Tag Archives: Estancia Cristina

Upsala Glacier

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After the track petered out and the 4×4 vehicle could go no further, we walked about half a kilometer over desolate Andean glacial moraine to reach a stunning viewpoint over the Upsala glacier.

In the picture above, you can see one of Upsala glacier’s three branches sitting above the lake, while in the foreground the glacial moraine is visible. Below, one of two tributary glaciers feeds into the second branch of Upsala glacier.

Upsala is one of the many glaciers that is shrinking. This one is shrinking rather dramatically–at about six meters *per day*. In the above two photos the high-level mark of Upsala glacier on the rock mountains is dramatically evident.

Estancia Cristina

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Because of the icebergs, we could not approach Upsala glacier from the lake, and so we booked a trip to Estancia Cristina on the far side of the lake and from there took a four-wheel drive vehicle to an overlook site. Estancia Cristina was once a sheep ranch of over 50,000 acres, with over 27,000 head of sheep. Everything had to be brought into the estancia by boat, and prices for wool made these costs prohibitive. Eventually the estancia  with its magnificent scenery was taken over as part of Los Glaciares National Park.

The 4×4 vehicle bumped and jostled over some of the most magnificent countryside Dan and I have ever seen.

We also saw some of the wild horses that roam the estancia–escapees of several generations ago that are now completely feral. And lovely. (Horses now used on the ranch are geldings, so no chance of new blood in the herd.)

In the next post I’ll discuss and show what we all came here to see: the Upsala glacier.


Beautiful ice, part 2 – December 25, 2010

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I wanted to go see Upsala Glacier by boat, along with some of the other glaciers that are part of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field. Unfortunately, a large part of the glacier’s front broke off several years ago, and the channel is now blocked with icebergs. And so the boat traveled to view, not the glacier (that comes in a later post, my friends) but the icebergs. Can you say, “Titanic?”

It turns out that icebergs are just as beautiful and perhaps even more surreal than glaciers.

At first, we saw just a few icebergs here and there in the lake, like ships on their own courses.

But as we headed up the channel, we got much closer to them. And they were bigger.

And yes, in case you’re wondering. They really do look blue. Depending on the light, sometimes glistening white but at other times, in the shadows, a blue so intense it hurts to look at and yet is impossible to look away from.

Soon the glaciers filled the channel.

Each, more beautiful than the next.

The landscapes and seascapes of this excursion were particularly magnificent. Next, I’ll post some seascapes (with mountains), and then we’ll move to the views on land.