Join Jorge, an IFMGA certified mountain guide, on this 5-day ski tour from a remote hut in Patagonia and discover some of the best backcountry terrain in the Bariloche area.
Andes
5 Days
Jun, Jul
High
Intermediate
If you are an expert skier who is experienced in the backcountry, you are invited to join me on this one-of-a-kind ski tour from a remote hut in Patagonia, Argentina. Over the course of 5 days, we’ll discover some of the best backcountry terrain in the Bariloche area.
This is an intense trip for designed for seasoned backcountry skiers only. If you are less experienced and still want to explore the backcountry around Bariloche, please visit my profile for more suitable options here.
Reaching the hut is an adventure in and of itself! From the top of Cerro Catedral, we’ll climb with crampons before switching to skis and navigating some challenging backcountry terrain.
Once we reach the hut, we’ll relax and get settled in to our “base camp” for the week. The hut was rebuilt in 2018 following a fire and is one of the most comfortable in the area. You can count on having a cozy stay as there are efficient wooden stoves, double glass window panels and even an electric heater. We will also be enjoying some hearty mountain meals during our time together.
Every day, we’ll explore a new location from the hut. The terrain in this area is made up of steep and medium couloirs ranging in height from 200-400 meters. We’ll also have the chance to explore several high summits along with multiple valleys with varied terrain.
If the weather conditions allow, you’ll even be able to summit one of the most stunning peaks in the Nahuel Huapi National Park: Cuernos del Diablo.
This will be a trip unlike any other! You can find the detailed day-by-day itinerary below.
Contact me now for further information and/or to reserve your spot. I look forward to hearing from you!
I also offer numerous ski trips in other locations throughout Argentina and Chile. You can make a private booking or join an open group. Do check out this 7-day ski tour in Bariloche for intermediate and advanced skiers as well if you will be visiting the Bariloche area.
To begin, we’ll take the gondola to the ridge of Cerro Catedral and set out towards the hut.
We’ll make our way across hard snow and along a steep face with crampons. We’ll switch between skiing and crampons as we navigate the west face of Cerro Catedral. Then, we’ll descend to the valley and cover around 6km to reach the ridge of Cerro Brecha Negra. A final descent of about 400m on a 35 degree slope takes us to the hut.
Duration: 5 hours.
Explore the unlimited options for backcountry ski touring from the hut. There are small and big cirques, narrow colouirs, steeps and big and small summits of all orientations. Good snow makes for a good day in the deep Patagonian terrain.
We will prioritize based on weather conditions and set different objectives each day.
If the weather allows, we will attempt the summit of Cuernos del Diablo, a 700m climb. This route offers two big ramps with different orientations.
Round trip: 5 hours.
Overnight at the hut.
Today is yet another day of skiing near the hut. We’ll explore some of the nearby valleys, combined with smaller summits and maybe some nice steeps, too. You’ll enjoy the spectacular terrain here in Bariloche.
On the last day, we will either hike the normal summer trail or take the alpine route to go back to the ski area. Our route will depend on the weather conditions and fitness of the participants.
5.0
(9)
Mountain Guide
UIAGM-IFMGA-IVBV Mountain Guide
My name is Jorge, and I am one of the first IFMGA/UIAGM Certified Mountain Guides in Argentina. I got my full UIAGM-IFMGA certification in 2005. I was one of the pioneer mountain guides in Argentina and Chile to introduce Ski Mountaineering and Backcountry Skiing back in 1999.
In 2009, I became one of the first Argentines to work as a Ski Guide on the Antarctic Peninsula and ski peaks in that area. I helped, co-worked and guided ski athletes from Salomon, Arcteryx, Smith and the North face, such as Xavier de Le Rue, Luca de Bari, Eric Hjorleifson and other pro-athletes of the ski industry in the production of ski films in Argentina and Chile.
I have been guiding across Patagonia for more than 15 years now. In the past few years I have also guided in Antarctica, Norway and Iceland.
Patagonia is my home. This is where I started to develop most of my guiding skills and experiences at an early age. Today, I spend half of the year guiding overseas, and the other half guiding in Argentina and Chile.
Regarding my personal resume as a guide and sportsman, some of the highlights include classic Granite climbs in Yosemite National Park like the Half Dome Regular NW face in a day and Sentinel Rock (Herbert- Chouinard route); several ski mountaineering expeditions to Alaska including the inner Chugach range; the Wrangell's-Saint Elias range, spending two weeks in a tent in the Icefield, skiing couloirs and faces as much as we could. Other great mountaineering expeditions I went on include:
- A remote expedition to Mariano Moreno in the Patagonian Icefield
- Several rock climbs in Europe, like the Dolomites, Slovakia, French and Swiss Alps, and Spain
- Guiding the Mont Blanc ascent on skis
- Technical classic ice/rock Rebuffat- Terray on Pelerins in Chamonix
- Frendo Spur in Chamonix
- Fitz Roy and other satellites spires in Patagonia
I happily spend a lot of my time on skis, and guiding mostly technical backcountry and volcanoes in Patagonia.
I’m fluent in Spanish and English.
Languages
French | English
Certificates
UIAGM | IFMGA
I can't say enough good things about AndesCross and my recent 7 day backcountry hut tour. Trip of a life time in all aspects. We skied incredible terrain, experienced the local culture and had an amazing time as a group. Everyone had the opportunity to achieve bigger ski objectives while staying safe. Jorge made sure everyone in our group had a great experience, both while skiing and while in Bariloche. None of the pictures do justice. Everything was perfect. I've done a number of similar trips in the US and Canada and would rank this at the very top of my list.
This was my first experience of a backcountry and Patagonian skiing and it could not have been a more rewarding experience. Unbelievable scenery, fantastic skiing and great fun. Jorge is the consummate host, able to combine a group of mixed ability fitness and experience without ever compromising on the level of challenge: guide, teacher, asador, guitar master and now friend, I cannot recommend Andescross highly enough
I had a great time in Bariloche and went with Andescross to climb in Frey and also ascend Cerro Tronador along with a friend I was travelling with. Jorge is awesome and made the whole experience enjoyable. His love of this beautiful area comes across and he was very accommodating with us, working around the weather (it snowed one night at Frey) and maximizing the amount and quality of climbing we did. He also took us to Cerro Lopez to get one last climb in since we had minimal good weather up at Frey. Jorge is a great guide and I was very comfortable climbing with him. After a couple day's rest we ascended Cerro Tronador with Nahuel. It is a great glacier climb with a spicy finish. A pretty demanding ascent and descent, but well worth the view from Pico Argentina. I would definitely go climbing with Jorge and Andescross again and hope to soon!
Jorge was a phenomenal mountain guide. He put us in some great snow and kept everyone safe. He is personally a great guy and went out of his way to make sure everyone had a great time. I'm always happy to serve as a reference for anyone considering a trip with Andescross. Spent two days in Baguales. Snow as incredible and the food was tier I. A truly unique, top tier experience. Hundreds of acres of private ski land in the Andes provided a unique, isolated touring experience. Spent four days at Frey Hut. Jorge knew all the tips and tricks to make the stay very enjoyable. We toured up to a few peaks every day. Made lots of friends from all walks of life. I would do this trip again in a heartbeat, and hopefully take more time to do a few volcanoes later in the season. Next on the list - Antarctica or Norway with Andescross!
Adam
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