There are many ways to cross a country border. 

One of the most mythical crossings we have heard of must be the one from El Chaltén in Argentina to Villa O'Higgins in Chile. A legend among long-distance cyclists and hardy backpackers. 

The border itself is far out in the middle of nowhere, between Lago del Desierto, "The lake in the wilderness", and Lago O'Higgins. On these two lakes you take a ferry to connect the route. It must be said that these are not lakes of Danish size - the ferry ride on Lago del Desierto takes 45 minutes, and the ferry across Lago O'Higgins takes 3 hours. Between the ferries, there are approx. 20km of singletrack track in no man's land to cross. The track is said to be quite demanding, starting with a steep deep ditch that climbs 6km to the top. We had heard from other cyclists that they worked in teams, helping each other to carry first the bags, then the bikes, to the top. An action that takes almost the whole day. After 6km, at the top of the mountain, you cross the border, and then begin a long downhill ride, which, despite the favorable slope, should still be quite demanding and challenging.

All in all, it sounded to our ears like the perfect, and most adventurous, way to get on from El Chaltén.
In El Chaltén we had spent a few days trekking to both Fitz Roy and Cerro Torre. In mountaineering circles, two very legendary peaks. Fitz Roy has given its name to the entire massif on which the peak rests. And on the massif there is a ridge that mountaineers have long looked at, with equal parts awe and desire for conquest. It was not until 2014 that a small team of just two men, Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold, finally managed to tackle the entire Fitz Traverse, as the route along the ridge is called. An achievement which resonated throughout the environment and which was documented in the film "A line across the sky". A highly recommended film, which was a big part of the reason why we both really wanted to go up and see the mountain with our own eyes. And we could do that with just a single day of trekking from El Chaltén. 

We were really lucky with the weather. We have spoken to other travelers who have been in El Chaltén for a week or more, without seeing Fitz Roy, due to bad weather. And here we came strutting, on a cloudless day, and could admire the mountain in all its might.

The day after we had hiked to Fitz Roy, in the afternoon we took a bite out of the weather again and made a quick decision. It was going to be cloudy the next day, so we quickly packed the tent, sleeping bags and some food. Locked the bikes, with the rest of the luggage on, and headed up towards Cerro Torre. Cerro Torre is probably best known for being one of the most inaccessible mountains in the world to climb. It consists of 800m of almost vertical granite wall, with an ice cap on top. Mountaineers spend months in El Chaltén waiting for the right weather conditions to climb the mountain. And even with favorable conditions, reaching the top is an achievement of an extraordinary nature. As far as is known, only 2 Danes have succeeded in reaching the top, so far. Cerro Torre has always been surrounded by controversial stories. The first mountaineer who claimed to have reached the summit has had even more difficulty in providing convincing evidence. He has often been accused of the fact that the information he has given about the farm is in direct contradiction to the actual conditions on the mountain. Later, the top was climbed for the first time again, if I may say so, in a very controversial way, namely by bringing a bolt gun and a generator up the wall, and hammering in safety bolts all the way up. The generator was said to still be hanging up there. And the climber this time was the same Maestri who had claimed the first ascent earlier. In 2012, David Lama climbed Cerro Torre without the use of bolts. Freeclimbing. An achievement that was documented in yet another fantastic film, which also delves into many more of the controversial attempts and conflicts that have been on the mountain. The film is called "A snowballs chance in hell". David Lama's freeclimbing, of course, happened after he had made another, much-discussed attempt, where the film crew had left more than 200 bolts on the mountain.

Our plan was not to climb the 800m of vertical granite. Surprise. But going up to a camp that was located at a viewpoint to Cerro Torre, and getting up the next morning to see the sunrise over the mountain before the clouds would gather around the top and close the view.

In the morning the alarm clock rang at 5 and we got up to see the first rays of the sun hit the mountain. We were lucky enough to see the transformation of the light throughout the blue hour, while the summit was clear of clouds. But as the sun's rays hit the mountain, the clouds began to close in on the summit. However, it was no less a fantastic sight, and with the reflection of the mountain in the lake, it was all in all a very very beautiful morning.

Back in El Chaltén, we spent the next two rainy days in the camp, together with a lot of other nice people, preparing the next part of the trip. The crossing to Villa O'Higgins. The legendary crossing. We heard so many stories about what could be done, and especially what couldn't be done, so when we finally got a sunny morning to drive off, it was with both butterflies in our stomachs and huge expectations of great adventures .

On the cycle ride up through the valley, towards Lago del Desierto, we had the most fantastic views, back towards Fitz Roy, and glaciers to both sides, as well as a river which we followed all the way to the small ferry landing.

At the ferry we met 2 other teams of cyclists that we have encountered before and the waiting time was spent in the favorite pastime of long-distance cyclists. Eating food and telling robber stories.
On the other side of the first short ferry ride, lies partly the Argentine border post, and partly a small camp where we could sleep at night. We were checked out of Argentina in the evening so we could leave early the next morning. So you can rightly say that we spent the night outside the country's law and order.

In the morning we packed our things and looked for the other cyclists, to assess whether we should be followed and help each other, but even though we were not particularly up early, there was still no life in the other tents. So we set off alone, hoping we could handle it ourselves.

Right from the start, the small path became very steep, and it required a lot of effort to cycle here. But it was mostly successful. At one point, the path dug into the ground and became a metre-and-a-half deep ravine. This is exactly what we had heard about. Other cyclists with more traditional side bags are here forced to take off their bags and carry them to the summit. But with our small bags spread all over the bike, we could actually drag the bike through the worst 100m and pretty much cycle the rest.

Around every corner we now expected the track to become completely impossible to cycle, but all in all it turned out that the track was really fun with our setup. The easy packing and the big wheels made it all a breeze and the only times we had to pull off and pull were when we had to cross streams, or a single large mud hole. We had taken the rucksacks off the luggage carrier and rode with them on our backs to make the bike lighter. And it worked.

At the top of the pass, after 6km as we had feared, we had to state that it had been the funnest 6km on the bikes so far. The track was a gift for mountain bikers. But I can understand that you are a bit challenged if you come with your heavily loaded touring bike, with wide bags. Again – we are happy to have chosen our bikepacking setup so that we can tackle this particular terrain. And we look forward to much more in the future.

The actual border crossing at the top was a somewhat special experience. Out in the middle of the forest stand two huge signs. One marks Argentina, the other Chile. And that was it.

The descent towards the Chilean border post went at full speed, on a slightly wider dirt road, but with a beautiful view of Lago O'Higgins.

When we arrived at the ferry port at 12 noon, we had spent 4 hours on what we had been told would take a whole day. So there was plenty of time to sit and enjoy a coffee and read a bit. The ferry didn't sail until 6 p.m.

The other cyclists and backpackers with whom we had lived in camp came out quietly during the day, and when the bottle of Fernet Branca was lifted from a rucksack, the mood was really high. Everyone toasted a fantastic experience before the bikes were thrown on the ferry and a 3 hour hard sail through driving rain and high waves brought us to Villa O'Higgins.