Ninety seconds on Grey Glacier
Walking out to the boat is half the outing: stranded bergs sit on the stones of Grey Beach before the catamaran has left. The late sailing reaches the ice before the refuge stop.
Three faces of ice at the head of the lake are the destination. The boat is the Grey III, a steel catamaran of ninety eight seats with an open deck behind the cabin. On the way out Paine Grande and the Paine massif stand over the far shore, and with luck a slab comes off the front while the boat holds position. The morning sailings call at Refugio Grey on the way out, and round-trip passengers stay aboard while trekkers step off. A pisco sour, soda or juice comes with the ticket. If the boat is not running, the easy walk out along the peninsula takes about an hour and a half and keeps the bergs in view.
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