Today we went up the mountain, we were heading for Laguna Negra. A friend from the area was showing us where to go, and had met us in his own car. Halfway up the snow was thick enough to make it impassable for his vehicle, so he parked his car up and jumped into the Landrover.
She came into her own getting us safely up to the first car park. The road was normally open to allow you to drive up to the next car park, due to the snow it was closed today. We parked up and set off to walk the 2Km to the Lagoon.
Rarely do we have this quantity of snow in the UK, there was 4-6 inches on the ground and a light dusting was coming down as we walked. The snow crunched underfoot and the dogs were like puppies running, and rolling in the snow. The road was steep, and for someone who is not naturally good uphill – I was slow, but enjoyed the journey.
When we were most of the way up we came across the upper carpark, at which there was only 300m to reach the Lagoon. This was the steepest part and incorporated stone/ rock paths and steps. Upon reaching the lagoon it was worth the trek, though it was more like the white lagoon, than the black. The surface of the lagoon was sheet ice, upon which lay the snow, across the entire lagoon. Were we better equipped, and inclined we could have trekked past the lagoon and up the mountain to the top. This was really not necessary for me, as the beauty of the lagoon framed by the peaks of the surrounding mountains was unbeatable.
The descent was far quicker and the carpark was covered in less snow on our return. Upon reaching the car, I unharnessed the dogs and popped their equifleeces on to dry them off. Then I drove back down the mountain, my Landrover was an absolute legend doing this, I used the hill descent, and the snow and ice 4WD mode. We easily got down the mountain despite the quantities of snow.
Then to a late lunch, before driving back to the cottage, and a lovely glass of red wine.
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