Physical education teacher and president of a San Lorenzo club: who was the tourist who died in an ice cave

The tour of the ice caves is one of the biggest temptations for tourists in Patagonia.

The photographs that reflect the contrast between the blue ice, like a disgraced sky, and the darkness, are unique.

Its singular danger, however, is a detail that is not usually included in the prospectus of the route that takes place in summer.

Because getting to an ice cave generally requires hours of steep walking and once in the sector, care must be taken to the extreme.

On Tuesday, January 31,

in El Bolsón, where these caverns are one of its attractions.

In the accident, Fernando "Pancu" Dávila (38), a well-known resident of Caleta Olivia (Santa Cruz), who was a physical education teacher and president of the local Peña de San Lorenzo and a professor at the Provincial Institute of Higher Education IPES, died. .

One of the people who accompanied him and would be a native of Temperley suffered polytraumatisms and would be in serious condition, it transpired.

The site of the collapse, on the Hielo Azul hill, west of El Bolsón.

Photo Infochucao.

Dávila was

The group of tourists from different provinces of which Dávila was a part was surprised when a mass of ice and stones broke loose in the caves located near the Hielo Azul glacier.

After 1:30 p.m., the shelter in the sector contacted the Volunteer Fire Department of El Bolsón alerting them to the situation.

“The refugee informed us that they had already given the first response, going down with an injured person to that place.

Bearing in mind that we have about 16 hours to walk there and back, the help of one of the helicopters that is working on the Cuesta del Ternero fire was requested.

It was then that, in just about 40 minutes, the young man wounded in one leg and one arm could be transferred, along with his partner, to be assisted at the local hospital, where he is recovering," explained the head of the Active Corps of Volunteer Firefighters, Jano Namor, at Limit 42.

"Pancu" Dávila, a resident of Caleta Olivia, was also a renowned amateur athlete.

Namor confirmed that

The Hielo Azul hill requires a significant climb to reach the spectacle of the caves and there is no access to vehicles.

To reach this refuge, it takes between 5 and 7 hours of walking, and two more to reach the glacier, a journey described as "highly complex" by experts.

Ice tunnels are of natural origin and the special climatic and geographical conditions allow their formation in areas of snow accumulation throughout the year.

The impact of the sun initiates a slow reverse thawing, that is, from the inside out, which forms these incredible conduits that are generally located at about 1,900 meters above sea level, according to information for tourists by the Secretariat. of Tourism of Esquel, a town that also has these attractions on La Torta hill.

The tunnels or ice caves are promoted in different parts of Patagonia for tourists from all over the planet.

In Ushuaia, Torres del Paine (Chile), Esquel and El Bolsón are some of the most visited.

In the trans-Andean park,

that includes them.

“In January, different trails make up this ice tunnel of more than 100 meters in length and 10 in diameter, generated by the accumulation of winter snow at the foot of a waterfall, the Irigoyen stream.

And since it does not receive much direct sun in summer, it begins to melt below, in contact with the mountain”, indicates an official Chubut tourism site.

“Being inside the tunnels takes your breath away and at the same time refreshes you from the heat and the walk.

To get there, we had to follow the tracks of old firewood carts, among lenga forests, watercourses, and mountain streams, and walk about 50 minutes with impressive views in the middle of a completely natural environment, to Cerro La Torta, on the edge of the National Park.

There these icy tubes are formed, full of reflections and fascinating visual effects, which mix with the roar of the waterfall, and the sound of the stream that descends between the stones and the imposing presence of the Andes Mountains”, he adds.

However, danger is always present and specialists recommend being very careful when undertaking this type of tour.

In November , a Brazilian tourist died in such a formation when a piece of ice fell on his head in Jimbo Cave, near Ushuaia.

In recent years, the Torres del Fuego National Park has temporarily prohibited visits to the sector when the cave presents "a very active dynamic" and landslides.

Global warming is affecting the melting processes during the summer in this type of formation.

In 2021, the park rangers of the Cordón de Plata Provincial Park (shared by Luján and Tupungato) recommended not venturing into one of the ice caves due to the “accelerated process of global warming”.

Black river.

Correspondent.

GL