After having high hopes for the snow in Chile and being a bit let down, it was nice to visit the ski resort of Cerro Catedral in Bariloche, Argentina. This town wasn’t even on my original itinerary, but at nearly every point in my travels, someone mentioned it to me, beginning with the guy who sat behind me on the plane ride to Chile.
Driving from Chile, over the Andes Mountains into Argentina, and around long lakes to Bariloche reminded me of driving around Lake Tahoe. The region consists of a series of lakes surrounded by mountains, with an outlet to the Argentinean pampas on the far end of Nahuel Huapi Lake. The ski resort is about 12 miles from town with a base of just 3,400 ft, but its summit reaches over 7,100 ft, giving it a vertical drop longer than Lake Tahoe resorts, but not as big as Whistler. The views of the lake from the summit, as well as the views West towards the Chilean border were impressive.
The snow? Not so great—springtime conditions with crusty ice in the morning. But by late-morning, most areas softened up enough to have some fun and not worrying about losing your edge—or losing a limb. I was told three meters of snow fell just two weeks prior. Three meters is over 9 feet! Unfortunately, the conditions are so variable – cold / hot sun / cold / hot sun – that the snow breaks down quite quickly. Overall, coverage on the mountain was good in the upper elevations, but a little spotty down below.
I kept saying to myself—I’ll be back next year! The mountain was really fun and I can imagine how great it must be with a few feet of fresh new snow. Lift tickets were the equivalent of about $40 USD and my lodging was less than $15 USD per night. Eating out in Bariloche, probably expensive for Argentina ranged $10 to $20 USD for multiple courses. The town has so many resources for lodging, dining and travel. And getting to the mountain is less than $1 from the center of town.
Next year… let’s go to the snow in Bariloche!
Bariloche from the penthouse hostel where we stayed for less than $15 USD per person, per night.
The penthouse patio from the 10th floor overlooking the lake.
Snow-capped peaks to the left; the landscape opens to the pampas to the right.
Most of the skiable acreage is above the tree line.
You can see a group of very little people middle and left if you look closely.
The trees are deciduous on this mountain… no conifer in sight.
View over mountain tops towards the smaller lakes.
Serious Andean mountains just behind Cerro Cateral.
From the summit.
Sunset over Bariloche. Nope. It doesn’t suck here.
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