
| It's a good thing this isn't a "summit" post as we never actually made it to the top. Me, my wife, and our then 6 month old son (Nikolas) went - using the northern route - as far as the first Casa de Refugio (i.e., the one maintained by the military) with an amazing guide that we had contracted locally in San Martin de los Andes. It was an awesome, laid back trek through the base level forest, then through the volcanic rock field, then up the spine, and finally to the rest stop at 2,450 meters (where we lunched on smoked jabali, homemade chocolates, cheese, bread, and mate - a luxury). Our guide - a seasoned professional - tells us that Nick was his youngest client (even if he rode on my back for the better part of the trip). From that elevation we could see clear to the Argentine-Chilean border crossing, as well as several prominent Chilean peaks off to the NW. Slowed down by our less than optimal condition and surplus packing weight, it took us a good solid 5-6 hours to make the casa de refugio. We rested about an hour and then spent a good 2 hours on the descent. I would like nothing more than to go back, with the right gear and leaving my infant child behind, and go for the sumnmit. If the first leg was as good as what we experienced, the second must be even better! |