Report from October 19, 2025

We do not recommend skiing Monte Tarn.

Ever.

6 hours of ankle-deep muck slogging for only 21 turns…

2,736′ Monte Tarn

Punta Arenas

Chile, Patagonia

• Summit:  2,736 feet 
• Car:  0,000 feet
• Vertical From Car:  2,736 feet 
• Vertical skied:  1,425 feet (we did 2 laps – 668′ & 757′)
  
• Vertical climbed: 3,688
• Max Pitch:  42?º
• Average Pitch:  38?º
• Aspect:  East Southeast
• Distance: 9.42 miles round trip
• Hiking Time From Car to Summit:  3 hours & 56 mins
• Car to Car Time: 8 hours & 42 minutes 
• Recommended Equipment:  crampons, ice axe, skins

But, we did see one helluva lotta dolphins!

This place is magical.

I’ve never experienced anything like this zone.

I think it rains here every single day.

Everything is covered in moss and wild flora-creatures we’d never seen before.

We started strolling down the beach at 9:30 am.

As soon as the trail left the coast, we knew we were in trouble…

There was a 12″ thick moss thinger smothering the ground.

The trail sent us through that moss, destroying it and creating an ankle-deep moss/mud soup.

2 minutes into the hike, one foot was completely soaked.

6 minutes in both feet were drenched.

We plodded on, driven only by the failure to summit a week earlier on Cerro Tenerife in Puerto Natales, Chile.

We were determined not to simply “take our skis for a walk” again…

After an hour of pussy-footing, we’d only gained 1 mile.

Fudge.

Then we hit the Dark Forest…

This was the most grueling piece of the trip.

The “trail” is extremely well marked—bright tape and signs all over.

But there is no real trail…

Through the Dark Forest, they never cut any downed trees.

Our skis delighted in hanging up on every trunk and branch.

Add this to trying to keep our feet dry, and it was a losing battle.

We should have turned around.

But, we didn’t.

After the Dark Forest, things improved, but the mud did not.

At some point, we left trees and shrubs behind and traipsed along boggy meadows.

The “Bog Slog” we called it.

Heads down, doing all we could to keep our feet as dry as possible, we arrived on snow after 3 hours.

It took us 30 minutes to transition.

I “cleaned” my socks with snow, took them off, wrung them out, put them back on, and stuffed them into my boots.

Surprisingly, that strategy worked.

In my ski boots, my feet felt dry and happy.

We charged up the last 750 vertical feet in no time.

Skins on snow felt like walking on air after the mud catastrophe we’d just subjected ourselves to.

The views were dashing.

The Straits of Magellan, jagged islands, high alpine snow, and boats filled our horizons.

A large glide crack where the cornice was pulling away from the mountain was our abode.

We transitioned inside and enjoyed shelter from the wind in that bizarre alcove.

Greggy dropped first and found 21 noteworthy turns!

I dropped second and found the same.

Great corn skiing above the sea.

We were happy, but doomed…

We skinned back to the top, “transportation skied” back to our shoes, and started our unhappy journey home.

The Dark Forest tried its best to break our ankles and nearly succeeded.

The rest of the Bog Slog wasn’t too bad.

We let go of trying to keep our feet dry and simply slapped them down anywhere.

At times, we plunged to our knees in detritus.

3 hours of anke-deep muck and we were back on the beach.

We rinsed ourselves off in a tanin-colored pool in the sand and strolled upon black, rocky shores back to Malvadisco, our trusty steed.

We reflected on this being the most unique adventure we’d ever delved into.

• Lord of the Rings-esque terrain
• A little kid’s dream comes true
• A border collie’s paradise
• An experience unlike any other

We drove directly to the ice cream shop and inhaled two scoops of Chilean gelato with gusto.

We’d done it.

The SuperNatural ski trip was concluded.

•  119.95 Hours of Activity
•  116.72 Miles Traveled on Foot
• 58,988 Vertical Feet Climbed
•  2,236 Miles Driven
•  17 Days In The Field
• 14 Ski Mountaineering Missions
•  12 Ski Days
•  5 Camping Nights
•  2 Turn Arounds
•  2 Good Buddies
•  2 Countries
•  Wildlife Spotted: condors, parrots, flamingos, foxes, rheas, guanacos, geese, caracaras, dolphins, armadillos, rabbits, swans, more

¡Gracias, Patagonia!