The tourist center of Patagonia is San Carlos de Bariloche, both in summer and winter. Argentinian school groups and Brazilian package tourists are impressively present: they always appear in packs everywhere, recognizable by their uniform look in borrowed winter clothing.
After a few days, the weather finally improves
?and we set off for the huts in the surrounding mountains. These are the real reason why I keep coming back here. The easiest to reach is Refugio Frey, which is also open in winter. From steep firn gullies in spring to dreamy, open slopes, everything your heart desires is more or less on your doorstep. During the ascents, we pass the time with the game "if I were a ski movie producer, I would put the cameraman over there and then...."
Two valleys further away from the ski area and other people lies the Refugio Jakob. We have the cozy winter room to ourselves and enjoy the peace and quiet and starry full moon nights. Unfortunately, the high temperatures mean we can't ski everything we'd like to, but we still manage to find a few nice lines.
After a few rest days in the town with luxurious hot showers and ice cream for breakfast, we head on to Villa la Angostura, a small town on the other side of the lake. Life is a little quieter here than in Bariloche and we are almost the only ones making the most of the exceptionally beautiful grounds at Cerro Bayo. We like the area so much that we stay for almost a week and go on shorter tours from the ski resort in the best conditions.
At some point, it's time for a change again and we decide to go exploring along the border pass to Chile. We set off from the saddle point through a sea of strange, frozen waves and soon find a particularly nice area where we spend the rest of the day. The view is spectacular and you can see across lakes and the snow dune landscape deep into the uninhabited mountain world. With a heavy heart, we head back to the city in the evening, but not without a bit of surfing - the snow waves were just too tempting.
I only have just under a week left before I fly home
?and have to decide on one last trip. As the weather is already showing clear signs of spring, the conditions should be perfect for a bit of volcano skiing. We hire a car in Bariloche and drive a short distance along the legendary Ruta 40 to Junin de los Andes. From here, it's not far to the Lanín volcano, a free-standing pyramid that can even be seen from Cerro Catedral, over 300 km away, in good weather. At almost 3800 m, Lanín towers above everything else and is therefore a popular and appealing destination.
About halfway up, there are several small bivouac boxes and as we don't feel like climbing 2600 meters in one day, we opt for heavier backpacks with a sleeping bag and stove and a night on the mountain. Accompanied by a cute little mutt who joined us at the parking lot, we reach our destination after just under 6 hours and lie down in the afternoon sun for a while.
The next morning, we continue with crampons. After three and a half hours, we reach the summit and, as expected, the world is at our feet. The first few hundred meters of the descent are quite icy and rather unpleasant, after which at least Simon can enjoy 2000 metres of perfect firn. Unfortunately, one of my bindings breaks halfway down and the rest of the run is a little more interesting on just one telemark ski.
Exhausted, I eventually make it back to the car, where Simon has already made himself comfortable with the stowed beer. We celebrate the end of the season, Argentina and the Andes and agree that, once again, almost three months wasn't nearly enough time for all the beautiful mountains here. At least we have enough reason to come back next year...
