Report from October 4, 2025

After 2 months in El Chaltén, Patagonia, Argentina, we are headed onto the road for 2 weeks.

We don’t have a solid plan to be honest…

We are going to an Estancia to our north for a bit to ski some mellow, unskied peaks then we head south.

Well, we were going to the Estancia – I just found out that the road washed out – this storm cycle is intense…

We’ll eventually end up in Punta Arenas, Chile, on the very tip of South America.

That’s where Greggy will kick me out and I’ll take a 12 hour bus ride to Ushuaia where I’ll ski for a bit in Tierra Del Fuego before setting sail to Antarctica to guide my 10th trip there and I’m grateful.

OK, back to here and now.

We skied Cerro Crestón last week on Saturday, the only legit sunny day we’ve had here in the past 2 weeks or so…

It had snowed about 6 feet during the previous storm and the avalanche evidence was everywhere…

A deep avalanche had broken off the summit cone and ran over the glacier and all the way down to snowline.

We couldn’t believe it.

There were avalanches everywhere.

Even in flat terrain.

Massive slabs.

We were spooked…

We decided on a mellow, lower mountain, low angle tour and we weren’t the only ones.

It was a party ski.

We hadn’t really seen anyone on our previous 11 ski mountaineering trips here but this day there were 20 people out!

New snow, sunny skies, no wind, Saturday, and springtime brought them out.

Mostly locals.

We joked and jollied with them and enjoyed their company.

We’d done what we’d come here to do and this was a bit of a victory lap for us.

We just wanted to ski, have fun, not worry about getting shots, and be safe.

So that’s what we did.

I chilled on top and goofed off with the drone while the entire crew skied down and enjoyed the pow.

I dropped last and hugged the left side of the slope to avoid their tracks.

The snow wasn’t as good over there but it was still fun and long.

A 1,742 vertical foot run.

I slowly hiked back up for another lap and skied even further left in even worse so and have even more fun.

It was lovely to ski all the way down to where the huts are – saving 30 minutes of dirt walking.

All in all, we walked on dirt for 1 hour less than normal this day.

Only 1 hour of dirt walking verses the normal 2 hours o dirt.

Lovely.

Our last ski day in Chalten was mellow, safe, happy, and full of friendly faces.

On Friday, we leave this SuperNatural place and head south towards the tip of South America.

We have 10 days on the road, absolutely zero plan, and one helluva brutal weather forecast…

Gracias, Patagonia!

Photos