patagonia

CROSSING THE NORTHERN PATAGONIAN ICECAP

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Holy Grail

Is this the ‘Holy Grail’ for adventurous explorers? We like to think so! Few places have a more dramatic nature. No trip has such a huge variety of challenges.

A bit harder than Greenland so you need to be well prepared; you will experience Chilean summer, a great drive through the Andes, a lake crossing, a night in a farm, riding horses up the valley, a big carry up onto the glacier, crossing with sleds, fighting a wild icefall descending, and then down through the rainforest to the fjords!

Can you let this one pass?

 
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Date 14.10.22
Price 94.000NOK
Deposit 18.000 kr

• The trip is set for same time every year.
• Prices may rice 3-5% every year.
• Expect 1 leader and 6 partisspants pr team
• Duration: Approx. 22 days

Expedition details

This is one of the most beautiful trips I have been on. I did my first expedition to Patagonia in 2003, when Thomas Ulrich and I crossed the Southern Patagonia icecap, (You can read about this trip in National Geographic Magazine, August 2004), and I have since been spellbound by the dramatic and strong nature of this little visited corner of earth.

In 2009 Bengt Rotmo and I also crossed the Northern icecap, which is an equally stunning experience. Mountains, ice and lush green forest. Mix that with horse riding, a sea journey and warm welcoming people; then you have included all the elements of Patagonia in one trip.‘

Børge Ousland

Patagonia has been one of the true ‘Holy Grails’ of travellers and explorers since Magellan gave the area it’s name. Funnily enough it came about due to the locals he met there called ‘patagón’ as they stood out as giants (they were probably some 180cm – but the Spanish at the time averaged 155cm…).

For us, eying the Patagonian Ice Sheet, the name makes a lot of sense. This is the largest mass of ice outside the Polar regions, and it is both spectacular and a daunting challenge. Our focus is on the Northern Ice Field with it’s 4.200 km2, an elevation of 1.100 – 1.700 metres and with as many as 28 icefalls!

Price/date/booking

Start sometime around mid-October. 2021 is canceled due to covid-19

2022 - open for booking!

Contact us for more details or if you have any questions, or complete the booking if you know which year you can go.

The price:  94.000,- NOK for 2022. Not confirmed for 2023 yet, but not too far from this.

The price includes:logistics, permits, SAR insurance, food and accommodation from the time you leave Coyhaique until our return to this town. Also included is general camp equipment such as tents, stoves etc but also ropes, sledges and supplies, sat phone and an emergency beacon.

Not included:personal clothing, personal climbing equipment (such as crampons, boots, carabiners, ice-screws, ice-axes etc) backpacks, sleeping bags, insulation pads, waterproof bags and medical insurance. Airfare to and from Coihaique and your stay in Coihaique and anywhere else in Chile  before and after the crossing.

The Deposit:We will send you a Deposit Invoice of 18.000 NOK at the time of booking. The system works as follows: Your Booking Form will give you a place in the queue. But it is not binding in any way. It only gets serious as you receive a Deposit Invoice. This is not refundable according to our Travel Conditions. But this means you are in and the trip is on!