Discover magnificent peaks and alpine trails in the southern Andes in a 1+day splitboarding trip around El Chalten, in the scenic Argentine Patagonia, led by IFMGA-certified mountain guide Merlín. He will prepare a tailored program based on your time availability, background, and preferences.
Andes
+1 Day
Jun - Nov
High
Intermediate
If you are a backcountry enthusiast and you are looking for a short but fascinating outing in El Chalten, these program are for you!
El Chalten (400m) is a small mountain village located in the province of Santa Cruz, in Argentina’s southern Patagonia region. It lays within the Los Glaciares National Park (7,269.27km2), the largest natural reserve in the country. Surrounded by stunning peaks in the southern Andes (6,961m), magnificent glaciers, glacial lakes, and virgin forests, El Chalten is considered to be Argentina’s Trekking Capital.
The village’s surroundings offer great backcountry terrain for all levels, amazing snow, and impressive views. While El Chalten is a top mountaineering destination, the area preserves its wild abundant nature, far away from the crowds.
During these tours, we will explore El Chalten’s magnificent surrounding peaks. You can join me on a 1-day trip or a longer journey. I will tailor the itinerary according to your time availability, prior experience, and goals, as well as to the snow and weather conditions in the area. Some of the sites we usually visit are Cerro Vespigniani (2,146m), Loma del Diablo (1,800m) and Laguna De Los Tres (700m). Whatever route we choose, we will probably enjoy breathtaking views to the Fitz Roy (3,405m) and Cerro Torre (3,128m) mountains, as well as to the Southern Patagonian Ice Field (12,363 km2), the world’s second largest contiguous non-polar ice field.
I will take a maximum of 4 people on these trips. Participants must be in good shape and have prior off-piste snowboarding experience. They also need to take their own personal equipment, including regular and splitboarding crampons.
If you are in El Chalten, don’t miss these beautiful splitboarding getaways! Send me your booking request now.
For your reference, I also offer a ski touring version of these programs. If you are looking for a longer splitboarding adventure in the area, I recommend the guided splitboarding week. If you would like to consider other winter/spring activities in El Chalten, check out the ascent to Gorra Blanca and the ski tour day in De Los Tres Glacier.
5.0
(88)
Mountain Guide
Certified UIAGM-IFMGA Mountain Guide from Argentina.
I live in El Chaltén since 1998. I'm originally from Bariloche and I started with mountain activities when I was 15 years old. I've done climbing and ascents in many mountains of Patagonia, Perú, Bolivia, United States and Europe; such as Fitz Roy, Cerro Torre, Alpamayo, El Capitán, Mont Blanc and Aconcagua among others. I'm also a Ski Instructor and I am passionate for backcountry ski.
I speak fluent English, Italian and French and have been leading trips and expeditions for more than 20 years. I work together with a group of guides, so if I'm not available for the trip you request, one of my colleagues will guide you!
Certificates
AAGM | UIAGM
After a few headaches in the beginning (the national park had been closed, but has recently been opened again), we had a great experience and a wonderful tour with Merlin and Mountaineering Patagonia! Merlin offered us great flexibility and patience and a week later the perfect weather arrived for our mountain adventure.
We had an amazing ski trip in Patagonia! Merlin and Martin are exceptional ski guides and we got to ski a lot more terrain than if we had gone on our own. They did a great job adapting our trip plan to the ever changing Patagonia weather. Would highly recommend to anyone considering an adventurous ski trip in Patagonia
Looking for a new backcountry ski adventure to a wild and remote place? Want the comfort of a sailboat to return to every day? Ski first descents? Experience the beauty of massive glaciers, fjords and mountains as far as the eye can see? Check, check, check and check. This was my second trip with Merlin and Patagonia Mountaineering and won't be my last. This trip delivered everything that an expedition can deliver while all the time under the careful guidance of Merlin and Sebastian.
Great experience with Mountaineering Patagonia for a ski touring hut trip of Frey and Jakob huts out of Bariloche, Argentina. I booked with guide and operator Merlin and went on the tour with guide Lucas and we joined forces with another small guided group. I would hope to ski out of Chalten and would definitely use Mountaineering Patagonia again.
Many different options, Merlin's professionalism and friendliness made the result perfect.
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