There is no debate about climate change among those living closest to the glaciers. They see the affects everyday on a dominant part of their landscape - Gray Glacier, Glacier Petito Moreno, Viedma are all receding. The local people see it happening my day by day and are afraid. The glaciers are a part of their lives, an important source of income, a driver of the weather and a definite point of pride. When we were hiking and climbing on Gray, the guides spoke almost lovingly of the glacier and its place in their day-to-day lives. They asked if their glaciers were noticed or known or cared about in America. Did we understand what is happening here? Unfortunately, the honest answer was, for the most part, No. We talk about by the glaciers and their relentless shrinking in the abstract without much passion. The glaciers up close are anything but abstract. The glaciers are majestic, awe inspiring, dangerous and beautiful. They are a critical part of our ecosystem. To be up on one is to be in another world. The quiet is complete, the colors intense. One feels that one is in the presence of a raw, untamed part of our world. And that our fates are inextricably linked. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to experience them while they are still glorious.
Conditions on the ground can change on a moment's notice. At the outset of the trip, we began each day by asking our guides about the weather. They would just smile and shake their heads. Didn't we understand, there was no predicting the weather? Changeable weather is a cliche for many areas. In Patagonia, it is flat out true. What starts out as sunny will soon be sleeting and then back again. Temps can swing 20 degrees in the span of 20 minutes. Gale-force winds can come out of nowhere at any time and swirl in any direction taking your breath away and knocking you off your stride (a potentially dangerous scenario on the narrow cliffs of Torre Del Paine). Then just as quickly subside - or last for days. If you aren't prepared for any contingency, you are potentially at grave risk. By the end of the trip, we found ourselves scanning the skies frequently and on high alert for any shift of wind. Not a bad approach generally in today's complex world.
One of the basic things that unite all of us is a willingness to pursue even a perilous search for beauty in all its forms. On the trails, I met people from every region and all walks of life. Class, race, gender, ethnicity all melted away in our shared quests for base of the Three Towers or the look out on Mount Fitz Roy. We were exhausted, cold, some pushed beyond physical limits. We shared challenges and set backs and triumphs.
Until we truly push beyond our limits, we can never know the boundaries of our strength. Most of us stay within narrow limits. It is safe there. The risks are low and the outcomes predictable. We do not go to our limits because it is hard. Uncomfortable. Messy. Unpredictable. And we may not like what we see. But, in my experience, when people truly push until they almost break, they are surprised, even shocked, by what they can endure. Seeing how far, how fast, how much, how many - only serves to build confidence in our strength and abilities. It is liberating. The human spirit is truly indomitable. Our physical strength becomes a source of power, of pleasure as the world opens up and we begin to trust our ability to master any challenge.
Traveling the world is best experienced fully curious and open-hearted. It is important to be generous with your interest and appreciation and sparing with your judgment and criticism. You can learn something from everywhere you go and everyone you meet. Actively seeking out different perspectives makes it easier to question your everyday assumptions.
You cannot fully experience and understand the world from behind glass. While I appreciate the need to provide transportation to the world's beautiful sights as a way of ensuring access to those with truly no other possibility to reach them; in certain parts of Patagonia (thankfully not Torre Del Paine or the Parque De Los Glaciares where there is simply no way to access the sites but by sheer effort and sweat and blood), I saw many climate-controlled tour buses and ferries filled with tourists being transported to a glacier or look out point. And no doubt many of them could be out in the open air struggling with the terrain and weather with the rest of us but for a little training and work. This would significantly cut down on the number of tourist buses littering the landscape, exhaust fumes hitting the glaciers as well as ensure a more authentic experience for the people behind the glass.
