Note: This article was updated on 14 November 2024
In July 2024, Chilean authorities announced that the Las Guardas Bridge, a key crossing point along the O Circuit trail in Torres del Paine National Park, had been seriously damaged by winter avalanches. We are pleased to announce that thanks to the support of Swoop customers, the worldwide trekking community and the hard work of some smart engineers, the bridge has now been repaired, fully reopening the O Circuit, Torres del Paine’s most popular trek after the W Trek.
Reopening this celebrated crossing is no small achievement. In this blog we look back on just how they did it in record time.
Building Las Guardas Bridge
The bridge at Las Guardas (Puente Guardas) has become one of the most iconic viewpoints of Glacier Grey on the O Circuit. A narrow suspension bridge 52m long, it was strung across a 45m deep canyon with the enormous frozen crags of Glacier Grey as its backdrop. One of three bridges between John Gardner Pass and Refugio Grey, hikers crossed it on day four of the O Circuit.
The bridge was built in 2015 by the non-profit ConservationVIP in collaboration with CONAF (Chilean National Park Rangers), and with the help of a volunteer structural engineer and trail crew from Yosemite National Park’s, Torres del Paine’s sister national park in the USA. Until its construction, hikers had to descend the canyon via a series of ladders, a route that was becoming increasingly difficult due to erosion in the gorge.
‘Using the ladders was dangerous for hikers,’ Chris Braunlich of ConservationVIP explained. ‘If a hiker was injured on the Circuit between the second quebrada (canyon) and John Gardner Pass, they had to be evacuated over the pass, which wasn’t good. The local community also wanted the bridge; as we were building it, the local guides who led hikers on the Circuit often stopped to thank us.’
Its remote location made building the bridge a logistically complicated exercise, even before the depth and breadth of the canyon could be taken into account. As well the technical climbing, rock drilling and cable laying skills required, even mixing the concrete needed to set the supporting posts demanded water be hauled up from the canyon by hand. After more than a month of hard labour however, Las Guardas Bridge was finally opened. Over the following years, thousands of trekkers were able to enjoy its spectacular views – and safely cross the canyon.
Destruction by avalanche
Until this winter, Torres del Paine had not experienced a serious avalanche since 2008, but in recent years the park has seen a series of particularly severe winters. It was one of these that brought the snow that damaged Las Guardas bridge.
Thanks to the severe winter weather, it wasn’t until the middle of August that a Conservation VIP hanging bridge engineer was able to visit the site to carry out a detailed survey. A repair plan was developed for CONAF and key bridge parts were custom-fabricated and delivered to the site. Only after the complex process of lifting the bridge cables from the deep gorge that the bridge spanned, was work able to proceed on replacing the essential supports damaged by the avalanche, and rehanging the cable with its decking.
Its remote location made rebuilding the bridge a logistically complicated exercise, even before the depth and breadth of the canyon could be taken into account. As well as the technical climbing, rock drilling and cable laying skills required by the engineers, even mixing the concrete needed to set the supporting posts demanded water be hauled up the canyon by hand.
Unless the bridge could be repaired in time for the new Patagonia season, hikers would have been faced with having to climb ladders to traverse the gorge – the old way of completing the O Circuit, which had led to heavy erosion.
Crowdfunding to the rescue
Engineering work in a remote area like this doesn’t come cheaply, so Conservation VIP has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money to repair and reopen the bridge. At Swoop, we were keen to get involved. Harriet Pike, Swoop’s General Manager for Patagonia, explained why we wanted to partner with Conservation VIP to help repair the fundraising efforts for the bridge.
‘The O Circuit is one of the ultimate treks in Patagonia and it’s the reason why Swoop exists in the first place: our founder set up Swoop after having done the O Circuit. It’s in our DNA.’
The campaign fitted perfectly with Swoop’s aspiration to be stewards of Patagonia, she said. ‘It’s really important that we’re supporting infrastructure in Patagonia and making sure the trails are in good condition, so that we’re not having a negative impact on the park. This bridge is absolutely iconic with Glacier Grey as its backdrop, and we wanted trekkers to have that amazing experience of crossing it again as soon as possible.’
To this end, Swoop was able to donate a total of US$4,600 to the repair, with an additional US$1,450 generously contributed by our customers who were planning to hike the O Circuit this season or had hiked the route in previous years. Funding like this was crucial to the project and allowed the engineering teams to complete their work and reopen the bridge just in time for the start of the new hiking season.
Chris Braunlich concluded: ‘Some of the most spectacular public lands around the world simply do not have sufficient staff or financial resources to perform needed repairs and maintenance to protect their natural and cultural heritage resources. Donations such as yours helped us to provide invaluable volunteer services to these special destinations.’
We’re proud that Swoop and our customers were able to help reopen this iconic bridge. And we’re looking forward to pulling on our hiking boots to experience the O Circuit at its best again this season!
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