Gustavo Cherro is a visual storyteller, and more than 20 years ago, he worked as a photojournalist in different newspapers, magazines, and agencies. Today he is choosing his own stories to develop. He always tries to have a human component in the project, and he usually prefers to work in natural environments, often sports or adventures and other times with a social and human component. These activities can be in mountains, boats, jungles, swamps or in a large city, although the latter, he always prefers to avoid it.
Words and images by Gustavo Cherro
f-stop: You are known for traveling to amazing places, and always being in the field. What was this adventure about?
Gustavo: The Cordón del Plata is the "high mountain" school of Mendoza in particular and Argentines in general. A short distance from Mendoza, Argentina (70 km) we have, in those mountains, one of the few relatively "alpine" landscapes of the country; Where altitude, really big mountains, ice, and verticality are combined. It is a midpoint between the great distances and desert softnesses of the high mountain of the Northwest and the concentrated and granite moles of Patagonia.
Due to the wide range of the assignment, I decided to go alone, to have the necessary times and not keep in mind that someone was waiting for me. I wanted to show the full beauty the place, its geography, flora, and fauna
f-stop: What was your biggest challenge during the adventure, and how you overcame those challenges?
Gustavo: The aggressive weather, the height, the great distances, the cold night and its actions on the batteries of my gear and the transfer of all my equipment With respect to the weather, it is important to have the necessary equipment and knowledge, being poorly dressed can be a serious problem, the same happens during the hours of rest and cooking. The height can only be assimilated with the appropriate periods of acclimatization, sleeping, and living over 3000 meters requires that the body gets used to that and it is necessary to take the necessary time. Walking the necessary distances to take the right picture, require only training and patience, and the transfer of my equipment, in this type of exits, I entrust it to my f-stop Sukha. It is spacious, comfortable and safe.
I practice mountaineering from a young age, and I have been working on images in these conditions for many years, but every time I see myself face to face with the mountain, she teaches me how small I am, how small the problems are that I daily They seem huge and all of them are solved with a better point of view and that to avoid problems, we just have to get away from them.
f-stop: Can you remember some of the best moments of the adventure?
Gustavo: I think seeing the wild birds of the place not fearing me and eating centimeters of me was one of those great moments. One afternoon, a young woman appeared with a baby in her arms near the camp, without a backpack, without a tent, without any equipment, left her 2-year-old baby (calculation) and started practicing Yoga, she did it for a while and then disappeared again.
f-stop: For the people that plan to visit Cordon del Plata, can you share some tips and tricks?
Gustavo: Try to travel with the least amount of equipment possible, only strictly necessary, wear the right clothes so that when the worst weather forecast happens, there is nothing left in the backpack to put on, the sleeping bag should be the best you can carry, It is the only space and moment that will give you warmth and rest. Never be alone on the mountain without communication with the outside, always have elements that serve to warn of a problem. Always protect your batteries with the heat of your body, even at night. Drink a lot of liquid and give your body the "necessary" time so that it does not suffer with height
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