On November 17, a sudden blizzard with winds reaching 193kph struck the remote O Circuit trail in Chile’s Torres del Paine National Park. One loose group of nine unguided, international trekkers bore the worst of the storm near John Garner Pass. Five of them died of hypothermia, while four survived.
The incident has sparked intense criticism of park management, staffing levels, weather forecasting, and rescue delays. Here, we reconstruct the timeline of what happened and the controversies around it.
The O Circuit (also called the Paine Massif Circuit) is a 130 to 140km, 7 to 10-day trek that circles the entire Torres del Paine massif. It is the only route that includes the remote western backside of the park. Rated difficult to very difficult, it features long distances between campsites, 4,000m of total elevation gain, and exposed passes.
The group consisted of nine independent trekkers from different countries who gradually formed a casual alliance through shared campsites. They were not an organized tour group. Most of them had previous multi-day hiking experience but were unguided on the O Circuit.
The five British friends. Victoria Bond is on the right. Photo: Instagram via La Tercera
The victims
The strongest connection in the group of 9 was among five British friends who had spent months planning their Patagonia adventure together. They were Victoria Bond (40, a public relations consultant from Cornwall), Hayley Newnham, Tom Player, Matt Smith, and film and TV director Christian Aldridge.
A Mexican couple — Cristina Calvillo Tovar, 37, and Julian Garcia Pimentel, 36 — and a German couple, Nadine Lichey, 45, and Andreas von Pein, 52, were independent pairs. This foursome only merged with the British five during the final ascent to John Garner Pass, at the Los Perros campsite the night before the storm. No single leader existed among the nine people.
After the storm hit the group, five of them died of hypothermia: Calvillo Tovar, Garcia Pimentel, Bond, Lichey, and Von Pein. Aldridge, Newnham, Player, and Smith survived.
The O Circuit in Torres del Paine National Park. In the upper left is the Los Perros Campsite and John Garner Pass. Photo: Ecocamp.travel
Timeline
From November 13 onward, a total of 69 hikers from various countries entered the O Circuit over several days.
On November 13–16, the nine hikers entered via Laguna Amarga after briefings in Puerto Natales. The weather was mild, and the subgroups began overlapping at camps. By the evening of November 16, all nine who would suffer the worst of the storm had converged at Los Perros campsite, the last sheltered refuge before the exposed 8-10 hour stage over John Garner Pass.
November 16 was a rest day before the pass, and Chile’s presidential election reduced CONAF (National Forestry Corporation of Chile) ranger staffing by about half, because voting is compulsory for public employees. Therefore, any weather evaluations were not site-specific.
No ranger was present at Los Perros or on the pass itself to evaluate the weather or to consider temporarily closing the route. Campground staff (hired by a private concessionaire) shared only standard public weather apps, which predicted light rain and winds up to 100kph, conditions considered ”normal” for the pass, according to Christian Aldridge, one of the British hikers.
The exposed and demanding John Garner Pass (at 1,241m) is the highest point of the O Circuit, located on the west side of the Paine massif. The last one to two kilometers to the pass are above tree line. Harsh winds of 80-100kph often hit this area, so sudden bad weather can come at any time. The trail follows a narrow ridge with steep drops on both sides.
The ascent route at John Garner Pass. Photo: Charles Masters/walkingwithmountains.uk
The storm
On November 17 at around 7 am, the nine left Los Perros for John Garner Pass. Conditions started drizzly, but deteriorated rapidly after 10 am. Winds reached 193kph, and visibility dropped to less than three meters. The temperature fell to −5 °C, but the wind chill was far below -20°C.
The nine people, who had the unlucky timing to be at the highest point of the circuit, received the full lethal force of the storm. Meanwhile, the other 60 or so hikers on the O Circuit were either still in the lower valleys, had crossed the pass days earlier, or were sheltered inside refuges.
The five Britons and the two couples became scattered in the whiteout. A distress post appeared on the Torres del Paine Facebook group, posted by a different person, around 2 to 3 pm. Four British survivors managed to retreat to Los Perros, but the other five members of the small group had not. Initial response by CONAF was slow, and bad weather grounded the helicopters.
Rescue and body recoveries
On November 18, the ground rescue teams reached the area on foot and found five bodies scattered over a one to two-kilometer area near the pass. Calvillo Tovar and Garcia Pimentel were located first, then the German couple higher up, and Bond last, partially sheltered by rocks. All five were dead.
The next day, the weather improved enough for limited helicopter operations. The four who had survived the ordeal were airlifted to the Punta Arenas hospital. The prosecutor announced the start of a formal investigation.
On November 20–22, a helicopter recovered the bodies, and the repatriation process began, coordinated by the UK, Mexican, and German embassies.
Although 69 people were on the O Circuit, only the group of nine at John Garner Pass suffered fatalities. Across the entire circuit, 27 hikers required medical attention, according to the final tally released by the Regional Government of Magallanes on November 20.
Frame of a video of the storm, published by the Chilean press.
Controversies and criticisms
Following the incident, criticisms emerged, mostly by the survivors, who have publicly shared accounts through media interviews, social media posts, and statements to investigators. They criticize, in particular, the rangers’ absence on election day (November 16–17).
According to the survivors, there were inaccurate weather forecasts and a lack of real-time monitoring. Public apps and campground briefings predicted maximum 100kph winds, less than half the actual gusts. No satellite or on-site weather stations existed for the backside of the range.
They also blame the Park for the delayed rescue response. The first Facebook distress call was initially dismissed. Helicopters could not fly until November 19 due to extreme winds and zero visibility, forcing injured survivors to self-evacuate. Bodies remained exposed for nearly three days, according to the rescue chronology published by La Tercera.
In the survivors’ opinion, another weak point is the optional guiding on a very difficult route. Despite the O Circuit’s high risk rating and remoteness, professional guides are not mandatory, unlike many comparable routes worldwide.
These have directly fueled the ongoing probe and public backlash against CONAF (the park authority), the campground operator Vertice, and the lack of broader safety protocols.
Cristina Calvillo Tovar, the Mexican doctor, was one of the victims. Photo: Emol.com
A horror film
Aldridge told the press that the storm was a “horror film.” He sharply criticized the forecast inaccuracies (“100kph predicted; it was triple that”) and the absence of rangers due to election staffing shortages was “mismanagement at its worst.” The other survivors described the terror of ”screaming names into the wind,” and watching friends vanish meters away in the whiteout.
CONAF has suspended new O Circuit reservations for December 2025–February 2026 and is conducting an internal review.
Prosecutor Cristian Crisosto told Channel T13 on November 21 that survivor testimony forms the backbone of the criminal investigation into possible negligence and failure to assist persons in danger. No charges have been filed yet, but the case remains active.
Those who are more familiar with Patagonia and its mountain areas know that sudden bad weather can hit at any time, and storms are very harsh. Even 100kph winds would have been dangerous on that exposed pass.
This remains the worst incident in Torres del Paine National Park since the 2011 wildfire that claimed one ranger’s life and burned nearly 18,000 hectares.
John Garner Pass in good weather. Photo: Shutterstock
