Mount Fitz Roy

Stone needles, a mountaineer’s challenge

Its peaks like stone needles distinguish it in any picture or postcard with mountains.

Precisely because of its fanciful shape, more than a few mountain climbers get to the base each year with the objective of reaching the summit. The tehuelche Indians called it “Chaltén”, which means “smoking mountain”, because the peak is usually covered by clouds, giving the impression of an active volcano. Today, this challenge for mountaineers and tourists is called Fitz Roy.

The mount forms part, as well as the Perito Moreno Glacier, of the Glaciers National Park. To get to this mountain, you must go to El Chaltén, a town located at its foot and a few kilometers from the Chilean border. El Chaltén is the youngest town in Argentina, and it was created to reassert the country’s sovereignty over the continental ices of the area.

Myths, legends and history of the area

There are not many aboriginal traces in the area of El Chaltén, northwest from Lake Viedma. But according to the myth, as the young Elal (main character in tehuelche mythology) was running away from his father’s anger, he got to the summit of some hill, riding a swan. Then, the descent of the hill took him four days.

On his way, he was attacked by Shie and Kokesne, spirits of the snow and cold, and he repelled them with the fire created when hitting the flint. He overcame with inventiveness every difficulty he encountered, until he got to the foot of the mountain. There, he was found by a group of hospitable tehuelches, and he stayed with them until he was a grown-up.

As a show of gratitude, he taught them the use of the bow and arrow, and how to light a fire. Since then, that beautiful hill was called Chaltén or “mountain that smokes”, because of the effect produced by the winds when pushing the clouds. It was a sacred mountain for the tehuelches. Today, it is the main symbol of Santa Cruz Province’s shield.

In 1877, the perito ( a sort of surveyor or expert) Francisco Moreno, in an exploring expedition around lakes Argentino, Viedma, del Desierto and San Martín, saw a mount, the Chaltén. After recognizing it, he called it Fitz Roy to honor the eminent explorer of the Magellanic coasts.

Towards the end of XIX century, there was another expedition in the area, also led by Perito Moreno, which intended to establish the border lines with Chile. This group consisted of Nordic and German people, used to harsh weathers like the one of this spot at the end of the world. They were pioneers in the area, and founded the first farms around Lake Viedma.
Later, there were other expeditions to Chaltén. One of them, led by Salesian Alberto de Agosti, got to the Patagonic Ice.

In 1937, the Glaciers National Park was created, which included Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy (northern border of the park). After each corner of this land had been explored, a new challenge arouse: the conquest of these two mountains. They were imposing and it would not be easy to climb them. After some failed attempts, two French mountain climbers, Lionnel Terray and Guido Magnone, reached the summit of the Fitz Roy in 1952. In 1970, the Italian Maestri overcame the rocky difficulties of Cerro Torre.

See Also
El Calafate		Glacier Perito Moreno
Lake Argentino		The legend of the calafate
Mount Fitz Roy		Trekking over the ice