Mount Fitz Roy, Patagonia

May 10, 2017

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Photographer: Melina Catania
Summary Authors: Melina Catania; Jim Foster

The photo above showing Mount Fitz Roy (Monte Chaltén), on the border of Argentina and Chile, looks like it could be a mountain in a fairytale land. Located to the east of the Southern Patagonian Ice Field, Fitz Roy's abrupt peak reaches 11,073 ft (3,375 m) above sea level. Though it's only about half the height of South America's tallest mountain, Aconcagua, because it's so steep and remote, Fitz Roy wasn't scaled until 1952, just a year before Mount Everest (29,029 ft or 8,848 m) was first climbed. The name Chaltén evidently comes from the Tehuelche (Aonikenk) language and means steaming mountain, a reference to the clouds that seem to surround the legendary summit constantly. Photo taken on January 22, 2017.

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