Aerial view of a Patagonian glacier near Fitz Roy and the Perito Moreno region, ski touring backcountry
Ski Touring, Argentina & Chile

Skin up.
Ski down a continent.

South America hides some of the most underrated ski touring on the planet, Patagonian granite spires, glaciated volcano summits, and refugio circuits you'll often have to yourself.

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Season
Aug → Oct
Zones
4 across AR & CL
Vertical / day
800 to 1,500 m climbed
Format
Day tours + huts
Why the Andes

Granite on one side, volcanoes on the other. One short border between them.

Touring in the Andes splits roughly in two. The Argentine side gives you granite spires, lenga forest, hut-to-hut circuits and the wild glaciated terrain around Fitz Roy and the Southern Patagonian Icefield. The Chilean side gives you volcanoes, perfect cones with sustained 1,500 m descents on consolidated spring snow.

It isn't Chamonix. Infrastructure is thinner, snowpacks can be temperamental, and guide selection matters more here than almost anywhere. The trade-off is having a 3,000 m volcano summit entirely to yourself on a windless September morning.

Argentina

Patagonia, top to bottom.

Two very different chapters of the same country. The deep south is glaciers and big alpine objectives. The Lake District is classic refugio touring out of Bariloche.

Aerial view of a hanging glacier in the Fitz Roy / Perito Moreno region, ski touring objective in Patagonia, Argentina
01Santa Cruz, deep Patagonia

Fitz Roy & the Patagonian Icefield

Access
Fly into El Calafate, then road to El Chaltén
Season
Aug → Oct
Terrain
Granite couloirs, glaciers, big alpine
Format
Guided multi-day, base + day tours

The wildest end of the continent. The Fitz Roy massif rises out of the Southern Patagonian Icefield near El Chaltén, a short drive from the Perito Moreno glacier outside El Calafate. Touring here means glaciated approaches, granite couloirs and committing days, true expedition skiing without leaving Argentina.

Best as a guided multi-day program: settle into El Chaltén, pick a window, climb and ski one of the classic Marconi or Cagliero approaches. Tag a day on the Perito Moreno ice on either end of the trip.

Ski tourer's first-person view from a Bariloche summit above Cerro Catedral with Lake Nahuel Huapi in the distance, Refugio Frey ski touring
02Bariloche, Río Negro

Cerro Catedral & Refugio Frey

Access
Fly Bariloche, 20 min to Catedral base
Season
Aug → Oct
Terrain
Granite spires, lenga forest, lake views
Format
Day tours + hut nights

The classic Patagonian touring zone. Use the Catedral lifts as a launch pad into Van Titter, López and the approach to Refugio Frey, a stone-and-timber hut tucked under granite spires, with couloirs dropping straight to the lake.

You can ski it as day tours from town and be back for dinner, or sleep at Frey and string together two or three days of couloir skiing. Best entry-level touring zone in the country, and a fair warm-up for bigger objectives further south.

Chile

A chain of volcanoes you can ski down, one a day, week after week.

Between Santiago and Puerto Montt, latitudes 33° to 43° south, the Andes throw up a string of near-perfect volcanic cones at 2,000 to 3,200 m. Most are summit-and-descend in a single day. Best window is September and October, when the spring snowpack consolidates and the road accesses open up.

Three Chilean regions matter for touring: Araucanía (Lonquimay, Llaima, Villarrica, Lanín), Los Lagos (Osorno, Calbuco, Puyehue, Casablanca) and the Bío Bío belt around Chillán and Antuco.

Snow-covered conical Chilean volcano rising above the Andes, a classic ski touring summit in the Araucanía region
01Araucanía, central-south Chile

Volcanoes of Araucanía, Villarrica, Lanín, Lonquimay

Access
Fly Temuco, 4×4 to Pucón / Malalcahuello
Season
Aug → Oct
Summits
Villarrica 2,847 m · Lanín 3,776 m · Lonquimay 2,856 m
Format
One summit per day, base in Pucón

The heart of Chilean volcano skiing. Villarrica is the postcard active cone above Pucón, a classic, beautiful tour with huge views over Lake Villarrica. Lanín, on the Argentine border, is the most ambitious objective in the area: 3,776 m, two days with an optional bivouac on the north-east ridge.

Lonquimay starts right at the Corralco ski resort and lets you ski into the crater itself, a tour you genuinely cannot do anywhere else. Fit skiers occasionally tag Lonquimay and the neighbouring Tolhuaca in the same day.

Entrance to Nevados de Chillán ski resort in central Chile with the volcano summit lit by sunset above the base lodge
02Ñuble & Bío Bío

Nevados de Chillán & the Bío Bío volcanoes

Access
Fly Concepción, 2.5 h to Las Trancas
Season
Aug → Oct
Summits
Chillán Viejo 3,198 m · Nevado Norte 3,212 m · Antuco 2,979 m
Format
Resort base + day tours, hot springs

Nevados de Chillán is the rarest combination on the continent: a real volcano-touring base with hot springs at the door. The resort itself runs 35 km of pistes between 1,450 m and 2,400 m, and from the top, the Chillán Viejo and Chillán Nuevo summits are straightforward tours (crampons for the summit ice).

Push further south down the Bío Bío valley and you reach Antuco (2,979 m), looming over Laguna Laja, long views, easy upper slopes, a single short steep section near the summit. Two completely different days from the same base week.

Conical glaciated volcano in the Chilean Andes, lit by clear southern-hemisphere spring light, typical Los Lagos ski touring objective
03Los Lagos / Puerto Montt

Volcanoes of Los Lagos, Osorno, Calbuco, Puyehue

Access
Fly Puerto Montt, 1 to 2 h to trailheads
Season
Sep → Oct
Summits
Osorno 2,662 m · Casablanca 1,990 m · Puyehue 2,240 m
Format
Day tours, lake-and-volcano logistics

The southern volcanoes. Osorno is the classic, a perfect cone above Lake Llanquihue, with the normal route starting at the Osorno ski resort on the south-west slopes. The last 30 m below the summit are steep and often icy; bring crampons.

Casablanca out of Antillanca offers easy, enjoyable laps; Puyehue is a longer, wilder day on the active south-west aspect. The whole region is best skied late, September into October, when the road accesses open and the spring snowpack stabilises.

When to go

Touring runs later than the lift season.

July

Storm-cycle touring only. Limited objectives, conservative route choice.

August

Snowpack settling. Bariloche and Las Leñas come alive; bigger Chilean objectives still building.

September

Peak month. Stable snow, longer days, volcano summits opening up.

October

Spring corn on the volcanoes. Best month for Villarrica, Lanín, Lonquimay, Osorno.

Who it's for
  • →Skiers comfortable on skins and ungroomed terrain looking for remote, low-traffic objectives.
  • →Travelers who want a real expedition feel without massive logistics.
  • →Anyone combining a few days of touring with resort skiing for variety.
  • →Fit skiers chasing volcano summits on the Chilean side in September / October.
Probably not for you if
  • ×You've never skinned before, start with a guided intro week in a less committing zone first.
  • ×You'd rather not build the fitness for 800 to 1,500 m climbing days.
  • ×You want lift-served laps with zero uphill effort.
FAQ

Quick answers.

When is ski touring season in South America?

August through October. July is mostly storm-cycle touring close to road heads. The snowpack consolidates in August, and the Chilean volcanoes stay in shape deep into October.

Do I need a guide?

For any serious objective, yes. UIAGM/IFMGA-certified local guides exist in Bariloche, Pucón, Puerto Montt and Santiago. We match you to the right guide for your route, dates and group.

Can I combine touring with lift skiing?

Absolutely, Catedral, Chillán, Lonquimay and Corralco all allow lift-assisted touring days, which is the best way to build up to bigger objectives without a full backcountry commitment.

Do I need to bring my own touring setup?

Yes. Touring-specific rental gear in South America is limited. Bring your own skins, bindings and boots. Beacon, probe and shovel are usually provided by your guide.

How fit do I need to be?

Most days are 800 to 1,500 m climbed at altitude. If you can sustain 4 to 6 hours of uphill effort with a light pack at home, you'll be fine here. Volcano summit days are longer.

What does it cost?

Private guide days run roughly USD $300 to $500 per day for the group. Multi-day hut and volcano programs run USD $1,800 to $3,500 per person for 4 to 6 days, depending on zone and logistics.

Ski touring trips

Routes, guides and timing, sorted before you fly.

Touring trips live and die by guide selection and weather windows. Tell us where, when and what you want to ski. We'll build the trip around it.

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