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-   -   looking for El Chalten guide (https://www.fodors.com/community/south-america/looking-for-el-chalten-guide-1670679/)

pigiletta Aug 15th, 2019 09:02 AM

looking for El Chalten guide
 
My family (2 adults, 2 teenagers) will be in El Chalten for 3 days this December and are looking for a private guide to accompany us on day hikes. (I realize that some people don't feel that a guide is necessary, but we would feel more comfortable using one.) I would appreciate any recommendations, preferably for individuals, not companies.
Thank you!

LAX_Esq Aug 15th, 2019 10:15 PM

I don't have any recs and I know I'm not answering your question, but why are you uncomfortable without a guide? Getting lost? Safety? The major hikes in El Chalten are very well marked and filled with tons of people.

I'd imagine a guide won't be cheap. We inquired about hiring a *porter* for the W hike (Chilean Patagonia) and were quoted $150/day.

pigiletta Aug 16th, 2019 03:43 AM

Based on the recommendations of friends who have been there, we would be more comfortable with a guide, just in case of any problems (changing weather, getting lost, etc.) in a country where we have never been.

thursdaysd Aug 16th, 2019 05:21 AM

I'm with LAX on this, I saw no need for a guide, but then I very rarely use one anywhere. And a guide can't do anything about the weather.

However, an important issue is whether or not you are accustomed to hiking. If you do not hike at home, why are you hiking at El Chalten? Do you have appropriate clothes? Do you know how to read a map? Although you can do a short hike at El Chalten that is very easy.

LAX_Esq Aug 16th, 2019 07:51 AM

Yep, as thursdaysd said, the guide can't do anything about the weather. You'll need to pack the proper clothing for that.

And I don't think whether you've been in a country before is relevant to the need for a guide. You'd need a guide for some difficult, unmarked hike in your home country much more than you'd need a guide in El Chalten.

I'm curious about your "friends who have been there." Did they have a bad experience without a guide? If so, you ought to critically think about whether a guide would have made their experience better.

Which hikes are you planning on doing, anyway? The big Laguna de los Tres and Laguna Torre hikes? Or easier ones?

pigiletta Aug 17th, 2019 02:50 AM

Laguna de los Tres and Laguna Torre are the hikes that we plan to do. In terms of weather, I was specifically thinking of our friends who had a scary experience when inclement weather arrived unexpectedly. They felt that having a guide was extremely helpful in getting back safely.

I'm not sure why there seems to be opposition here to us getting a guide. Since it's a service that appears to be offered by many outfitters, I'm assuming that it's not a particularly uncommon thing to do. So yes, we have hiking clothes and can read a map, but a guide would hopefully make our experience less stressful, which is what vacation is for, after all!

I'm not looking to debate the merits of getting a guide, as we've already made that decision, but if anyone has any recommendations for one, I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks again!

LAX_Esq Aug 17th, 2019 09:01 PM

We thankfully had good weather in El Chalten but we ran into extremely nasty weather on one day in Chilean Patagonia on the W hike. The weather was a fairly scary. We think of ourselves as experienced hikers, but we'd never experienced weather like that before. But there's nothing a guide could have done to make it easier to carry on through 60 mph winds and crazy hail.

The point I'm trying to get across is that Laguna de los Tres and Laguna Torre are serious hikes and the weather could turn nasty on you, and you shouldn't rely on a guide for safety. If you're afraid to do these hikes yourself, you shouldn't be doing them with a guide. But if you feel comfortable with -- and prepared for -- this kind of hiking and you have lots of extra money to spend (guides aren't going to be cheap) and it makes you feel better to hire a guide, sure, go right ahead. In other words, I don't think the debate is over the merits of a guide; it's over whether you're confident enough to be able to handle these tough hikes.

Nnlsbin Aug 22nd, 2019 01:28 AM

I had friends use "Walk Patagonia" for doing the W Trek in Torres Del Paine and they recommended them.

this company also supplies guides in El Chalten

http://walk-trek.tur.ar/eng/destinos/el-chalten.php

I did both Torres Del Paine and hikes in El Chalten without a guide with no issue but maybe check this company out as my friend said they had no issues with the for the W


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