South America, Argentine-Chilean Patagonia, First Complete North-South Traverse of the Southern Patagonian Icecap

Publication Year: 1994.

First Complete North-South Traverse of the Southern Patagonian Icecap. Spaniards Antonio Trabado, José Luis Fernández and José Carlos Tamayo and Argentine Sebastián de la Cruz finally made the first complete north-south traverse of the Southern Patagonian Icecap. They were accompanied on the first part by Sebastian Alvaro and Antonio Pérez Grueso of Spanish Television. This pair left them by crossing to the east over the Paso del Viento, just south of Fitz Roy. They skied, pulling their loads on sleds. They set out from Fiordo Calén up the Glaciar Jorge Montt on February 28 and the four ended at the tongue of the Glaciar Tyndall on April 24, 54 days later, having covered some 400 kilometers. They moved on 22 days and either rested or were storm-bound on the other days. The only outside help they had was when they were west of the Seno Mayo of Lago Argentino, where the icecap is narrowest. There, they got help from a helicopter, which ferried them and their gear for seven kilometers across the very broken glacier.

Vojslav Arko, Club Andino Bariloche