Only seven of us decided to do the walk as it was just too demanding for some. We transfered to a small van, which just managed to cross over a very narrow bridge to take us to our start point. We set off and within a short distance we started to climb. This was relatively steep and went on for about an hour and half. The weather was bright and at that point there was a light breeze.
However, the wind started to pick up and as we rounded a bend as the path stared downwards towards our first rest point, the wind was gusting at well over 60 mph. It was enough to blow you off your feet, so we had to take care when walking close to any open drops.
We reached our fist rest stop, a small camp site a with a cafe. This is grand description of something that was really no more than simple log cabin. We ate some food and then set off again about 30 minutes later.
We now entered a wooded valley following the river running off the mountain - although going up instead of down! This was very nice and quite easy walking aprt from the odd climb. This went on for another hour or so.
As we cleared the trees we could see what was ahead of us. A rock, boulder and scree slope and about 45 degrees leading up to our goal, the towers.
Although this was less than a mile it took us close to an hour to reach the top. By now the wind was constant, along with the rain, which was horizontal.
We pressed on and reached the top, to be able to view the three towers and the glacial lake below. It was very impressive and must be spectatular in clear weather.
We stayed for about 10 minutes, before the wind and rain drove us off the mountain. We then commenced to retrace our steps, down the scree and rock slope to the woods and then the cafe and from there back to the pick up point. Our constant companion was the driving rain and wind which made going tough and slippery.
By the time we got back to the van, we were all exhausted, wet, but jubilant that we had completed the 'must do' walk of the Torres de Paine.
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