Cerro Torre being engulfed by cold air from the southern ice field. 
A leaf has melted it's own little hole in the surface of the glacier.
Looking back down the glacier the trekkers look like little ants.
Looking up towards Cordon Adela.
Semi transparent ice pinnicles.
Cerro Torre as seen from Glacier Grande, our classroom for a two day ice climbing course.
Making our way across the glacier.
Sarah's first undisputed ascent.
A view of Torre from a crevasse.
An icy silhouette.
Sarah, Torre, Egger & Standhardt.
The serac avalanche of Glacier Grande providing a beautiful backdrop.
Richard.
Sarah.
Cerro Torre (3102m), Egger and Standhardt above Glacier Grande.The route was long considered the hardest mountain climb in the world.
For a more detailed history of Cerro Torre check out this link www.americanalpineclub.org
Crossing the Rio Fitz Roy on a Tyrolean traverse.
The ice mushroom on the summit of Cerro Torre which has been at the centre of much debate is 60m high.
Fitz Roy was the captain of the Beagle which in 1828 was ordered by the Admiralty to sail to South America to chart the shape of the land. The vessel was the Beagle. The captain was the brilliant 23 year old Robert Fitz Roy. South America is an astonishing complex of islands, inlets, and peninsulars. Fitz Roy charted these with the instruments available to him at the time. He was brilliantly accurate and only very recent arial photography has improved his mapping a little. As was traditional, places were named after the crew of the vessel doing the charts. The Beagle was also supposed to collect specimans and a young trainee cleric called Charles Darwin was selected. It was the observations on this voyage which led to his theories on the evolution of species. At first Fitz Roy and Darwin were friends but Fitz Roy had a deep and rigid faith and he increasingly saw Darwin challenging traditional views of God, even forming a view in which a god had no place. Their friendship became strained but they remained in courteous contact for the rest of the lives. Fitz Roy was sympathetic to the natives of the area but made the mistake (as we would now recognise it ) of taking three Fuegan natives back to England where two of them died. Fitz Roy believed he could predict the weather, particularly storms. He noted that low pressure preceded storms. He thought that storm winds move in a circular way. In both of these he was correct but his ideas were mocked at the time. When he was retired from active service he spent much of his own money setting up a' weather office' He used the new telegraph to receive messages from weather 'stations' and note the progress of winds and storms. Many ordinary sailors appreciated his work but the Admioralty ignored him. His own money was gone. His friend Darwin was gaining influence in ideas about our origins and the absence of a god. One morning Fitz Roy, a very capable man but with a flaw in him, cut his own throat with a razor. Fitz Roy was right however. If you listen to the shipping forecast today you will hear a weather area called Fitz Roy named in his honour.
The Beagle was eventually retired from active service. It ended up as an anti smuggling ship in the River Crouch, ten miles north of Southend. It's remains have been found at Paglesham Creek, a short journey from Southend.
Poincenot, Fitz Roy and the Beagle!
The glacier above Lago Sucia.
The clouds streams showing a southerly wind above the ice field, indicating a spell of dry weather.
The sun dipping above Fitz Roy.
Mount Fitz Roy and Poincenot as seen from road to the east.
Sarah looking forward to a glass of Argentinian wine and a hot shower.
The much drier mountains of Argentinian Patagonia.
El Chalten, the main street. The town was built in a hurry following the land dispute with Chile. A bank and paved roads are to follow. The micro brewery was the first priority and rightly so.
With the Southern Ice Field to the west and the Patagonian desert to the east, the high winds create some unique cloud formations over the town.
A spider with it's young crossing the pass to Argentina.
The bridge was out and the water was very cold.
20km of difficult horse tracks connect Chile and Argentina over the Paso de Tres Lagos.
The usual method of transport (pack horses) has left deeply rutted paths. Our front 'low rider' panniers had to be carried on the rear rack. 
Small streams and many fallen trees slowed progress.
All that said, Richard thought some bits were fun.
Arriving at Lago Desierto, this was our first view of Mount Fitz Roy.
The bikes strapped to the back of the small boat for the half hour crossing of Lago Desierto.
The last 7km of road on the Chilean mainland.
Waiting for our boat to Argentina.
A brown trout for dinner, fresh from Lago O'Higgins.
The bikes on the deck of the boat on a stormy Lago O'Higgins.
Having dropped us off at Rio Bravo the ferry returns to Puerto Yungay 45mins away.
Richard and his bike going for a long awaited wash.
The road to Villa O'Higgins was lined with lots of waterfalls draining the snow covered peaks and glaciers high above.
After 1003km, the end of the Carretera Austral.
Two churches side by side, competing for business in the tiny pueblito of Villa O'Higgins.
The 'Hollywood' style sign on top of a small hill looking over the small town of Cochrane. 
The confluence of the Rio Baker and the Rio Chacabuco.
On the dusty road near Portazuelo El Manzano.
The Rio Baker tumbling over the Salta del Nef.
A beautiful spot for lunch...
...and a spot of fishing. 
We were hoping for a salmon so we threw this one back.
Testing the water at Lago Bertrand. It was cold.
Another great camping spot courtesy of Orlando who also owned Lago Leones which we flew over the previous day, lucky man.
