Scouting trip to Bader Valley, Torres del Paine.

As part of the experiences that I want to lead, is this upper Valley that is between the Cuernos and Almirante Nieto. Just visited by rock climbers and fewer trekkers that normally are people that work in the park  looking for places out of the boundaries that they normally hike every day. And is not easy to get there.

I organize the trip for 5 days, I just needed 3 but some extra food is such a mental bank deposit. I start walking around 14:30 from Hotel Las Torres and get to the Hut around 18:15. I take the old route that I knew from 2000 that was used by climbers of the German Alpine Club from Santiago (DAV), it’s more diagonal and not straight up like the “normal” route. That night I just recover, eat plenty and drink some spirits to fight the coldness.

Wake up early, mate and porridge to have a good start and start hiking up the valley, looking for the best access to the col of the Cuernos for good weather days and for not so good the hike to the lagoon of the Bader Valley, is a lovely hike thru some boulders but I have already develop a technique, that is to simple hop over the ones that are tv size.

I returned after mid-day, with satisfaction and thinking on what to do next, the idea is was to go to Oggioni but the weather didnt look promising. So I decided to go to Refugio Los Cuernos and enjoy the service of Fantastico Sur. At night I enjoyed a hot tub looking the shadows of Torres del Paine under the stars.

Next day, have a late breakfast keep up with the news of the park and then decided to see a friend and go climbing in the afternoon to Cueva del Puma, I have to wait him to stop working and then go climbing it was good even that I was really tired, it was fun and relaxing.  It was a great trip, focus my mind, make business contacts and the most important that I was in the mountains.

For more pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/srnunez/BaderValley