Huemul where there is a small forest of Lenga bushes (900 meters or 2950 feet a/s/l).

Meals: Breakfast, box lunch and dinner.

We descend to Cabo de Hornos bay at the Viedma lake (300 meters or 985 feet a/s/l) by a very steep and rocky terrain. From here we will continue to Viedma’s Tunel bay. This hike takes 7-8 hours with a decline of 600 meters (1968 feet). At Tunel bay we will meet our vehicle for the transfer back to El Chalten. This is the end of the expedition.

Meals: Breakfast and box lunch.