It gives you free license to say whatever you want afterwards and no offense can possibly be taken, right? So it is with me declaring my bias for Bariloche. Ok, now that I got all that off my chest, I can start talking about the skiing. Catedral ski resort in Bariloche is suberb because of the simple side-country access. You an opt for a shelfy cliff zone called La Laguna very similar to some Tahoe terrain with a quick minute hike.
A couple hours of skiing and walking get you into the steeper, longer, more challenging terrain of Refugio Frey. The out-of-bound possiblities at Catedral are tremendous. Long, sloping runs with no trees at all on top, then tree-cut runs at the bottom.
The main difference here being the thick swaths of bamboo that cover the forest floors of lower Catedral. The old growth tree skiing in Bariloche is unparalleled. Large Lenga trees shed their leaves in the winter, have no deadly tree wells, few low branches, and have spacing that every skier will admire.
Downed trees create fun pillows to pop off at low snow levels. It generally snows a lot. The base is 3, feet, the summit is 7, feet, and the latitude is only 41 degrees South of the equator the equivalent of Northern California in northern hemisphere.
This translates to some seasons with lots of rain down low. This is where Bariloche shines brightest. Bariloche has over restaurants along with a plethora of nightclubs, bars, casinos, and even brothels. The place lights up at night and the beautiful people come out play. Argentines are world renown for their beauty, large eyes, long eyelashes, and ability to have a good time.
