It has been only 3 days that I have been in El Chalten, but it feels like I know the place for months. All climbers know chalten as the Mecca of climbing but only after coming here do you experiencing how special the place is.

Right at the foothills of the great Fitzroy, from El Chalten you can hike straight up into several beautiful lagoons, climb massive walls or traverse glaciers to summit a couple of mountains and still be able to have dinner back in town.

This incredible level of access has me dialled into a rhythm of hike the whole day and at night prep lunch/breakfast for next day and repeat. Too tired to even read a book at night, life becomes so simple. Just a clockwork of exerting your energy and have adventures in the great outdoors.

Swimming in freezing waters with glaciers, I have become an attraction to the people visiting the lagoon. As I leave the water being cheered by a crowd nearby, I smile deep inside. How far have I come, is this the same Umar who couldn’t stop shivering when ankle deep in 15 degree water? I am happy to see what I have become, ice baths and walking around in t-shirts with freezing weather to toughen myself and here I swim, biting of glaciers in freezing waters.

Coming down the hike yesterday, there was a fire up in the mountains. I tried bringing up as much water as I could till the fire was under control. What impressed me the most was how quickly everyone on the hike and in the town of El Chalten reacted. Couldn’t have been more than a few minutes of the fire starting that several people were already coordinating a response and the forestry department was on the scene. Sweating up hill with 30 litres of water on me, no word needs to be said to the people I am passing old and young all helping in any way they can. My heart moved to see how selfless all of us can be and how easily we can all forget this compassion we all possess.

In this moment, I am on a high. High on life. High on compassion. High on the strength I feel in my body and high on the exhaustion as I lie down in my tent writing this note.