Making it to the base of the towers despite hiking with a chest infection. It was the hardest thing I've ever done, and I'm still recovering as it turned into pnuemonia. But I couldn't have done it without the support of our guides, especially Nadia who walked with me every step. When we finally made it, we hugged each other and I wept. The hike into the Frenches Valley was my happiest joyful blue sky day, the views were incredible. And the group itself made the whole experience better and more memorable. (I don't think the above options capture what I'm really feeling by the way, it was no holiday - it was hard. But it also wasn't underwhelming. Perhaps you need overwhelming as an option! I guesst it was life-changing, but I wouldn't do it again.)

Life changing

We really appreciated the extra nights dining at EcoCamp, the food was excellent. I am so glad we paid extra for the suite dome at the end as I was quite unwell by then. The yoga was also a great way to stretch after the hikes. Above all, our guides Alberto and Nadia were the BEST. I always felt safe with them, and they brought so much local knowledge and fun to the hikes.

Hiking the Torres del Paine is so much more challenging than any other hike I have done, especially with the conditions and the rocky up-and-down trail. The refugios were crowded with minimal communal space to get out of the rain. Greys Camp was quite basic, but I really liked the elevated tents at Camp Central and Los Cuernos.

You need to be an experienced mountain hiker to trek the O Circuit, and if you aren't used to a lot of altitude gain hiking make sure you train for it. You will experience every type of weather in a single day, even in summer - 70km/hour headwinds, snow, rain and blue sky sunshine. So waterproof pants, jacket and gloves are a must.

I appreciate the magic and wonder of wilderness areas like this, and how precious our planet is. Especially after seeing large chunks of glacier fall from the mountains in the Frenches Valley.

I appreciate it was hard to get accurate info on when the O Circuit would reopen, but I really would have appreciated some communication about what Plan B would be, or if we had options. It would have been better to just plan for the W trek, in hindsight.

I felt very anxious and worried we didn't have the right gear so survive potential blizzard conditions, after reading our the tragic deaths of 5 hikers just a month before.

No

No

No

Yes

No

Beyond 12 months