Villa Paulina Things to Do
by Glospi Updated Apr 23, 2004
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One of the main drives for visitors to Yerba Loca, is the glacier of La Paloma («the dove»), at the end of the canyon, 3 kilometres from the base camp at Casa de Piedra.
Be either climb it, hike to its base, or just watch its emerald-blue ice from a distance, it’s a rewarding experience and a glorious sight, as many people who goes there can’t believe that such a glacier might be so close to a big city as Santiago, which is not so southerly located to (supposedly) have huge masses of ice nearby. But it has.
La Paloma is a hanging glacier -this is, with falling ice and seracs, without an exposed forward moraine- just like those one may see in the far south or in San Rafael lagoon.
Its base is at about 3400 meters/11,150 ft. and the top is at an approximate altitude of 4100 meters/13,450 ft.
Climbing it requires of technical and safety moutaineering equipment (to different extents, depending on the chosen route), but approaching to the base across the valley is easy: as you enter the valley, there’s a trail that follows the contour of the right hillside, leading directly to the glecier’s base.
In summer, it can take about 30-45 minutes to get to the base, or 1 hour in snowy winters.
Taken with a Mamiya C220 6×6 format camera, 80 mm. lens, f.11, 1/30 sec. POL filter, Fujichrome Velvia 50 Professional slide film
