Despite saying 12 years ago that we wouldn’t return to Perito Moreno, we decided to revisit considering that a lot of development had occurred since our last visit. Instead of being entirely below the tree line where the snow cover was unreliable, the ski area has expanded higher up the mountain to the sub-alpine and alpine, and the uppermost lift has a good aspect for snow quality.

We visited on a Saturday and it was really busy by Perito Moreno standards, and the car park was almost full. Apparently it was the best day of the season because there was fresh snow and it was a delightful sunny still day, so all the locals were out in full force. It was an incredibly frustrating day due to the waits for the lifts. The queues themselves were not particularly long and there weren’t that many people there, but the efficiency of the lifts was really poor so often we had to wait 25 to 30 minutes each time to ride a poma or T-bar. The T-bar in particular was wearisome because it had so few Ts loaded onto the lift and it was running at a snail’s pace. The ski racers had priority access to make things worse, and in typical Argentina style, people pushed into the lift lines with their friends and no one seemed to care.

We didn’t ride the lifts too many times and decided we’d get more turns in by going backcountry. The weather was perfect for ski touring and the snow quality up high was lovely. Unfortunately to return to the ski area, we had to queue for the Oeste lift for 40 minutes and then had to queue for the double chair to download to the car park. We assume that weekdays would be fine at Perito Moreno, but I think I really mean it this time when I say I’m not returning to Perito Moreno!

In addition to new lifts, another improvement for the ski area was the quality of the grooming. On our previous visit it was shoddy, but this time all the piste were nicely groomed. The new cafeteria in the upper zone was also lovely, and they had a DJ on the deck playing tunes.

There were building works at the base to put in more car parking and accommodation, and it sounds like the ski area will also add more terrain in coming years. This is a ski area to keep an eye on, so maybe I will return!

The town of El Bolson had changed immensely since our last visit too. Instead of being a basic hippy town, it had evolved into a trendy tourist town with upscale breweries and restaurants.
See our video here

Perito Moreno is largely frequented by local families learning to ski and having good family fun. I was a bit disappointed that the locals didn’t have tie-dyed outfits on to fit in with the hippie reputation!

This no frills club run ski area wouldn’t typically hit the radar of international ski or snowboard fiends. However if you’re travelling in the area to visit the craft market and you’re a beginner, this is a great place to learn to ski or snowboard or refine the basic skills. Best of all, everything is incredibly cheap!

Considering the small size of the terrain and the potential for poor snow conditions, Perito Moreno is not a good destination for advanced riders or powderhounds. There is some potential with the backcountry riding above the resort. If you’ve done this we’d love to hear from you!

Plans are afoot for significant development at Cerro Perito Moreno, so this ski resort may evolve into something much bigger!

For more detailed ratings of Perito Moreno and to see how it compares to other ski resorts see our Argentina ski resort ratings.
See our video here