Panorama Photo

On February 06 I cycled into El Chaltén against a fierce headwind, such that the 70 km along the Lago Viedma took me ten hours of hard work.
The starting point of that day can be seen in
picasaweb.google.com/albertopedrotti/Patagonia#6108284511473704946
according to a technique that was taught to me by local cyclists.
At the arrival in Chaltén, rain added to headwind. Once at the mirador in front of the town
picasaweb.google.com/albertopedrotti/Patagonia#6108284585191140482
I wondered if I was more tired here, or when in 2010, alone at 7000 m on Pik Somoni, I dug a hole in the snow in order to pitch my tent in a storm, and the answer was that I was indeed more tired here...
A good meal was needed in order to regain energy, and I had dinner in an inn called Como Vaca (I eat cow) with a banker from Geneva, Switzerland, the conversation being about mountains and money, namely
1) Cerro Torre and Fitzroy that seemed not willing to show themselves that day;
2) the fact that, unlike the Swiss banker, I was not going around with my pockets full of dollar cash such that, while he was regularly changing at the black market, I was totally dependent on local ATMs, often unwilling to give money at all. As a result, I was paying the dinner nearly twice as the banker...
The next morning brought good news, there was some blue in the sky and I went to register for the long trekking tour known as Vuelta al Huemul. Since the park offices are on the path to the Pliegue Tumbato, I went on to the summit, which was my first priority in El Chaltén after long Betrachtung and study of 12516.
The result can be seen here, with the most spectacular feature being the big cloud that singles out the Cerro Solo, the "lonely mountain" which guards the Laguna Torre: www.panoramio.com/photo/127971794

12 HF, Canon G1X, 28 mm, f/8, 1/640 sec.
www.panoramio.com/photo/127873796