Perito Moreno Ski Area
Laderas Cerro Perito Moreno is a ski area located near El Bolsón that is the fastest growing ski resort in Argentina. It was established by Club Andino Piltriquitrón in 1946, and whilst Laderas (ie hillside) is still mostly no frills with an emphasis on the roots of skiing, it is becoming more commercialised and added 4 new lifts from 2020 to 2023 and for 2024 there is a new lift and base village.
The Cerro Perito Moreno ski resort was named after Francisco “Perito” Moreno who was an explorer and surveyor of the borders of Chile and Argentina, so he became a pioneer of skiing in South America. The only problem is that Perito explored lots of areas in Argentina and has various places named after him! Whilst Cerro Perito Moreno has a small glacier called Perito Moreno, it’s often confused with the famous Glacier Perito Moreno in the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina. To further confuse matters, there’s also the Bariloche suburb of Perito Moreno, the town of Perito Moreno, the national park, and a museum with the same name!
Pros & Cons of Laderas Perito Moreno
Pros
- The nearby town of El Bolson has a really relaxed hippy atmosphere.
- It’s relatively cheap to ski at Cerro Perito Moreno.
- Laderas Perito Moreno offers plain simple family fun. On weekends they often have family events, musica pumping from the speakers near the confiteria, and they may have cartoon characters handing out candy to the kids (and the adults!).
Cons
- The snow quality in the mid to lower parts of the ski area can be sketchy.
- Despite ongoing development, the lift capacity is inefficient and a long way from being world class.
Pro or Con Depending On Your Persepctive
- There is negligible on-mountain lodging so you need a daily commute from El Bolson to get to the ski area.
Cerro Perito Moreno Ski and Snowboard Terrain
The Perito Moreno ski area is small and has 9 lifts, 16 piste, 34km of slopes, and a vertical drop of 760 metres (990m – 1,750m), although the zone below the mid-mountain hub at 1,400 metres elevation is not always skiable.
The new part of the ski resort is up in the alpine, whilst the former part
essentially consists of several short groomed runs that have been cut through the forest.
Perito Moreno Ski Resort now has 9 lifts, which includes 3 double chair lifts, 1 T-bar, and an assortment of primitive surface lifts which are a bit of a “drag”!
Cerro Perito Moreno caters primarily to beginner and intermediate skiers and boarders who want to get a few turns in. Even though “Perito Moreno” translates to the “dark expert”, experts shouldn’t get too excited about abundant prospects of challenging terrain. There are a few “advanced” piste and one expertos run. When the snow conditions are primo there is some nice tree skiing, or in the upper zones you can ski wherever you like off-piste. There is also some good backcountry.
Perito Moreno Snow
You might need to do a snow dance to worship the snow god, because Cerro Perito Moreno is not naturally blessed with abundant snowfall in the lower reaches. The mild weather conditions that are great for growing fruit and hops in El Bolson are not particularly conducive to great snow at Perito Moreno. However the snow in the new upper zones is usually markedly better.
The slopes at Laderas Perito Moreno are predominantly east facing and sit in the sun most of the morning, so the snow is often not well retained from mid-mountain down to the base. There are also some slopes that have a southeasterly aspect that fare better.
Some websites cite that Perito Moreno doesn’t need much snow cover because there is only tussocky grass on the slopes. Sure there are no huge boulders in the middle of the runs, but there are definitely rocks, particularly on El Puma. Scrapes on the base of my skis would be testament to this!
Where is Perito Moreno Ski Resort?
The ski resort is situated on Cerro Perito Moreno in the Andes Mountain Range, 26 km (16 miles) from the town of El Bolson in the Rio Negro Province of Patagonia Argentina. El Bolson is 121 km south of
Bariloche (1:30 hours).
El Bolson Argentina
The ski area has very basic ski club lodging. Most people stay down in El Bolson where lodging consists of hotels, hosterias, cabanas and a few hostels.
El Bolson is a town in a valley at the base of Mount Piltriquitrón. It has about 19,000 inhabitants, many of which are offspring of the hippies that arrived in the 60s and 70s. The town today continues to attract hippies and skilful artisans that appreciate the laid back lifestyle.
El Bolsón has an unusually mild climate relative to other nearby Patagonian towns, and as such the main economy is based on growing fruit and hops. Not surprisingly, there are lots of locally brewed beers available in town!
El Bolsón is also famous for the big market that is held a few days a week. Buy handicrafts or art, and feast on the waffles and local beers.
The El Bolson restaurants have typical Patagonia fare such as trout and lamb, but vegetarians can also stuff their bellies with vego food in El Bolson. Cafes or shops selling chocolates and homemade ice-cream are also commonplace.
El Bolson Accommodations Listings
Activities
In addition to skiing and snowboarding at Cerro Perito Moreno, other activities at the ski resort include tobogganing and snowshoeing, and snow kiting is growing in popularity. Snowcat sightseeing tours to the upper parts of the mountain are also a possibility.