Week 1: A wild ride into Patagonia

Finally made it down to Patagonia!

Some highlights of the week - 

• Hauling two 50lb duffel bags and a backpack around airports
• Sleeping 8 hrs over the course of 3 days of travel
• Seeing some of the most beautiful mountains in the world
• Spraining my ankle on the approach to climb Guillaumet :(
• Meeting inspiring people from all over the world
• Resting and climbing a bit in the local sport climbing/bouldering crags and the gym here

Some takeaways so far - 

• El Calafate is the place to buy groceries and exchange USD before coming to El Chalten
• Always wear big boots when carrying heavy loads up a mountain
• Rest is more important than climbing sometimes
• A positive mental attitude (stoke) is the best painkiller or honestly just good food
• Thankful that there are some amazing and caring people out here

Next week - 

Who knows what the weather will do down here, it's looking like there may be a good window to get out to the mountains next week. I hope my ankle heals up quickly so I can get out in climb or at least go out for a long trail run. Still need to find a solid climbing partner here, but worst case I get to do some world class backpacking and scrambling :)

Photos from the trip so far:

New friends made in Buenos Aires

Driving into El Chalten

Another great idea

Barely enough gear

Distracted by the mountains = sprained ankle

Not too bad

Bouldering next to town

Food makes everything better, thanks Nick

Mountains make everything better

Chris sending the gnar

Henny making things look easy