Building a Boardwalk on “the W”

Completion in 2020

In February 2020, ConservationVIP^® travelers, assisted by volunteers from TdPLegacy Fund, completed construction of 1,110 feet of boardwalk in Patagonia. This Boardwalk was on a new section of “the W” hiking trail in Torres del Paine National Park. This boardwalk was also a critical link in a major new hiking route designed to reduce congestion on “the W” hiking trail in Torres del Paine National Park.

Planning started in 2015

Construction of the boardwalk marked the culmination of a multi-year planning and construction process. In 2015, CONAF – the agency which managed Torres del Paine National Park – asked ConservationVIP to evaluate the viability of converting an old horse trail into a hiking trail. They wanted a new trail to relieve severe overcrowding on a section of the “the W” between Paine Grande and Italian Camp.

We understood the need to reduce congestion on the existing trail. We also agreed that the new route would be a beautiful trail. There were however some formidable obstacles:

• The length of the trail would require a multi-year building program
• Crossing the outlet of Skottsberg lake would require construction of a new bridge
• Most importantly from an environmental point of view, we wanted to protect a fragile meadow. We strongly recommended building a very long boardwalk to protect the meadow.

CONAF wanted to proceed, and ConservationVIP agreed to help. We first repaired the original trail route. That repair reduced further damage from hikers while the new trail was built.

Trail and Bridge Construction started first

We began construction on the new trail in 2017. The trail construction continued thru 2019. To safely cross a steam on the trail, we constructed Skottsberg Bridge in 2018 – 2019. Both the trail and the bridge were major projects. While we were progressing on the trail and the bridge, we selected the best route across the meadow, designed a boardwalk and estimated the cost.

Financing the Boardwalk

CONAF agreed to provide support for the project, including the critical and expensive delivery of materials to the site via helicopter. Still, we concluded that the cost of buying the materials and delivering them to the park would be approximately $30,000. As a result, securing funding for the Boardwalk was a major issue. We are very grateful to the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund which approved a $30,000 grant for the project.

At last, we could focus on Boardwalk construction

We spent many hours planning, buying the materials, and organizing the construction. Even more time was required to construct the boardwalk. Many people were involved in the construction, so we cannot mention them all. Our trip reports have photos of the construction and the people who contributed their invaluable time and enthusiasm. To get a sense of the roller coaster ride and the wider circle of people who contributed to the project, read our blog about the boardwalk project. The sign shown below commemorates the people and organizations who built the boardwalk.