Tierra del Fuego
Patagonia Pt.1 – Hiking at the end of the World
Introduction
25 December 2024 – 10 January 2025
Part 1 of the Patagonia 2024 Trip.
For the 2024 holiday season’s trip with my mum, there was really only one region on the radar. Patagonia has long been a high-priority travel target. Due to the long travel times required, it had always been passed over in favour of more convenient options. Patagonia is a massive region, spanning two countries, and has a lot to offer in both. Within these regions, there are three obvious areas to start: Torres del Paine National Park in Última Esperanza (Chile), Los Glaciares National Park in Santa Cruz (Argentina), and Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina). Whilst it is possible to transit between Argentinian and Chilean Patagonia, it is not very practical – we would need to be chose one.
For me, Los Glaciares was always going to be the top priority. The Huemul Circuit was a big draw, and the scrambling options around Fitz Roy just made it all the more appealing. Since we landed on Argentina rather than Chile, it only made sense to add a stop at Ushuaia.
My mum had a difficult year. In the weeks leading up to the trip it was touch and go whether she would join. Ultimately, she decided against it – I would be going solo.
The day before departure I learned that Argentina shadow-dropped a fun new pricing structure for their national parks. I strongly regretted the fact that I would soon be indulging this extortion. Everyone should have access to the outdoors and national park entrance fees are rarely justified. The extent of Argentina’s cash grab is particularly repulsive though. Fortunately, I still have more than a few student cards without expiration dates…
Arrival
Wednesday, 25 – Thursday, 26 December
I had been dreading the flights since the moment they were booked. I had approximately 23hrs in the air and 7hrs of layover. So there was 30hrs of travel, not including time spend before take-off and after landing.
Everything went as smoothly as could be expected until I reached Buenos Aires, where I had to change airport. The cross-city transfer did not go to plan. A transfer was pre-arranged, but upon landing the company completely ghosted me. Fortunately, I had enough time to find and use the local bus connection. The whole point of paying more to book a transfer in advance is peace of mind. This situation definitely did not create that.
To round out my journey, I had a long (6km) walk uphill to the Ushuaia AirBnB. I could have booked a transfer, and at 10USD, I probably should have.
Ushuaia is a funny little city in a very dramatic location and it plays host as the gateway one of the most expensive destinations on the planet: Antarctica. It is very literally crumbling apart, but also colourful and vibrant. Sad looking buildings that wouldn’t look out of place in a Northern Council Estate are frquently livened up with spectacular murals – Messi and the Falklands being the most popular subjects. Even on individual buildings, it was not uncommon to see a fresh new fascade on one wall and crumbling patchwork on the next.
Other than the striking views from the waterfront, the first thing noticed is the constant cacophony of aggressively barking dogs and deliberately mistuned engines. It often seemed like the entire city was under construction. But also that buildings were being left half-built, with rebar rising in tangled masses from bare concrete.
A moody Ushuaia harbour
There is certainly no shortage of bitterness surrounding the Falkland Islands in Ushuaia. The entire waterfront is devoted to a war memorial and the slogan ‘Ushuaia: Capital las Malvinas’ is plastered everywhere, including massive murals. The motorway is named ‘Heroes de Malvinas’ and the pedestrian/cycle path that runs along it features little plaques with Falkland cut-outs and text documenting Argentina’s territorial ambitions at every intersection.
AirBnB views
Cerro del Medio
Friday, 27 December
Argentina may only have a -4hr time difference with Central European Time, but with over 35hrs of travel, I was sorely behind on sleep. Despite waking at a normal hour, and being keen to get out an explore the hills, I really struggled to get myself moving. To kick things off, I therefore wanted to keep things simple. I opted for what should have been a very easy and straightforward hike up Cerro del Medio, the hill immediately behind my accommodation.
It was an odd start. I started my ascent through what seemed to be some sort of semi-rural hippie commune. As I was about to reach the end the sparsely sprinkled buildings, I encountered a pair of mean looking dogs hanging out on the trail. They were obviously hostile so I proceeded with caution. That hostility quickly turned to outright aggression and I backed off before one of them could attack me. I tried to find a reasonable route around, but was in dense shrubby forest so no realistic options presented themselves. I returned to the trail and decided to have another look before I completely abandoned my hike. The dogs had vanished so I continued up without further incident.
The descent was much more my style: it led straight down a screefield before plunging into the treeline along a stream of glacial run-off. Far more enjoyable than the broad trail I used on the way up. As I was re-entering town, I had another unwanted dog encounter. Similar to the last, I could see an extremely hostile dog but had no way to get around it. The result was the same, it aggressively charged me. At least this time the owner was there to immediately try to call it off (to very slow effect). After two negative interactions, I felt extremely unsafe walking around town and vowed to bring my axe on all future hikes.
Cerro del Medio: an easy warm-up hike gone wrong
In the afternoon, I returned to the harbour area to both resupply and explore. The main street and harbour area really is pleasant. I would liken it to The main street and harbour area really is pleasant. I would liken it to Narvik or Bodø, but without petro-money. A somewhat aquired taste of archetectual choices with a stunning backdrop. I struggled with the resupply though. Food prices in Argentina are somehow higher than in Europe and ringing things up at the till takes an eternity.
Cerro Cortez
Saturday, 28 December
The next day I was struck by decision paralysis. There is a distinct lack of information regarding all but a small handful of walks near Ushuaia. With dubious public transit connections, I would need to reach trailheads on foot. This both limited my options and greatly increased the commitment to the decision.
Eventually, I decided on Cerro Cortez, an easy hill east of town that promised 360-degree views of town and several of the nearby valleys. I wasslightly apprehensive as the track didn’t appear on any of my maps. From research, I had seen that there should be an actual trail and even a sign at the trailhead so I felt reasonably confident in investing the time to make the 7km walk across town to the start.
The looong walk to the trailhead
A long but pleasant walk through town eventually led me to the approximate location of the start. There, I found a trailhead for some low-lying paths and a hand-drawn map. After some wandering, I found the trailhead sign I had seen on online. It was about 2km into the forest, beyond a mountain biking track… Normally I’m perfectly happy to find my own routes, but that is a little tricky through dense foliage in an unfamiliar region.
The views from the top were good value for the short distance (short when excluding the walk-in), but I prefer a little more technical punch to my hikes.
360 degree views from the top
Clearing skies as I descend
Glaciar Vinciguerro
Sunday, 29 December
Another day, more decision paralysis. Today, there were three main possibilities, a 35km loop through Paso de la Oveja, Glaciar Vinciguerro, or Cerro Guanaco in the National Park. Cerro Guanaco had been a high priority during planning, but it required a bus and dealing with the new national park entrance fee. It was therefore rejected. Ultimately, I decided to do Glaciar Vinciguerro due to the variety it promised, and I could spontaneously add Paso de la Oveja due to sharing a trailhead.
Quite an idyllic start to the hike (after 9km on the road)
After another long walk through town, I started the hike through a valley filled with bright yellow flowers and semi-wild (?) horses. It was then a smooth and uneventful climb to the glaciar.
Glaciar Vinciguerro
I had scouted as best I could on Streetview, and it had looked like I’d have potential routes up or around the glacier. I opted to ascend the western ridge from the moraine. It was a very straightforward climb but yielded exceptional views to the west – I was even able to spot the heavily glaciated peaks of Cordillera Darwin Icefield!
I knew that if I could top the unnamed summit of the glacier, I’d have incredible views to the north. Unfortunately, I reached a crux too far about 100 vertical metres from the top. The final crux consisted of a face that I was not optimistic of undertaking with the setup I had. Going up would have been risky, but potentially doable. I would have definitely wanted to abseil the descent though, and I did not have the necessary equipment or a partner. Turning around was definitely the right decision, but that does only so much to mitigate the disappointment. Views from the top of the glacier into the next valley would have been incredible. Perhapse I should have attempted the eastern arm or the direct route up the glaciar.
On the descent, I considered whether I should continue up the valley to Paso de la Oveja. Having seen the views from the ridge, I figured that I’d seen everything of real interest. Looking back, I do slightly regret not closing the loop.
The scramble was worth the effort. Shame about the crux too far.
Soon after returning to the road, I encountered another batch of overly aggressive dogs – this time four of them. As I approached, they were very enthusiastically attempting to attack a moving vehicle. Seeing this scene, I knew I was in for another dangerous encounter. I maintained as much distance as able and kept my iceaxe between me and the beasts. Fortunately, while they acted with considerable aggression, this time they stopped short of actually chasing or attacking. I passed several more dogs before returning to the main road, but these encounters all passed without incident.
The final full day in Ushuaia was forecasted to consist of heavy rain. This didn’t quite materialize, but it would have been a pretty drab day in hills regardless. Instead, it was an excuse to have a lazy recovery day whilst getting everything in order to hit the ground running in Los Glaciares.
Onward Journey
Tuesday, 31 December
The next stop was Los Glaciares National Park to chase the Patagonia logo.
Story Continues with Pt.2
Afterwards
Ushuaia was a nice stop. Ultimately, it was more of an addition to the main attraction of the trip: Los Glaciares National Park.
I did a respectable job of covering things accessible from Ushuaia, but there is always more to accomplish. I skipped two key Ushuaia attractions: a Beagle Channel cruise to visit the penguins and hiking Cerro Guanaco in Tierra del Fuego National Park. In both cases, I think I made the right decision. The channel cruise would have been an expensive on-rails tourist experience, coming at the cost of one of the hikes. Cerro Guanaco was largely a casualty of Argentina’s disgusting new national park fee structure. Even when using an old student card, it would have ended up being quite an expensive day out. There were plenty of good hiking options that were free.
- Taking the time to walk to trailheads can be very rewarding, offering a different perspective on the surroundings that otherwise would have been missed. It can take a considerable amount of time though, and therefore make even short hikes a real investment.
- All the best hiking/scrambling options in Tierra del Fuego were just out of reach by foot
- I do not understand Argentina’s trail marking. They use hand-drawn trail maps that don’t offer enough information. If you need the map, they are not particularly useful. If you do not need the map, they are superfluous. Even more baffling is the fact that trail signs are placed more than a kilometre into the trail. Normally I’m perfectly happy to find my own routes, but that is a little tricky through dense foliage in an unfamiliar region
- I was very glad to have my iceaxe along: dogs are a massive problem in Ushuaia
- Puerto Williams, across the channel in Chile would have been a nice pairing for Ushuaia. Circuito de los Dientes would likely have been an interesting multi-day loop with little to no one else around. I wanted to prioritise Los Glaciares and the Huemel Circuit though.
- Everyone should be able to access the wilderness. Entrance fees on national parks is repulsive, particularly when nothing is done to justify the charge and discriminatory (foreign only).
Footnote
All photos are exclusive property and may not be copied, downloaded, reproduced, manipulated or used in any way without permission of the photographer.
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