e-Marginalia Interview Debut

Posted Sun, 2005-09-18 20:45 by Nana Chen

http://www.e-margaux.com/en/story/del-castillo/index.htm

Patagonia Expert, Alberto del Castillo

It's finally up! Our new Interview Column is up! And I want to share this excitement with you. With each interview, we did a great deal of research in order to come up with the most in-depth questions possible. Our first guest was Alberto del Castillo. In November last year, I finally made it to Argentina for a reunion with friends I had met in Jaisalmer, India. While staying with them, they introduced me to Patagonia expert mountaineer, Alberto del Castillo. The 43-year-old mountaineer and a father of three is the CEO of Fitz Roy Expediciones & Patagonia Aventura SA. A native of Buenos Aires Province, Del Castillo grew up hiking on the sierra hills of Tandil and prefers steep mountains to skyscrapers. Today, he runs a successful expedition and guide company that includes some of the best-trained mountain guides anywhere. What’s more, he’s possibly the most sought after for his expertise in the El Chaltén area. When not looking, I found his name everywhere, from Patagonia maps to trail names to government websites. Alberto Del Castillo is the one to go to for information on El Chaltén.

Here's an excerpt of the interview with Del Castillo:

Nana: Please tell us how an amateur mountaineer differs from a professional. And at what point did you consider yourself a professional? Alberto: Professional climbers are the ones who climb for money or receive financial help from sponsors, whereas professional mountain guides are the ones that make a life of mountain guiding. I consider myself a professional because I developed the first trekking & climbing company based on El Chaltén, in the Santa Cruz Province. The company has now more than 30 employees. I have developed new trekking circuits, new classics climbing routes where we lead our clients, and of course because I make a living from this. Nana: What’s been the most frightening situation you’ve encountered? What happened and how did you get out of it? What should climbers do when faced with a dangerous situation? Alberto: As any mountaineer, I have been in many frightening situations, from crevasses accidents, fallings, avalanches and so on...(continued)