Snow & Skiing
MOUNT CATEDRAL
Just 20 kilometres outside Bariloche and linked to the town by highly efficient means of transport, Catedral has become the most important winter resort in South America.
Villa Catedral (1,030 metres elevation) stands at the foot of the mountain and offers a wide range of services and facilities, including accommodation of all categories, restaurants, shopping malls, discos, medical attention, on-line banking, ski schools and skiing gear sale and rental.
The Catedral winter sports centre comprises 600 hectares suitable for skiing and snowboarding, with a total 103 kilometres of ski tracks, 25% of which are considered easy, 60% intermediate and advanced, while the rest are for experts only. In addition, it is the venue for major national and international skiing championships, including International Federation races and the Professional Championship.
Every June, after the first snowfall, Catedral is decked out in white to welcome all the tourists who arrive to take part in a variety of activities in the snow. Among other options, there are new forms of recreation such as quad bikes, snowmobiles, snowshoe hiking, bobsledding and paragliding.
PIEDRAS BLANCAS
Just a few kilometres out of town, on the southern slope of Mount Otto, stands the Piedras Blancas Winter Complex, offering tourists chairlifts and bobsledding tracks, snowmobile rides and a mountain shelter where they can taste delicious homemade cakes.
NORDIC SKI CENTRE
Another alternative on Mount Otto is the Nordic Ski Centre, which offers bobsled rides, quad bikes, snowmobiles and excellent Nordic ski tracks.
NEUMEYER MOUNTAIN SHELTER
Sixteen kilometres out of town, through the Challhuaco Valley, get to Neumeyer Mountain Shelter, at an elevation of 1200 meters. A walk on snowshoes will take you either to Laguna Verde (Green Pond) or a fantastic lookout at the top of the valley. You can also do Nordic skiing, cross-country skiing and bobsledding.
