Patagonia: The Untamed Destination of Open Water Swimmers – Kate Steels

Where better to train and get some acclimatisation swims in preparation for Ice Swimming in Antarctica than the untamed region of Patagonia? 

Patagonia is a magnificent region in South America with immense unspoilt beauty. The world’s longest mountain range is the Andes at 7000km. A significant part of the Andes crosses Patagonia. In between majestic snowcapped mountains are pristine mountain lakes plus fjords and sea channels. Parts of both Chile and Argentina are in Patagonia and it truly is a travellers’ dream (assuming you don’t mind the cold and potentially rain and wind- yes, parts are very windy!). 

As an experienced Ice Swimmer, I fully undersand the need to prepare and acclimatize properly for a trip of a lifetime – to go to Antarctica with the aim of swimming 1km under the auspices of the International Ice Swimming Association (IISA).   

November is early season in Antarctica, and I anticipated the water being between zero degrees Celsius and minus one. I have previously swum a zero degree Ice Mile as well as having competed at IISA events and IISA world championships at various distances including 1km. I knew that swimming early season would be harder, not only due to colder water temperature, but I was also coming from the Northern hemisphere at the end of the British summer.  

How did I prepare and acclimatise? I train in a pool at a local Masters swimming club   3 times a week and go open water swimming about twice a week. Then, at the end of July I re-introduced ice baths into my routine. I have a bath which lives in my garage. My partner, Rory Fitzgerald, helped secure it on some wooden blocks and then I added heavy duty locking wheels onto it. This way I can wheel it in and out of my garage and secure it. I have a freezer in the garage which is only used to make ice for the ice bath which I then fill with water from the hosepipe and ice from the freezer!!  In the middle of the British summer, it was impossible to get the water much below 6 or 7C. However, as I continued into Autumn, the temperatures came down and I could get to 1C.  I increased frequency and stayed in up to 20 minutes. It wasn’t always pleasant but it was a necessary evil. Training was essential for this huge swim in Antarctica and as Captain Mattew Webb (the first person to swim the English Channel) said “Nothing Great is easy”. 

I love travelling, hiking and finding cold mountain lakes to swim in and acclimatize. Rory and I first did this back in the winter of 2014/15 in Snowdonia in preparation for competing in the inaugural IISA World Championships in Murmansk, Russia.   

In 2024 I was able to use all my annual leave in one block to go to the Argentinian part of Patagonia to hike, explore and find icy lakes to swim in, and then onto Antarctica. Rory came with me, and we spent 2 weeks having a fantastic time in Patagonia visiting El Calafate, hiking and swimming around El Chalten and Ushuaia. 

Packing up our beautiful RED Evo Robe, thermals, hat, warm layers and warm drink into REDs waterproof adventure rucksack, we set off for long day hikes in search of cold mountain lakes and streams/rivers where swimming wasn’t forbidden – it’s not allowed in many lakes in certain national parks. At some lakes there were plenty of signs that banned ice skating but no mention of swimming…. Presumably most people thought the water was too cold!! In fact, there were few hikers on the trails and we certainly didn’t have to compete for a place on the beach for somewhere to put down our towels! The scenery was utterly stunning and the swimming opportunities definitely didn’t disappoint. Some lakes were still partially frozen – at least I could wallow in the shallows and pose on mini–ice bergs admiring the spectacular mountain scenery around us including Mount Fitzroy which soared 2km above us. That’s my idea of a perfect ice bath!  Swimming in the mountain lakes and later on in the Beagle Channel was truly exhilarating. I was able to increase my time and distance in the water thereby building confidence and acclimatisation.  

Whilst swimming in remote locations its really important to do a risk assessment and swim within your own personal limits. When training, we swim separately. Rory is watching me whilst I swim and is able to help me get changed and wrap me up in my cosy Evo Robe quickly and then we reverse the roles. It works really well for us. 

I particularly enjoyed going back to Lake Esmeralda just outside Ushuaia and swimming there. It brought back fond memories of 2021 when I swam an ice mile and completed the ICE 7.

The Argentinian people are wonderful, friendly and incredibly helpful. On both visits we have met other swimmers and made new friends. We managed to travel around Argentina on a budget by selecting accommodation carefully and booking well in advance. The local bus network was excellent too (other than an 8 hour delay between El Calafate and El Chalten as the road was closed due to high winds!). 

We were treated to encounters with magnificent wildlife including giant condors, seals, sea otters and Guanaco (Llamas). In summary, I would strongly recommend Patagonia and the Beagle Channel for an adventurous holiday and some wild swimming!