Tronodor: Border of Argentina and Chile

18.04.2006 - 22.04.2006

We gave our friends a couple days to rest, more or less, at the Hostel La Morada. Located most of the way up Cerro Otto, it has, arguably, the best view of any hotel near Bariloche.

After that it was on to Tronodor, or Thunder mountain, because of all of the avalanches that come crashing down. The mountain is located an hour or more down a one-way ripio road, near the border of Chile. You have to get the timing right because at certain times you can get in, but you can't leave, and vice versa. We stayed at the comfortable Hosteria Pampa Linda,which was good, since we didn't have good weather.

This was taken on the day we left

We befriended a Chilean maid, who seemed eager to talk about Chilean politics, especially the overthrow of Allende. She left the country disgusted with the excesses of Pinochet, but depending on when she left, which I frankly can't remember, things might not have been much better on this side of the border.

In the mist and rain, we walked up to the base of the mountain to look up at the many waterfalls fed by melting glaciers.

The next day, Allen and I took long hike up to the refugio, just at the snow line. It was good 8 or 9 hours there and back. We saw nothing for the duration, as Tronodor was socked in during the intermittent rain. It might have been snow at the summit, as we did hear the dull roar of distant avalanches. Had we prepared for it and brought sleeping bags, we could have spent the night and gotten clear skies late the next morning. The shots you see here were all taken then, from our Hosteleria.