Mountaineering in Tierra del Fuego Sailing the Beagle Channel 14-15 Jan 2013   All content copyright © Ashley Burke 2013. Not to be copied, duplicated or used for any purpose without permission.

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Map of our route up and down the Beagle Channnel

At latitude 55 degrees south, the Beagle Channel is a sea channel between the southernmost islands of South America. On the northern side of the channel lies Tierra del Fuego. On the southern side lie the Isla Navarino, Isla Hoste, and Isla Gordon. Our expedition in January 2013 was to explore the mountains of the Darwin Range of Chilean Tierra del Fuego. To access this isolated mountain range we sailed up the Beagle Channel in a yacht Iorana. However our route up the channel was far from direct, due to the logistics of crossing international borders in this area. Our starting point was the Argentine town of Ushuaia, which we flew into from Buenos Aires and our connecting international flights. In Ushuaia we met Marcel, the owner and captain of the yacht Iorana, and from there we sailed east through the Beagle Channel to Puerto Williams, a Chilean naval base on Isla Navarino. There we completed the immigration formalities for entering Chile. Then, with our boat now flagged as a Chilean vessel, we sailed westwards up the Beagle Channel, passing to the south of Ushuaia, and onwards into Chilean waters and finally to our destination, the tiny sheltered harbour of Caleta Olla. This little cove, wild and uninhabited, was our anchorage while we ventured inland to climb in the Darwin Range.

Photos

	Our yacht, Iorana, at port in Ushuaia harbour.
	Loading our gear onto the boat in Ushuaia.
	Our boat, Iorana.
	Ushuia harbour. Setting sail for Puerto Williams, Marcel at the helm of our boat, Iorana.
	Ushuaia Harbour.
	Inside the boat. There is a kitchenette, dining table and bunks.
	Ushuaia.
	Looking astern to Ushuaia, setting sail for Puerto Williams.
	Sailing east on the Beagle Channel gave us a tailwind so it was worth raising the jib.
	Looking west up the Beagle channel, wild windswept water.
	The sanctuary of Puerto Williams harbour. Our boat moored up alongside these boats, at Micalvi Yacht Club.
	The main street of Puerto Williams and the only stretched of paved road on the entire island.
	Puerto Williams in the late evening, as we set off, heading westwards towards Caleta Olla.
	Heading out on the Beagle Channel again in the evening of 14 Jan. It is calmer now, the wind has dropped a little.
	The mountains of Isla Hoste lie ahead as the sun goes down.
	Next morning, as we approach Caleta Olla, we find massive glaciers tumbling out of a cloud shrouded ice plateau, and the glacier almost meets the sea.
	At anchor in the idyllic sheltered harbour of Caletta Olla.
	We put to shore in a little dinghy.
	We put to shore in a little dinghy.
	The boat remains at anchor here for the next 11 days while we explore the mountains inland. Go to the mountaineering section

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All content copyright © Ashley Burke 2013. Not to be copied, duplicated or used for any purpose without permission. Page created 18 Mar 2013, last updated 18 Mar 2013.

Home Page Tierra del Fuego 2013 Page Trekking Page Mountaineering Page Email Me