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As the days get shorter in the Northern hemisphere, Spring is slowly waking up in Patagonia, providing the best location for both corn and powder-snow skiing under the South American sun. Experts have referred to the beautiful location as the “the best destination for Spring and Summer skiing in the world.� There are fantastic ski touring options around Bariloche in the Patagonian Lake District. The incredible views from the lakes to the rainforests are stunning. After a day tour in the Bariloche backcountry, you will hike up to the famous Refugio Frey with its granite towers and steep couloirs. One of the highlights of the trip will be climbing up the old volcano, Cerro Tronador. Following some great skiing in Argentina, we will move on to Chile to ski on volcanos and enjoy the weather this area has to offer.
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Previous ski touring mileage is essential for this advanced course. You should be fit enough for 6 days of hard work (approximately 5-8h/day) and capable of skiing safely in different types of snow up to 35 C. Patagonia is an exceptional destination to visit, therefore you must be ready for adventure and also be patient with the weather as it known to be temperamental.
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ARRIVE AT BARILOCHE, TO MEET YOUR GUIDE A 30minutes transfer from the airport in Bariloche brings you to the Hosteria in a quiet location that is situated in Bariloche city centre. You will meet your guide and check the gear needed for the trip. A dinner in a local beer brewery is waiting for you. Transportation: 30 mins overnight at Hosteria Las Marianas in Bariloche. Hotel: http://www.hosterialasmarianas.com.ar DAY 1, Ski tour Cerro Challhuaco, Bariloche We experience the Southern snow for the first time today! A half hour four-wheel drive brings us to the Challhuaco valley. From there we will skin up to Mount Challhuaco and enjoy the view over the lakes and Bariloche city. This is an easy ski tour to begin with in Bariloches backcountry. Here we will do some avalanche safety training and make sure that we are ready for the trip.
DAY 3, Ski tour Volcano Casablanca We will reach the top of our first volcano today, the volcano Casablanca which means: “white house.” It lies in the middle of the Valdivian rainforest but it’s white peak sticks out of it. After we have skied, we travel along the Lago Llanquihue lake. From a far distance, you will be able to see the magic volcano, Osorno. A white pearl that is surrounded by green meadows and deep blue lakes. A cosy mountain lodge will be waiting for us with a delicious dinner. Overnight stay at Teski mountain hotel: http://teski.cl DAY 4, Ski tour Volcano Osorno On our third ski touring day we will skin up to volcano Osorno, which erupted last in 1869. It has the most glacial parts of all surrounding volcanoes. With a clear sky we will be able to see the port of Puerto Montt and the Pacific Ocean from the top. After the tour we drive down to the lakes basin and drive further north to the city of Osorno. We will stay here overnight but before that we make a stop at a small, Chilean seafood restaurant. The seafood is freshly collected everyday from the nearby fjord . Transport time: 2hrs Overnight at Hotel Lago del sur in Osorno http://www.hotelagosdelsur.cl
Climb: +700m Transportation: 1 hour Overnight stay at Hosteria las Marianas in Bariloche http://www.hosterialasmarianas.com.ar DAY 2, Ski tour at the Samore Pass We leave Bariloche and travel by car along the Nahuel Huapi Lake. Passing the small, fancy ski village, Villa la Angostura we will reach the Samorepass next to Puyehue volcano. This pass offers some great skiing as it’s one of the places with the most snowfall. After the skiing we cross the border to Chile and drive up to a small ski area named Antillanca where we spend the night in a wooden lodge. Climb: +400m Transportation Time: 2hrs to the pass, 1.5hrs to the hotel and overnight stay at Antillanca hotel: http://www. chileanski.com/eng/antillanca/hotels/antillancahotelpictures.htm
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DAY 5, Hot springs “Las Geometricas” We deserve a relaxing bath in the natural hot spring today! These thermal pools are located in a privileged place called “Cajon negro”. This path was previously inaccessible before, due to its location in an upwards hill in the middle of a native forest inside the Villarica National Park. It has 17 pools with temperatures ranging between 8 to 42C. These are accessible by a beautiful 450 meters wooden walkway, painted in red. It will be a beautiful drive after this to reach Chile’s outdoor paradise, Pucon – a city that is full of action at the shore of the Villarica-lake. 8-9 hours of activity in total and transportation overnight at Hotel Malalhue in Pucon: http://www. malalhue.cl/es/ DAY 6, Ski tour Volcano Villarica The highlight of the tour! We leave Pucon behind us and drive into the Villarica National Park. After 15 minutes we will reach the base of the small Pucon ski area and climb the 2840m, Villarica volcano. The long ascend is very much worth it: a view into the bubbling magma in the crater and a great downhill run on the slopes up to 35°. Climb: 1500m Transportation: 30minutes overnight at Pucon: http:// www.malalhue.cl/es/ DAY 7, transport to Bariloche through Lanin National Park Today we drive back to Argentina, to Bariloche where we started our journey. On our way we pass through the wonderful Lanin National park with it’s typical Araucaria trees. A traditional Patagonian “asado” i.e barbecue, will be waiting for us. Transportation: 5hrs overnight at Hosteria Las Marianas in Bariloche http://www. hosterialasmarianas.com.ar
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8. 3 sets socks and light coloured thermal tops 9. Lightweight Gore-Tex top/bottoms, warm hat, thick gloves, thin gloves (when skinning) 10. Insulating layers (A thin ‘100’ weight fleece and a synthetic duvet jacket is essential) 11. Personal first aid - blister kit, ibuprofen. Unfortunately we can’t recommend a specific brand and model for each item on the kit list, as what is available is constantly changing and of course, different people are different shapes and sizes with different budgets! However, in general we use and endorse Sherpa and Black Diamond products because in our experience they are excellent... If you go to a good retailers such as Snow & Rock, explain to them you will be back country skiing and they will be able to advise you on what is best for you. Bring this list with you... Lastly, if necessary it is possible to rent most hardware items in Bariloche. You can hire boots too, but this is a last resort (no one likes uncomfortable boots).
12. Cash for extra drinks / snacks in hotels. Remember kit should be lightweight but functional you have to carry it!
1. Skis with touring bindings - we recommend skis that you will enjoy skiing on, but are not too heavy, e.g: Rossignol B2 with fritschi bindings, including skins and ski crampons. 2. Poles 3. Boots - these must fit and be comfortable, we advise you to buy rather than renting and have them fitted professionally - this will make your week fun and blister free! ‘Fit’ is more important than whether a boot is ‘stiff enough’ or not. It is essential to use a touring boot that is designed to ski well, rather than ultra-light. If you own a pair of regular down-hill boots, they may also be suitable. 4. Rucksack - 40-50l with ski straps 5. Water bottle 6. Transceiver, probe, shovel, crampons, ice axe, harness, 1 screw gate karabiner, head torch 7. sunglasses, goggles, sunhat, sunscreen, lip salve/ block
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ABILITY LEVEL: ADVANCED-I can link without traversing, at least 10-15 short or long radius turns off-piste in any kind of snow. -I have good control and choose where to turn. -The thought of fresh powder excites me and I enjoy the challenge of difficult snow. -I can sideslip forwards and backwards, sidestep up and down, and can ski 35- 40 degree slopes. -I ski off piste whenever I can and enjoy skiing far from the lifts/pistes. FITNESS LEVEL- I can ski all day and hike/skin for 4-5 hours every day (1000-1400m). Dates: Early September till Late October - if you are a group of 2 or more people, we can arrange bespoke tours. Prices may vary. Email us for more info. We look forward to seeing you!