Climbing information, history San Valentin, Patagonia Argentina

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San Valentin
Patagonia - The Northern Ice and Surrounding Hills
This region of the Patagonia is situated entirely in the territory of Chile. It is located between the tranquil rivers Bayo and Explorers to the north, Lake Buenos Aires and the course of the Baker river to the east and south and the Pacific Ocean between Lake San Rafael, the Isthmus of Ofqui and the Baker river Delta to the west. The recent construction of the southern highway (Carratera Austral) between Coyhaique, Cochrane and Port Yungan has improved the access from the continent. As well there exists a maritime link between Port Aisen and Lake San Rafael.
The Patagonian Ice North
The geographical name is North Patagonia Ice and is designated a NPI. The valley between the mountains of the Baker river separate the South Patagonia Ice, which is larger and relatively more visited. These two grand ice fields are the remains of the last glaciers that millions of years ago excavated the area of todays fjords and had molded the valley to open towards the continent. The disturbances that brought the Pacific ocean insured the necessary precipitation for the survival of the ice, while the Argentina side remains dry due to the moisture remaining in the ice. The North Ice has a length of nearly 100 kilometers and its surface is calculated at an area of 4400 km squared. It is estimated that the ice is around 1500 meters thick. The average height is near 1500 meters with the eastern side reaching in excess of 3000 meters. On each side important and large strands of ice are spilled, often broken splitting and breaking. In its extreme north, the North Ice culminates with the majestic summit of San Valentin, which is the highest mountain of Patagonia. Old maps mention San Clemente, which even today its height remains uncertain. Even if it does not reach the 4058 meters that in the time was assigned and with the 3910 meters that is last attributed to it in official maps, it still retains a grand stature. Another priority of the Northern Ice at a world level is the Glacier San Rafael with strands of ice that are thrown into the ocean to the location at less that 47 degrees latitude south. There has been verifiable evidence that this vast assembly of glaciers has a backward movement and that in general there is a decrease in the masses of ice in the southern hemisphere. According to the investigation of the Glaciologists, as of 1986 the backward movement has been accelerated, more on the Western side than the Eastern(curiously in the Southern Ice the opposite occurs and the biggest retraction is observed on the Eastern side).

Climatology : This anomaly of the glaciers at almost 45 degrees latitude corresponds in the northern hemisphere in Europe to the Swiss is an index of the individual climatic situation. In the South the 46 degree latitude is considered a climate change point, because there the rainy season is the opposite. In the south there is more precipitation in the summer than in the winter. The North Ice is totally in the transition zone. At Laguna San Rafael the intensity and quantity of precipitation increases the altitude of the ice, in the interior of the North Ice the precipitation may reach 10 meters per year. The influence of the ocean limits the fluctuations in temperature but the precipitation is distributed somewhat uniformly, because the regions permanence during the entire year is under the influence of weather, currents and atmospheric conditions that come from the west. Relatively often during the days of summer the sky is covered towards the Pacific and cloudy towards the East.
Discovery - The Alpinists Arrive
From the Pacific Ocean during the dangerous voyages to the large fjords and canales there were sights of spectacular mountains and much emotion but also much geographical interest and of course mountaineering. Overall there were few that had the forces and skill to explore the difficult regions that were within sight of the sailors. However in 1940 the mountaineers were already looking to conquest the summit of San Valentin, though the maps still registered the land as "unexplored region of snow and blizzard" printed upon the great extension of the Northern Ice. The first cartographer that dared to present a specific map, not of the canales for navigation but the land interior was a Swiss explorer Hugo Nicolaus Pallin (1880 - 1935), a specialist in the polar regions, leader of the expeditions to Spitzbergen and to Greenland that united a passion for the mountains with geography and mapmaking. "To see grow under my hands the map of the new mountainous territory has always brought me true satisfaction," he wrote in relation to the trip to Patagoinia that was completed in 1920 - 1921 with the expedition cartographer Otto Nordenskjold (1869 - 1928). The investigators only brought a simple sign because in 1920 they did not know what effect the exploration would have. Still the geographers had designed its reality. They had individually brought the thought that there was more beyond the great incision of the Baker river and that vast fields of ice existed farther south. Therefore Nordenskjold and his men were not the only ones interested by the problems of that time 1920 -1921. As for the conquest of the poles, their expedition went with the ambition of the being the first ones with scientific and geographical observations as their goal.

There were already publications of the scientific community, so the history of the knowledge and of its conquests around San Valentin and the Northern Ice is full of competition, primarily among Otto Nordenskjold and Federico Reichert then still more competitive among Reichert and Arnold Heim, three personalities that united scientific investigation with the strong passion for the mountains, above all Rechert and Heim. Returning to 1920. To attempt to reach the Northern Ice, Nordenskjold would have elected to come by ocean and climb the Glaciar Tadeo (San Quitin). But it was possible to arrive directly over the glacier. The expedition fixed camp en Kelly Bay. Banks of mud made the navigation difficult for Nordenskjold and looking back, reaching the Glaciar Tadeo would require 12 days and 3 intermediate camps to finally cover the distance that in a direct line is only 5 kilometers. But finally one day compensated for all the hardship, they summitted a small hill of two peaks (named for Stortoppen ) and they were amazed by the view. At a distance they estimated to be 60 km they recognized the majestic summit that formed the cathedral of San Valentin. The topographer Pallin took the altitude of 3976 meters. They recognized then the immenseness of the Northern Ice existed. In that same Januare of 1921 in Puerto Montt was also Federico Reichert (188 - 1953) with the intention of confirming the presence of the Northern Ice and to find the access to climb San Valentin. He was a chemist, naturalist as well as an acclaimed mountaineer. Reichert said the following of how to access the northern border of the Glacier San Rafael. "The rain was uninterrupted and often acquired the characteristics of heavy showers" He wrote that this did not impede them. After establishing 4 camps with Antonia Lian Lian of Chile that transported much of the equipment they emerged the top of the glacier called Nunatak. Fordenskjold was known for this achievement, but later Reichert would compete for the discovery of the best access to the field of ice and would be of similar priority.
New Tentative
"I do not know about this land, nor that of the Himalaya, a region of glaciers that is more beautiful or whipped by storms than these mountains of southern Patagonia." Arnold Heim". The father of Arnold Heim was the famous Swiss geologist Albert Hewim and what would he have thought. The result of Father De Agostini dedicated the important hill in the Patagonia with its 2450 meters, fell over the arm of Spegazzini of the Lake Argentina. Being from the city of a neutral country he was able as well to travel during the second world war and in the summer of 1939 - 1940 he found the valley of the Lion river with the intention to climb San Valentin. His companions for the expedition were Hermann Hess Swiss skiing champion, and Wilhelm Schmitt, both residents in Osorno, and his the loyal collaborator Vargas of Chile.

With the "Andes" to conduct the breakdown of the Lion River (indicated still in the map of 1902 a the River of the Deltas) and to reach the birth of the river at Lake Lion. But the conquests of the mountaineer continued to be limited by the difficult weather. The only ones that reached the summit of Cerro Cachu (2.600 meters calculated) were Hess and Schmitt on January 16, 1940. Of any it is the first time that any andinista successfully set foot on the icy glaciers of the east. But there also existed one person Federico Reichert who had the idea to ascend the Noarthern Ice from Ofqui. As well this expedition did not have the fortune of reaching the summit of San Valentin. While Hess had been held from the San Valentin , Heim promised to return , he wanted to return on foot for another expedition in the summer of 1942. They left Ofqui and traveled on skies to the glacier San Rafael, and after constructing an small refuge between the San Valentin and the Cuerno de Plata within 3000 meters, he resigned to the continued weather and possibly problems between some of the explorers. Arnold Heim, after so much had found work as a geologist in Argentina and after 2 years had agreed with Hess for the New Tentative. In 1945 he contacted the CAB (Club Andino of Bariloche) and organized an expedition with three of his associates: a Swiss shoemaker Josef Studer, and Austrian architect Hewriberto Schmoll and Augusto Vallmitjana, a recent immigrant from Barcelona. From Osorno they found the autobiography of Reichert " in the summit of the mountains and of the life", still in the book "Southamerica" of Heim. This book published in Switzerland in 1953 with a beautiful photograph was able to stimulate the fantasy of the European alpinists in the German language but passed almost unnoticed. In those years the attention of the international climbing world focused towards the 8000 meter peaks of Asia and justly in 1953 the summit of Everest the tallest mountain in the world.
The Final Patagonian Symphony
Saint-Loup is the pseudonym of a writer and alpinist hired in 1947 as the technical consultant to the Argentine mountain armies. With the understanding of an expert he recognized the diverse problems of the Andes and compared it with the Himalaya. He defines San Valentin as "a small Nanga Parbat located in Antartica" The technical problems of ascending include the combination of the crossing of the Norther Ice by kayaks and sleds. In his book "Monts Pacifique" in 1951 he refers to the problems of winter and the velocity necessary to beat the instable conditions. In 1952 the French would conquer with Terray and Magnone the difficult summit of the Fitz Roy.

In the world of international exploration there was a great interest in the Fifties. And in a time focusing on majestic , distant mountains with high difficulty the first ascension of the San Valentin is placed in the context of the greatest accomplishments. It assumes its own specific value, considering the lack of recognition of mountaineers who reside in Latin America and also the difficulty of the equipment and by the shortage of available financiers in the area. In December 2, 1952 an expedition of friends from the CAB came to Puerto Aisen. The San Velentin has an altitude of around 4000 meters but the start is at ocean level. After 9 km and an altitude of 420 meters they reached the first camp. After another 5 km over isolated rock (Numatak) to 850 meters where in 1942 Hess remained for a large period and established camp 2. There are still remains of the refuge constructed by Hess though the roof has fallen. Then from a hill at 1100 meters you can ski to camp 3. Then another small island of rocks provides accommodation of camp 4 where the only item was a small tent acquired in France.
Then to the depression near 3000 meters where Hess reached in 1942. Camp 5 is at 3400 meters on December 18 1952 they left in three groups: Dinko Bertoncelj, Birger Lantschner and Tonchek Pangerc followed in line southwest; Gregorio Ezquerra and Carlos Sonntag followed directly by Otto Meiling and Juan J. Neumayer who began in the southwest and crossed to the right and ended by the south east. At 3800 meters traveling horizontally through 200 meters until the south eat where they reunited with the others.
The Altimeter read 4060 meters. The victory is one of the most beautiful classics of Latin-American mountaineering, still an example of the collaboration to reach the common goals of the alpinists.