Category

Andes

• Andes, Backpacking & Camping

  A View of Aconcagua

  October 5, 2011 | Permalink | 16 Comments

  

  Aconcagua Dawn : Prints Available

  Aconcagua and the Rio Horcones valley at dawn. At a height of 6962m (22,841 ft.) Aconcagua is the highest mountain in the western hemisphere. Read more about the hike behind this photo here.

  One of the reasons for heading through Mendoza on this trip was to photograph Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the western hemisphere. Though I have little desire to actually climb the peak, I was hoping to do some hikes in the valleys around the peak. Unfortunately, however, we discovered that the park is for all intents and purposes “closed” until mid-November… something about too much snow and a general getting tired of winter rescues.

  So, with that option off the table, I researched the map, did some scouting on Google Earth, and decided that a good alternative plan would be to shoot a sunrise from Cerro Banderitas Sur, a 4184m peak across the valley to the south of Aconcagua park. It was quite an adventure to get up there… read more about it and see more photos below! (more…)

• Andes

  Mendoza

  October 1, 2011 | Permalink | 1 Comment

  

  Claudia and I have been hanging out in the city of Mendoza, Argentina this week. It’s a beautiful city; every street is lined with tall trees that arch over the streets and sidewalks, providing shade in this otherwise hot and sunny region.

  

  We haven’t been doing much so far – just walking around a lot, getting the hang of how things work around here, trying to find information about the mountains, and drinking our fair share of Malbec! We haven’t yet done any winery tours, but we’ve found a great little wine tasting bar in Mendoza where we’ll surely be spending some more time.

  

  Mendoza has a really nice layout, with the large Plaza Independencia in the center of town, and four smaller plazas a few blocks from each corner. There seems to always be a nice plaza nearby to relax in! My only gripe about the town is the constant traffic – there’s a steady stream of cars zooming around at all hours of the day and night. There’s one pedestrian street through the center of town, with lots of cafes and shops. If I were king I would make four or five of the streets around here pedestrian streets… that would be amazing!

  Anyhow, tomorrow we’re finally heading up into the mountains for four days! It looks like there’s a lot of snow up there still, but we’ve got our crampons and ice axes and we’ll see how it goes…

• Andes

  Andes Adventure!

  September 21, 2011 | Permalink | 11 Comments

  

  Monte Fitz Roy Alpenglow : Prints Available

  Brilliant sunrise alpenglow on Chaltén (aka Monte Fitz Roy) and Cerro Poincenot, as seen from Laguna de los Tres. Parque Nacional los Glaciares, Argentina - November.

  On Friday my fiancé Claudia and I are heading out on a big adventure to South America for three months! We’re flying to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where we’ll hang out for a few days, then we head west to the city of Mendoza, which lies at the foot of the high Andes near Aconcagua (the tallest mountain in the western hemisphere!) Mendoza is one of my favorite cities and I look forward to relaxing there for a while, sampling the local Malbecs, and scoping out the situation in the mountains. Early October is springtime there so I’m not sure how much snow will be in the mountains still. I’m assuming quite a bit.

  Anyhow, the rough plan is to work our way down the Andes, on both the Argentine and Chilean sides, doing as much trekking as possible along the way, eventually ending up in Ushuaia at the tip of Patagonia by January. I am excited to visit a bunch of new places, including the volcanoes of the Lakes District, the lush forests of the Aisén region of Chile, and who knows what else. And of course we’ll have to return to the popular and spectacular mountain ranges of Torres del Paine and El Chaltén (above).

  I’ll be posting regularly on my blog while we’re traveling down there, so be sure to check back often. You can also follow me on Facebook!

  ¡Hasta luego!