Posted: Jun 24, 2009 09:12 am EST
(ThePoles.com) Rob is joining his wife Linda Beilharz on a mission to journey the four biggest Icecaps of the world. They are in Chile busy with the final arrangements for the South Patagonia Icecap. In and Interview with ExWeb’s Correne Coetzer, Rob talks about his biggest challenge, permissions, who they will report to every day and who will be responsible for possible evacuation operations.

ExplorersWeb: You didn’t ski the South Pole with Linda. Why did you decide to join her on Greenland?

Rob:The Greenland trip sounded like an interesting journey to a part of the world I’d never been before and it was a way of supporting Linda in her goals. It was at a good time of the year when it was possible to make time for it. It was a style of journey I’d never done before.

ExplorersWeb: What do you see as the biggest challenge on Patagonia?

Rob: Learning about an environment I don’t know anything about yet, other than in a second hand sense.

ExplorersWeb: What will carry you through when things get tough?

Rob: I will be motivated to get through to the end safely. Although we haven’t seen Patagonian conditions we’ve been in Arctic conditions so we have some experience in what it’s like to be cold and uncomfortable.

ExplorersWeb: You much food will you take with you? Will you be u u unsupported?

Rob: We are taking food for 23 days. There won’t be anyone else there and no food drops or assistance along the way but we will have communication with the outside world. We have an early egress plan if we are held up and don’t think we can make the distance in the time required. We are not attempting the full length of the South Patagonian icecap as our working world hasn’t allowed that amount of time off but we will do a good journey on the icecap and enjoy getting to know this part of the world.

ExplorersWeb: Will you report to someone every day? If yes, who?

Rob: We will be reporting to a group of people we call ABC (Australian Base Communications). This is a group of people made up of volunteers from AlpineSAR (search and rescue in Victoria, Australia). We will also report to Patagonia Mountaineering School every second day so they can pass on our position to the Chilean police – a requirement of our permit to do the trip.

ExplorersWeb: On the Patagonia Icecap, who is responsible rescue and support missions?

Rob: We will be obtaining final advice about this from the Patagonian Mountaineering School – but understand at this stage that the Chilean police (or once over the border the Argentinian police) are responsible for search and rescue.

ExplorersWeb: What permissions did you have to get to be on the Icecap?

Rob: We have applied to a government department (DIFROL) for permission to go onto the icecap and also need to inform police, navy and other government departments. There are environmental considerations for this in addition to their risk management. Because we are crossing an international border without getting the requisite stamp in our passports we are also making arrangements for a border pass.

ExplorersWeb: How do you feel at the moment?

Rob: I am curious about what the icecap will be like. I haven’t been to South America before so I’m excited about going there too, hoping to absorb a little about that country before and after the trip.

Check here for ExWeb interview with Rob’s wife Linda who described Rob as “more pedantic about things – which frustrates me sometimes when I want to get going but which is a huge asset in terms of safety, and persisting with solving problems, whether navigational, equipment or securing our shelter. Rob makes a great snow wall, takes lots of great photos and knows about geology and history.”

Rob Rigato was born on 25 March 1951 and is a resident of Bendigo, Australia. He works as an Outdoor Program Director at Trinity Grammar School (Melbourne). Rob and his expedition team-mate, Linda Beilharz are married and have two children, a daughter Jeni (25) and a son Michael (27). Rob favourite books are the biography of Wallace Stegner, Tim Winton’s „Breath“ and Cormac McCarthy’s „Blood Meridian“. He loves Italian and Mexican (hot and spicy) food. Rob music choice is eclectic with a leaning towards country.

Rob and Linda are intending to ascend the Jorge Montt Glacier, traverse the Southern icecap in a south-easterly direction and descend the Upsala Glacier to Lago Argentino. The route across the icecap will take them past Vulcan Lautoro and the Viedma Glacier, providing glimpses of the magnificent Mont Fitzroy. The descent of the Upsala Glacier will take time, they predict, and may involve portage of their sleds over the rocks beside the glacier and down to the lake where they will be met by a boat. They will take food for 23 days.

There are two Patagonian Ice Caps. The southern Ice Cap spreads from Jorge Glacier (N) to Balmaceda glacier (S); it is 350 km long. The Northern Ice Cap is located between 46° and 47° South, being 120 km long and 30 km wide.

The surface of the Northern Patagonian Ice Cap is at about 1200/1500m of altitude. However, the area includes the highest peak in Patagonia: Mt. San Valentin, almost 4000m.

The Southern Patagonia Icecap, or Hielo Patagonio Sur, is 400 km by 80 km. The cap is long and narrow. It has been crossed several times east/west and west/east, as this direction is shorter and the main difficulties of the glacier can be avoided. But only once before has the cap been crossed in its full length.

There are two main obstacles on the route: The first obstacle consists of a wall that must be climbed to reach the Glacier. The second - and worst - obstacle is a big rift with a huge ice fall right in the middle of the glacier.

In 1998/99 Chileans Pablo Besser, Rodrigo Fica, Jose Montt, and Mauricio Rojasa achieved the first and only complete crossing of the Southern Patagonian Ice Cap. However, their trip can’t be considered unsupported, since they used a pre-placed cache.

The first traverse of the Northern Patagonic Ice was achieved by British explorer Eric Shipton, accompanied by Spaniard Miguel Gómez and Chileans Eduardo García and Cedomir Marangunic in the (austral) summer of 63-64 – their 37-day-long traverse was not complete though, since they exited the ice by the flank of Cerro Arenales. The first complete traverse from San Rafael to Steffen Glacier (N-S) was done by a French team led by Ilario Previtali. The team also climbed Mt. San Valentin on the way, completing the feat in only 26 days in March 1993.

In the winter of 2006 Pablo Besser (leader), Nicolás Von Graevenitz and Francisco Urzua) completed the traverse of the Patagonian Northern Ice Cap. Pablo claims this has been the first complete crossing of the Northern Ice Cap achieved in winter - a double success for Besser, since he was also on the team that first crossed the (larger) Southern Ice Cap back in 98/99

 EMAIL   PRINT   SHARE   TEXT