March 20

Haven't written in awhile. We have been so busy lately but we had an awesome four days next to the glacier. We hiked up a steep ridge and camped on a harsh, lunar landscape with spectacular views of peaks in every direction. We woke up to a storm the first morning but the weather cleared up by the afternoon and we fit in a glaciology class and a snow protection/anchor class. The next day we ice climbed which was so fun. We also learned how to build ice protections and anchors. The third day we were blessed with a blue bird day so we decided to push for peak ascents. Eight of us attempted the summit of a beautiful, glacier-covered peak. After a longer-than-expected traverse in, we got about halfway up and called it quits due to steep and sketchy terrain (rotten rock) and incoming weather. Although I was frustrated in the moment, it was a great lesson. Not making it to the summit is a part of the game of mountaineering and it was a solid reminder of why I climb mountains. The summit does not necessarily have to be the final goal and it is important to remember that the summit is only half the trek. Making back to base camp is the true goal of mountaineering. We had an epic hike back to camp. We took a different route and traversed across the glacier the whole way back. We were following Javier as he probed for snow bridges and hidden crevaces. Made it back to camp around 5 pm and made dinner with Matt.
The other half of our group made a sweet summit of a more scraggly peak on the opposite side of the glacier from where we were. They summited around 7 pm (after a technical rock climb as the last pitch) and we watched them walk home after the sunset, guided only by their headlamps. The sky had the most stars I've ever seen. Mars was bright orange on the horizon and Venus was sitting majestically above Cerro Barrancas.
The next day we had a long hike down to the valley and got into camp around 7 pm.
I'm starting to feel the length of this course, physically and mentally. Really ready to head home but trying to enjoy my last couple of weeks here. I have fallen in love with Patagonia: her wildness and energy are like no other place in the world. We joke that Patagonia is our 6th instructor. At the end of the day, she has taught us the most.
I'm falling asleep tonight to the soft whispers of rain on our tent. Life is good and beautiful.