@shmg.onlineLink

Is this good or bad? Which path is this?

One path leads to a future where wilderness is a gated asset, a serene backdrop for the ultra-wealthy and conservation becomes a luxury business.

The other leads back to the core principles of true ecotourism and public protection, where conservation benefits ecosystems and local communities, and awe-inspiring places remain for all.

reuters.com/sustainability/lan

@epn.lifeLink

Patagonia’s Price Tag - When Conservation Becomes a Luxury Business

I’ve spent five weeks recently in Patagonia, a place that embodies the very idea of pristine wilderness. But on recent visits, something has shifted, something that makes me uncomfortable. A new kind of landscape is emerging, not carved by glaciers but by capital. It’s dressed in the language of sustainability but built on the logic of exclusivity.

They call it "Eco" tourism. But what does that word mean?

True ecotourism promises responsible travel that conserves the environment, sustains local people and educates visitors. What I see, however, is different. I see "Eco" as a marketing tool, a stylish camouflage for a rich consortium to buy up prime wilderness, cut roads through it, and build luxurious, low-profile lodges nestled in the trees. The price tags are not for recovering costs, they are for purchasing exclusivity.

Call me cynical, but I don't believe these consortiums have the environment at heart when they plough millions into a project. They see a return on investment. Expansion? It’s just good business. Build another hotel, another pod, another exclusive trail.

I’ve seen it with my own eyes near El Chalten in November!

Take the "Reserva Privada los Huemules". The name suggests a protected haven. Yet, their current development includes 92 residential lots and a hotel. This isn’t conservation; it’s real estate. In December 2024, they charged ARS 36,000 per day simply to enter and walk their trails.
https://www.loshuemules.com.ar/

Nearby, the Explora Lodge offers a 3-night stay for two in December 2025 for a cool USD $9,120. For the price of a used car, you can experience what was once natural forest.
https://www.explora.com/el-chalten-lodge/

Most surreal of all are the transparent capsules clinging to a cliff side, visible from the main road. A via ferrata leads you to your pod for the night. The cost to commune with nature in this engineered solitude? USD $2,200 per night.
https://ovopatagonia.com/

All their websites speak eloquently about "conservation," "preservation," and "connection." This begs the uncomfortable question: Why should they be chosen as the conservationists?

A national park’s mandate is preservation for all generations. A private consortium’s mandate is profit for its shareholders. This is an irreconcilable conflict of interest. Conservation becomes conditional, protected only as long as it is profitable. Access becomes a premium product.

Is this what "Eco" tourism is all about? Is this the future, placing pristine wilderness into the hands of private billionaires to be curated. modified and sold back to us as a luxury experience?

When does a conservation area become a conservation business?

Patagonia stands at a crossroads. One path leads to a future where wilderness is a gated asset, a serene backdrop for the ultra-wealthy. The other leads back to the core principles of true ecotourism and public protection, where conservation benefits ecosystems and local communities, and awe-inspiring places remain for all.

The question we must answer is no longer just about saving Patagonia. It’s about deciding for whom we are saving it.

#Hiking #Backpacking #Walking #Mountains #Patagonia #conservation #ecologiayconservacion

@shmg.onlineLink

After many previous failures incl managed hosts going out of business, I've finally got up & running on an old 2017 mini-pc from home

@richard

Allows me to do longer mountain posts with more images & also my grumpy ramblings & failings with technology, without clogging up this Mastodon feed.

As the introductory pinned post states "If you're a mountain person who loves tech (or a tech person who loves mountains), we probably have things in common."

@epn.lifeLink

#Introduction - A new home for longer mountain ramblings & tech dabbling!

After years on a managed Mastodon instance, I've finally jumped into the #selfhosted world! Say hello to my new personal #ActivityPub instance, powered by #GoToSocial from home.

While I test the waters here (and learn all the complexities of managing self-hosting!), this space will be for the longer-form, deeper-dive content:

1. Extended mountain trip reports with more photos.

2. Ramblings on my rather amateur adventures in #technology, #landscapephotography, #lora mesh networks, #degoogling efforts, and #linuxphone solutions.

Think of it as my digital base camp. If you're a mountain person who loves tech (or a tech person who loves mountains), we probably have things in common. Boosts and introductions are welcome!

@epn.lifeLink

So this #Gotosocial instance is running on an old Zotac Zbox ID18 that I bought way back in 2018. It has 2gb ram and a 64gb ssd drive. Should be sufficient, I hope.

I have quite a complex routing setup at home and I struggle to get reverse proxy to work. As a solution I am using a Cloudflare Tunnel to run it on the web. So far it works well.

#selfhosting #socialmedia #fediverse

@epn.lifeLink

Well I think I finally managed it after many false starts and, paid for hosting services going out of business etc. A GotoSocial instance running from my own server at home. I have great hopes for this so I shall be keeping my fingers crossed.

Intro post to come when all the testing has been completed

@shmg.onlineLink

Been a frustrating couple of days trying to install automatic webcam image capture & ftp upload to my website. Most programs are far too complex for this simple situation. Ended up with a simple python script. Doesn't help too when my computer wont stop sleeping, suspending or hibernating.

Then, one morning, all at once everything clicks and works fine 😀

@shmg.onlineLink

Back after 3 days of travelling and last night slept the sleep of the gods in my own home. You can't beat nearly 10 hours solid sleep

@shmg.onlineLink

@Ali just had a thought on the plane from El Calefate to Buenos Aires ... have you thought about contacting suppliers and see if they want gear testing in exchange for images and full on-trail reviews?

@shmg.onlineLink

Looking out from Cerro Paredón near El Chalten towards the east over Lago Viedma to the mountains beyond. Horizontal lines of steppe, pampas, lake, mountains, cloud and sky. A few icebergs can be seen on the lake surface having broken away from the Videma glacier

@shmg.onlineLink

This is quite an unusual image that we didn't realise we had captured until later that day. This is the magnificent Cerro Torre summit in the late afternoon sun. We knew there were condors flying around but didn't expect to see a paraglider appear in the image too 🤣

@shmg.onlineLink

The Condor approaching was anything but steady, tossed and jostled by the cliff-face turbulence. She was coming home to find her mate.

With an expert’s grace, she mastered the chaos. She lined up her final approach, adjusted her primary feathers with microscopic precision, and then, folded her wings and dropped like a stone, landing perfectly on a rocky perch just below our vantage point.

Short video of her coming in to land on the cliffs outside El Chalten

@shmg.onlineLink

Apologies to all my veggie friends for this. I live with a vegetarian and eat almost 95%+ vegetarian food. Love it. But sometimes, especially in Patagonia, you just have to eat a half a sheep.

@shmg.onlineLink

Our final week here in El Chaltén, Can't believe 4 weeks already. Comfortable here, surrounded by warm, friendly people & a great selection of bars & restaurants. We've been doing lots of stunning trekking routes among some of the most dramatic mountains on the planet.

1 rough week but the weather has been superb. Nothing but t-shirts & shorts lately. Days incredibly long, with light from 4:30 am until 10 pm.

Could easily see myself living here. Be sad to leave. It's been an absolute blast.

@shmg.onlineLink

After our failure with photographing the Andean Condor yesterday today we opted for a more static subject. Yes, the magnificent Cerro Torre. I might be biased, but to me this is the finest looking mountain on the planet.

Cerros Torre, Egger & Standhardt mountains. Some close ups to follow.

And guess what ... on the journey back to El Chalten the sky where we were yesterday was full of Condors. Typical eh! 🤣

@shmg.onlineLink

The day was perfect, sun-drenched, warm, with only a gentle breeze. Below us, El Chalten lay like a miniature model village. Across the horizon, the entire Fitzroy and Torre massifs stood stark against a brilliant blue sky, their snowy caps gleaming.

We paused to watch tiny, heroic figures of rock climbers clinging to the granite. I was a little envious.

@shmg.onlineLink

Yesterday was to be our "Day of the Condor". Weather perfect. A chance to photograph Condors up close. Guess what? You've guessed it, 6 hours and just two small specks in the sky in the distance.

We had drawn a blank. Our quest had ended not with a majestic flap of wings, but with a quiet sigh.

Nice views anyway 🤣

@shmg.onlineLink

The guardians at the refuge showed us a recent video of the resident Puma at the campsite. It was on a trunk of a fallen tree close to where we had just camped. The Puma didn't seem at all disturbed by the presence of humans.

Travelling back through the forest it's slightly off putting knowing that a Puma could be on the trail just round the corner. I must admit to being slightly twitchy!

Of course to all my fediverse American friends this is the norm I guess 😃