Report from September 3, 2025

Note: Cerro Creston is on private property and you must get permission from the refugio owners to pass through

If you’re looking for a guide for this zone, please contact Patagonia Ascent

I took 2 days off after my big mission up Cerro Electrico.

The first day to rest and the second day held bad weather.

I hoped that bad weather resulted in some new snow up high.

I even saw a few snowflakes in town, which was a good sign.

I decided to ski easy, familiar terrain where I could mitigate the avalanche danger.

I packed up and hit the road at 7:30 am.

I was hiking by 9 am.

No one.

There aren’t hardly even animals down here, making the silence intense.

No wind.

No sound.

No nothing.

Bliss.

The first thing I noted was that the snow line had moved up – likely from the heat last week.

More and more dirt walking revealed itself to my mind’s eye.

Ugh…

The forest had 1cm of new snow and the lower snowfield the same.

Surprisingly, the snow depth didn’t increase much as I hit the glacier.

It wasn’t until the final 700 feet or so that there was a solid covering of about 10cm (4″).

I topped out on the ridge and for the first time, really examined what it would mean to try to ski off the top of Cerro Creston’s wicked southeast face.

I’d poo pooed it as too steep previously, but yesterday I began to see a way…

First, we’d have to climb and ski the steep ramp on the looker’s left.

That should be about the same angle as the very nearby true summit.

The ramp has no severe penalty if you fall and if that goes well, we’d come back for the full monty.

I enjoyed my first sunlit views of the massive peaks and glaciers behind Creston, then dropped in.

The top was creamy and smooth, interspersed with soft ice skittering.

As I descended, it became harder and harder to find pure, fresh snow.

The ice was mostly soft and the rhythm stayed intact.

Near the bottom, it got nasty and I blasted a very loud turn to a stop.

I let out a gentle “whoo” and started down the sure-to-be-bad bottom section back to my shoes.

My survival skiing skills came in handy and it felt nice to don shoes once again.

The Creston trail is friendly and I enjoyed the company of the quiet forest.

Malvadisco, our badass Renault Duster, was happy to see me and we drove home together, gawking at views of the Fitzroy Towers and crystal clear Toro River.

I saw flamingos in Laguna Condor on the way home. 

Unreal…

Ski day #8.

Thanks, Patagonia!

Photos