Patagonian Mountaineering School

Yomps

Scale glaciers, trek across Hielo Norte, packraft across beautifully clear lakes, plan your own expedition, master climbing skills, learn first aid, rescuing techniques, mountain gourmet cooking, igloo building, and how to survive in the Patagonian wilderness and become a fully fledged ‘Leave No Trace Practitioner’!

Patagonia’s vast plains, alpine meadows, virgin peaks, and crystal clear lakes will be your home for six whole weeks as you embark on this voyage of excitement and adventure. This area of Chile is an amazing place to visit with stunning scenery and an amazing variety of wildlife (including puma, guanaco, and carrion hawk). To make this Yomps adventure more authentic, challenging, and ultimately rewarding, we will begin by learning all the skills we need to survive in this undiscovered wonderland. Starting at the Northern Ice Cap of Patagonia in Southern Chile in the remote Campo Hielo Norte, we will spend a fortnight exploring and learning the basics of climbing and rescue techniques, first aid, cooking, and even igloo construction! We will plan and ration an ascent on an unnamed peak, which will be the culmination of our two weeks of training. This allows us to assert our skills as mountaineers, and witness the incredible view of the Exploradores Glacier from 2000m. Once we have mastered the mountaineering basics, we will hone our skills across the wild and challenging terrain of a snow covered glacier during a three day expedition. Descending into a valley will then allow us to learn the art of ‘packrafting’ on six beautiful multi-coloured lakes, before making our way through the icebergs of the Leones Lake to the Northern Ice Cap. Our last couple of adventurous weeks will be planned and led by you the students! While instructors will always be at hand for support and guidance, you will each be ‘leader for the day’, helping to plan the route, master your climbing skills, and lead the expedition across blankets of snow and glaciers. Your skills as seasoned mountaineers will be celebrated with a huge party, where you each will receive your ‘Wilderness First Aid’ and ‘Leave No Trace Practitioner’ qualifications, as well as some rather ‘unusual’ awards!