Ski Mountaineering in Chile and Argentina
Ski mountaineering on Catedral above Santiago, 2001
Are you a bit 'fed up' with skiing on crowded pistes? Then have a look at the Piste-Off.com website for inspiration. Ski mountaineering, ski touring and off-beat ski resorts around the world.
The Andes have some great ski touring and mountaineering terrain, with everything from accessible day trips near downhill resorts to committing expedition skiing on the Patagonian ice-caps. In between are some very quiet and scenic mountain areas with excellent ski-mountaineering and ski-touring terrain. For more details see our unique Chilean Ski Mountaineer itinerary. Ascents of several of these volcanoes are also described and pictured in the guidebook written by John Biggar - The Andes, A Guide for Climbers.
There is some great ski-touring just out of Santiago, at heights of 2500-4000m, good areas around the Tres Valles resorts and the Cajon del Maipo. the following two pictures were taken in the area above Santiago in September 2001, when we had brilliant snow conditions and unbelievably good wether.
Above and below. Ski mountaineering on Catedral above Santiago, 2001
Below. Snowboard Mountaineering on Volcan Villarrica, Chile
One of the best
places to go are the volcanoes of the Andean Lake district in southern Chile. We
have skied to the summits of Lonquimay, Antuco, Chillan, Villarrica and Llaima.
Several other peaks, notably Sierra Nevada, Lanin and Choshuenco will also make
good ascents.
Ski Mountaineering on Volcan Lonquimay
Skiing on Volcan Llaima, Chilean Andes
Skiing Volcan Lanin, Chile-Argentina border. Further south in the area known as Patagonia there is mroe god
skiing, and the season can be a bit later, September through to November.
David Roberts skiing a cornice above the Ibaņez valley, Chilean Patagonia
and skiing down the peak of Glaciar Alto in the remote San Lorenzo group
The Patagonian ice-caps provide some superb skiing
terrain, though the weather is not always this good. We ran a trip there in
January 2000 and plan to go again in November 2001. The picture above was taken
on a ski ascent of Volcan Lautaro 3380m, a remote volcano in the centre of the
ice-cap. For more information on this expedition or to see more photos of the
Patagonian Ice-cap please go to our
Patagonian Ice-cap page
On the South Patagonian ice-cap
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