There’s a legend in my mom’s household that my grandmother, an Italian opera singer of some fame at first of the twentieth century, crossed the Andes on a mule. Really it’s a real story, she got here on tour to sing in Buenos Aires in 1917 and the opera firm traveled to Santiago by mule to sing in Chile. The journey they are saying took a month. We did it in six hours.
However that was solely the worst of the mountain drive, six hours to the highest and all the way down to a protected altitude to camp for the evening. Paso Agua Negra is simply open in summer time and it’s largely a vacationer attraction as vans and yr spherical visitors crosses on the extra fashionable Paso Libertador, a tunnel connecting Mendoza and Santiago, correctly paved and open yr spherical. Our route is marked in pink, the direct route is in yellow.
Why did we go the good distance spherical? What a superb, if apparent query I requested myself. Firstly the feedback in iOverlander are intimidating with mates of ours reporting essentially the most intense searches of incoming automobiles by Chilean customs. It’s just like the worst go to to a proctologist.
Secondly Paso Agua Negra has a repute for unbelievable magnificence in return for a little bit of laborious work. That no less than is true, the views had been spectacular.
I belief you perceive that our photographs taken as we went, don’t present the true grandeur of those mountain vistas above 13,000 ft.
If you happen to look rigorously right here you’ll see a file of bikes on the street taking the previous couple of hairpins above 15,000 ft to succeed in the summit forward of us.
Freeway 150 in Argentina is paved for the primary thirty miles up the mountain. After you take a look at on the customs publish initially of the street out of Las Flores…
…you’ve gotten 110 miles, half dust to get to the Chilean customs publish. They usually have posted a discover the place you hand in your passport, to remind you of the enterprise forward of you.
You get two slips of paper, one for Guardia Vieja (previous guard publish) 23 miles forward telling the guard you might be approved to cross. That is the place the street can be closed in a month when winter units in.
The second piece of paper you’ve gotten in to the Chilean Gendarmes to test you off the record and save search events popping out to search for you. We additionally requested permission to spend the evening en route so Chile wouldn’t count on us the identical day. All of it sounds a bit extreme doesn’t it? You is perhaps as shocked as we had been to see the difficulty individuals get into on this street they usually do have as soon as individuals from themselves every now and then.
You recognize by now, and thanks for the phrases of encouragement, that I really like pavement. This a part of the drive was good, not quick essentially however straightforward in our huge supply van.
Then we needed to cease to let air out of the tires. I air down about 50 p.c to make the trip in our 9400 pound Promaster a bit simpler on dust roads. Much less air additionally permits the tires to squash out enhancing traction however to stop them overheating you can’t drive quick. We averaged 15 mph on the dust in order that isn’t a difficulty. Our mileage additionally dropped from 16 to 9 miles per gallon of normal gasoline driving dust roads. The onboard pc advised me that- I haven’t a clue in any other case. My least favourite street signal:
Neither Freeway 150 in Argentina or Ruta 41 in Chile has gravel. They’re merely effectively graded dust roads carved out of the hillsides. Who thought these mountains had been a very good place to construct a cross I don’t know. It actually is sort of intimidating to solid your self off out right here within the wilderness on nothing greater than scraped dust.
We noticed Argentine street clearing automobiles parked. Working right here appears prefer it deserves hardship pay to me.
We didn’t need to cease an excessive amount of to verify we obtained excessive earlier than night fell. On the identical time we needed to soak up the sweetness. A couple of automobiles handed us each methods as we trundled alongside no sooner than twenty miles per hour and normally a lot lower than that.
We met our first flat tire coming from Chile. They had been grateful for the chilly water we gave them. I used to be barely involved they didn’t have their very own..
We had 30 gallons of water a full fridge however not a lot recent stuff as it will be confiscated on the Chilean border, and a full gasoline tank.
There was once a plan to open a street tunnel right here by 2027. Like all public works Argentina has determined to do nothing, not even take down the signal saying the brand new roadway.
There’s a vacationer street signal for the Cuyo Area although wanting barely absurd on the darkish aspect of the moon.
Thankfully for us the Argentine aspect of the street follows a tortuous path winding apparently at random via the hills and valleys and mountainsides.
Thankfully I say as a result of the grades weren’t that extreme. On the Chilean aspect the grades are terrible, straight up and down.
It’s attainable this stream may very well be the black water that offers its title to the cross however I don’t know.
We left at 1pm from the Argentine customs and confronted a number of winding turns to get via earlier than darkish. We really made good time however that concern of being caught out was all the time current.
They even have aspect roads to nowhere within the Abomination of Desolation.
My favourite: frozen water. You selected to dwell in Key West to keep away from these items. Rusty loves it.
Once we noticed automobiles coming within the distance I discovered the widest spot I may and waited.
The Agua Negra glacier because it appears on the of summer time nowadays.
Oddly stunning however to name it a glacier appears to be overstating the case by now.
We’ve got come a good distance on this good van. Above 12,000 ft we cease to drink coca tea and pop Tylenols. GANNET2 simply saved on chugging alongside. On the ultimate hairpins I discovered the engine was dropping a number of energy, crawling as much as the flip at strolling velocity and providing no extra nevertheless it by no means hesitated or stalled and simply picked up velocity on the flat sections. It began simply after we paused proper on the high and although the test engine mild got here on at 12,250 ft it all the time does after we are at that altitude. The sunshine turned itself off at 2500 ft after we had been again in oxygen wealthy Chile.
The second flat tire we met. He st least refused even water as he was effectively geared up. Touring alone however grinning at his personal misfortune. And he was going to Chile.
Who is aware of what catastrophe stopped this journey, under?
Only a few extra hairpins…Ruta 41 is the Chilean border the place the street adjustments its title. Only a few miles to go. We don’t use the metric system aboard GANNET2. We simply discover it simpler to make use of miles and ft because it’s what we’re used to in any case.
After which immediately there we had been on the high. And there was an SOS cellphone. We’ve realized that these telephones use a WiFi hotspot to speak with free public entry. Layne obtained on-line and referred to as Bruce to say hello from the darkish aspect of the moon.
Rusty and I obtained out and went for a stroll. It was chilly and windy and I used to be lightheaded after a brief stroll up the hill.
Rusty disappeared among the many rocks operating headlong into the wind into Chile. He felt no ache in any respect. I turned again to do my obligation struggling to not drop my digital camera from my frozen fingers.
We each struggled with frozen digits and lightheadedness making an attempt to change digital addresses and in the long run we obtained it carried out.
The inside of GANNET2 was beautiful and heat when finally I obtained in. It took each of us, me exterior and Layne inside to get the sliding door open to let Rusty in. The little runt got here again from his moonwalk very thirsty and able to lie down. He obtained the water however we needed to press on.
Time to go downhill into Chile.
