Big Ice, three hours on the Perito Moreno

Check these four points before booking

• Everyone in the group is between 18 and 50 on the day of the trek.
• Your dates fall between September and April.
• You can walk for about three hours on uneven ice with crampons; the operator calls the fitness level high.
• You can fill in the medical form the operator requires from every participant.

If one of them fails, the Minitrekking is the trek to look at. Minitrekking or Big Ice sets the two side by side.

A day from 6:45 to evening

Pickup in El Calafate starts at 6:45, and the whole day lasts between 7.5 and 12 hours. The boat leaves from Bajo de las Sombras, the pier on route 11 that Hielo y Aventura also uses for the Safari Náutico and the Minitrekking. The park entrance is not included, and you pass the gate on the drive in. Buy the pass before the early start.

How hard it feels, in reviewers’ words

Reviewers describe the trek as demanding. One writes that it is quite hard but that a group of non-athletes managed well; another, who walked on a rainy, windy and cold day, advises against it unless the weather is good and you are in very good shape. A third had hoped for more time on the ice. About three hours on the ice is what the operator describes.

Bad weather does not stop the trek

Hielo y Aventura does not cancel for rain. Pack waterproof layers and gloves; on the ice there is no cabin to step into. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start leaves some room if the forecast is poor. Weather and season shows the monthly temperatures in El Calafate.