Crossing the Andean Cordillera

Los Andes Chile to Uspallata Argentina

5 October 2016

The road to Mendoza begins by following the Rio Colorado in a gentle ascent flanked by mountains. As it approaches the source, the road becomes what can only be described as a cat's intestine of 30 hairpin turns, quickly bringing traffic to an elevation of more than 3200 m at Paso de los Libertadores.

Two days prior, we watched wearily as a swarm of clouds dumped snow on the peaks, forcing the pass to close and tire chains to be required when it reopened the next morning. The following afternoon, we made our crossing on bone dry roads in sunny weather. Such are the mountains, I guess.

The journey went without incident, but the going was slow. It was slow for two reasons: first, we were driving carbureated vehicles that were intended to chiefly operate at elevations not greater than 1000 m above sea level but we are operating such on steep climbs at a much higher altitude, and second, there are a thousand tractor trailers making the same climb.

We trudged along behind a tractor trailer going 20 kmh, until a Toyota Hilux pried us from the truck and blew coal black exhaust in the increasingly oxygen deficient air. This was the first and only time I've ever had a negative thought about a Toyota Hilux.

Once we passed the Chilean customs center, the traffic near disappeared and the road leveled out and we entered El Tunnel Cristo Redentor, which is a funny name for a tunnel which looks like it descends into the bowels of hell. The darkness seemed to absorb my headlight like a black hole and just as soon as I thought I'd see a gollum-like creature that lives in the darkness and has blank patches of skin where it should have eyes, I saw a sign that says, "Welcome to Argentina."

The sign is near dead in the middle of the tunnel that bores right through the top of that mountain. On the other side, the road makes its descent alongside el Rio Mendoza. The landscape is mountainous but desolate. There are no trees and but a sparse sprinkling of shrubs and ruderals. The river cuts a steep cliff on one side and each mountain that we pass appears to be a different colour.

The road slopes gently and is surprisingly straight most of the way. We rode right past the  Argentinian customs center expecting to encounter a tollbooth type situation that would physically prevent us from continuing. Fortunately, a trucker stopped us and directed us back to the Argentinian Aduanas. We passed through without too much trouble.

The ride was beautiful and the weather was spectacular. There was just one spot where the crosswinds were so strong that we had to ride pushing into the wind.

We spent the night in the Municipal Camping grounds in Uspallata, which is still at elevation of about 2000 m. When we'd arrived, a loose hog was being chased down by its owner in an adjacent field.

We gathered grass and dry leaves and made a mattress out of duff in a small hollow between three trees. We used logs to make a windblock against the prevailings and slept quite comfortably in our little tarp tent. Amanda kept a number of rocks by her head in case one of the feral dogs came round to mark its territory.