Grey Glacier

Y-205

One of the shorter hikes of the W trek in Patagonia is to Lago Grey to see the famous Glaciar Grey. From Refugio Paine Grande, it’s about 4.5 km through a glacial valley before you reach the edge of the lake, where you board a small boat to head right up to the massive piece of blue ice. Comparatively to the rest of the W, this is an easy hike, but it’s still a constant terrain of inclines and declines all the way there, plus cold and windy weather in the valley pass. You can break for lunch and an Austral beer (the local brew) at Refugio Grey before the final 1 km to the boat. You board at the shore of Lago Grey and coast right up to the glacier to take in it’s blueness up close. The patterns within the ice are incredible to see, as well as the jagged formations that make up the glacier. Unexpectedly, we were served pisco sours--on chunks of glacial ice--on the boat’s deck while aboard.

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Glaciar Grey Hike

One of the shorter hikes of the W trek in Patagonia is to Lago Grey to see the famous Glaciar Grey. From Refugio Paine Grande, it’s about 4.5 km through a glacial valley before you reach the edge of the lake, where you board a small boat to head right up to the massive piece of blue ice. Comparatively to the rest of the W, this is an easy hike, but it’s still a constant terrain of inclines and declines all the way there, plus cold and windy weather in the valley pass. You can break for lunch and an Austral beer (the local brew) at Refugio Grey before the final 1 km to the boat. You board at the shore of Lago Grey and coast right up to the glacier to take in it’s blueness up close. The patterns within the ice are incredible to see, as well as the jagged formations that make up the glacier. Unexpectedly, we were served pisco sours--on chunks of glacial ice--on the boat’s deck while aboard.

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