South Patagonia Ice Cap Traverse attempt, December 5, 1998 - January 5, 1999. Karl Feaux (AAC), Rob Weber (AAC), Bart Matthews and Kyle Bohnenstiehl (AAC) as leader attempted a partial traverse of the South Patagonia Icecap. This remote area, also known as the Campo de Hielo Sur or the Hielo Patagonia Sur(HPS), is the largest icecap outside the polar regions and the third largest ice mass in the world. Stretching nearly 325 kilometers in length and averaging 35 kilometers wide, the icecap contains 48 distinct glacial outflows and covers an area of 13,000 square kilometers which includes 15 distinct mountain ranges, at least one active volcano (Cerro Lautaro) and numerous unclimbed peaks near 3,000 meters. After a 5-hour boat trip from Tortel onboard the San Juan we landed at Don Juan Nahuel's cabin with 700 pounds of equipment, near the Glacier Jorge Montt at the northern terminus of the icecap. Our expedition was the first American team to go up this route according to Chilean Authorities. Camp 2 was established on the glacier at 500m after a difficult approach, through rivers and thick brush, which followed Eric Shipton's 1962 route (AAJ,1962). We were disappointed by the dryer than normal winter and were unable to ski until camp 5, which we reached after ferrying loads for 12 days across difficult crevasses that would normally have snow bridges. We gained the altiplano at Camp 8 and after abandoning our principle objective, Cerro Lautaro(3380m), were aiming to climb Cerro Wonni (2498m). Strong winds and heavy snow trapped us at Camp 9(1200m) for 3 days and we were forced to return to the boat landing because we were out of time. The Glacier Jorge Montt is actively retreating, making this approach route onto the ice cap very time consuming and difficult. Previous parties attempting the traverse encountered significant difficulty navigating, especially during foul weather. We used GPS, RADARSAT and LANDSAT imagery for navigation; all were useful to us particularly during storms. Users of IRIDIUM phones take note that fuses in the 12v charger can burn out and that accounts cannot be re-established over the phone! Complete details of our trip can be found at www.nagis.com.

Note: In the AAJ 1997 p. 256, the Arved Fuchs expedition which made the longest unsupported north-south traverse yet, mistakenly noted that they had made the first crossing of the "Mayo Fall" on foot. In 1994, Americans John Schutt and Mark Houtson crossed this difficult section under their own power (AAJ, 1995, p.207).

Kyle Bohnenstiehl, American Alpine Club