Paso Rio Mayer in Winter – the Carretera Austral alternate exit from Villa O’Higgins

“Todos los pasos están deshabilitados (All the passes are closed)….It’s very complicated here in winter my friend.”, the Villa O’Higgins carabinero officer explained. “The river can be up 100 metres wide and 3 or 4 metres deep.”  After days of strangely warm weather and high rainfall in Villa O’Higgins, his words made some sense.  Maybe it was impassable?  After all he should know what he’s talking about, right?

Winter on the Carretera Austral. Part IV. Cochrane to Villa O’Higgins

Villa O’Higgins, the end of the Carretera Austral and the start of our planned escape route out of Chile: a ‘wade’ across the multiple freezing water channels of Paso Rio Mayer (next post).
The last few posts are all centred around Patagonia’s favourite subject: the weather. But down here in Winter it really is the primary consideration for any day’s activity and it’s a topic that’s hard to avoid. … Several ‘rest’ days holed up in Hospedaje Ana Luz gave us time to contemplate how bloody cold it might get. Dropping to -10C and lower at night with undeniable consistency.