Spring Skiing in Bariloche – Patagonia, Argentina

Here in Bariloche, Argentina we just received a very late season storm that was one of the biggest of the whole year (read about it here). However being fairly far North at 41°S our brief relapse into winter quickly fell back to spring. With the return of spring and a renewed snowpack, we were able to explore a new area. 

Worried about the strong sun, Mark and I met up at 4:45am and drove over to the Cerro Lopez trailhead. As we hiked the sun quickly rose above Laguna Nahuel Huapi.

We took a nice break at Refugio Lopez and let the sun warm our sleepy selves up.

Then we continued up towards the ridge. The wind was nuking out of the West and the clouds were thick up high. We opted to ski a short run on the still cold and dry snow up high.

Our next run we skied a mellow couloir we had scouted on the way up. The light was a bit flat so we figured the walls would give us some depth.

By the time we got to the bottom of our second run, even with the cloud cover, the snow was getting saturated and it was time to head home. As we skied back along the trail, I was getting slow but powerful wet slides to move on slopes less than 30°. Our decision to get off the mountain early was a good one.

Soon we were back to walking on dirt through the lush forest and the sun was out in full force.

This last storm has set up the mountains around Bariloche for a few more good weeks of spring skiing. As for me, I’m headed back to The States for Winter!