Grupo La Paz
Grupo La Paz
“A stunning place where glaciers fall from the peaks to the sea, turquoise lakes abound, and carnivorous plants guard the entrance to mysterious mountain valleys.” That’s how @patagoniavertical describes the Cordillera Riesco Mountain range
The Grupo La Paz rock towers are the centerpiece of the Riesco. Located in Chilean Patagonia to the west of Puerto Natales, they extend in a north–south direction on the eastern shore of the Fjord of the Mountains.
Aguja Oeste at 3,900 feet is the highest in Grupo La Paz. The tower was first climbed in 1988 by Yvon Chouinard and Jim Donini. One of our guides on the photography charter boat recently traversed the Grupo. Antar Machado was the expedition’s photographer.
Antar’s route traversing the Grupo La Paz. From REGION MAGALLANES - CORDILLERA RIESCO - Grupo... - Patagonia Vertical | Facebook
You can read about Antar’s expedition at https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201216189.
Here’s Antar (on the left) looking at my friend Jon Christofersen’s drone composition on the deck of our ship.
The Shot
Often, landscape photography is a leisurely pursuit with cameras mounted on tripods waiting for just the right light to take a picture. Not so on a boat! As we cruised by various features, we had to be prepared to quickly capture an image.
That was the case as we cruised past Grupo La Paz on our April trip to Patagonia. Out of three passes, this pass by appealed to me the most because of the weather. Something about the sky and the light brought a smile to my face as we motored by.
After quickly attaching my telephoto lens, I took a variety of compositions at 200mm. After that, it was time to get out of the rain below deck and enjoy a hot cup of coffee.
Thanks for looking,
Chuck Derus