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2027 trips
A snowboarder at Cerro Catedral above Lake Nahuel Huapi
Sunset over the Andes from La Parva, Chile
Fernet poured the Argentine way after a day on the mountain
Asado steak hanging over open coals
Ski slopes in the Andes above Santiago, Chile
Friends celebrating together at a Bariloche après

Andes Summers by Bluebird

Peak season

JulySeptember

Summer up north. Winter down south

August in the Andes is peak season, and we have spent years riding it on both sides of the range: Chile above Santiago, Argentina around Bariloche. Here is what a week down here looks like, and how we plan it.

Pick your Andes

When your season is officially over, the Andes are just getting good. From June to October the range fills in, from the big alpine above Santiago to the lake and forest lines around Bariloche, and the best skiing of the southern winter happens while the rest of the world is in flip flops.

Two countries, one season

Pick your Andes

Same range, two very different weeks. We know both sides, and the right call depends on what you want around the skiing.

The Andes lit pink at dusk behind apartment towers in Santiago
August 2027

Chile

A capital city as your base

Santiago, with La Parva, Valle Nevado and El Colorado an hour up the road, Portillo a day trip away, and the volcanoes of Chillán to the south. Higher, drier and bigger alpine than Patagonia, with big-city restaurants and nightlife between snow days.

  • Three resorts within an hour of the city: La Parva, Valle Nevado and El Colorado, plus Portillo
  • Bigger, higher alpine: lifts to 3,600 meters
  • Our 2027 Pop-Up Lodge: a house in Las Condes, 8 guests at most, 14 – 28 August
See the Chile 2027 Lodge
Cerro Catedral ridgelines and the lake below
September 2027

Argentina

Bariloche, the lake and the refugios

Cerro Catedral above Lake Nahuel Huapi, the biggest ski area in South America, and a refugio network that turns the backcountry into a week of its own. Asado at night, Fernet poured the local way, and a town that rides like family.

  • The biggest ski area in South America, right above town
  • Refugio Frey, Jakob and Lopez for hut-to-hut days
  • Where Bluebird started: our deepest network anywhere
See Patagonia, Argentina

What a week looks like

The riding

Chile

In Chile the day starts above the tree line. La Parva and Valle Nevado link up on a good day, El Colorado sits next door, and Portillo is a road trip toward the Argentine border with the Laguna del Inca under the lifts. Big open faces, long groomers, and the Andes filling the whole horizon.

Argentina

In Argentina, Cerro Catedral is the heart of it. Big terrain, long views over the lake, and a season that runs while the rest of the world is in flip flops. Resort laps in the morning, sidecountry after lunch.

Valle Nevado in the Andes above Santiago, Chile
Chairlift climbing dramatic snowy terrain at Cerro Catedral
Sweeping mountain views from Refugio Nubes at Cerro Catedral
The Cerro Catedral gondola above Bariloche

The culture & local social life

Chile

Santiago between snow days is the point: Barrio Italia and Lastarria for dinner, a pisco sour before it, and a city of seven million that does not know you are a skier. The mountain villages up the road, Farellones and La Parva, are quiet at night by comparison.

Argentina

Asado with the group, Fernet poured the local way, après at Berlina, and a night out that runs later than you planned. This is the part most travelers never find on their own.

Après drinks at Berlina in Bariloche
Afterparty at Mesa Midi in Bariloche
Après on the club terrace after a day at Catedral
Live concert at the Catedral ski base
Rave night at the Ciclic ski resort club

The food

Chile

Chile eats from the sea: ceviche, machas a la parmesana, a completo at midnight, and wine from an hour outside the city. At the Pop-Up Lodge, three asados a week at the house.

Argentina

Argentines bring you in. Asado, empanadas, Malbec, and a table that goes on for hours. A trip here feels less like a vacation and more like landing somewhere you already had friends.

A full asado spread around the table on a Patagonia ski week
Refugio Frey mountain hut glowing at dusk beneath the Patagonia granite spires

Backcountry

Backcountry on both sides of the range

Chile

In Chile the backcountry is above the resorts: the bowls behind La Parva and Valle Nevado, heli skiing straight out of Santiago, and the volcano lines of Nevados de Chillán and Corralco further south, where you ride down a smoking cone through araucaria forest.

Argentina

Bariloche is one of the best backcountry destinations in the world. The refugio network is the draw: Refugio Frey, Refugio Jakob and Refugio Lopez connect through high alpine terrain, letting you link days hut to hut with riders from everywhere.

Years on the ground, not desk research

Brendan has spent 7+ years living and traveling in Argentina, including 4+ years based in Bariloche, and Santiago is the second home: the same kind of friends, guides, drivers and restaurant tables, an hour from a different set of mountains. The plan you get is not desk research. It is the trip we do ourselves.

Brendan riding in Patagonia
Brendan in Bariloche
Brendan in Chile

Films from the Andes

Including the 986 x Bluebird Bariloche 2025 trip, shot by the crew at 986 Productions. The Chile chapter gets filmed in 2027.

The Patagonia filmSnow, towns, asados, and the people behind a Bluebird trip.
986 x Bluebird, by CyrusBariloche 2025.
986 x Bluebird, night reelBariloche 2025.

Two ways to ride

Edition 01

Resort Riding & Park

Resort days and park laps, at Catedral or above Santiago. Built for riders who want lifts, features, and a city or town with a pulse.

Edition 02

Backcountry

Touring, sidecountry, heli days and bigger lines for groups chasing snow past the rope, on either side of the range.

Two anchors: Santiago and Bariloche

Santiago and Bariloche anchor it, one on each side of the Andes. From either we can add more, depending on your dates and what you want.

Chile

  • Santiago · La Parva / Valle Nevado / El Colorado
  • Portillo
  • Nevados de Chillán · Corralco

Argentina

  • Bariloche · Cerro Catedral
  • Caviahue
  • Las Leñas
  • Ushuaia · Cerro Castor

Want it fully hosted?

Chile 2027 is a Bluebird Pop-Up Lodge in Santiago: a house in Las Condes, 8 guests at most, a private driver to three resorts, one or two weeks in August. In Argentina we can plug you into trips run by teams we ride with, like hosted lodge stays at Catedral or heli and snowmobile days in Caviahue.

See the Chile 2027 LodgeSee Trusted Hosts

Move your season south

Tell us your trip, Chile or Argentina, and we will point you at the right week. No pressure, no obligation.

Photos: Saint Ex (CC BY-SA 3.0; resized and cropped for layout) · Cesar I. Martins (CC BY 2.0; resized and cropped for layout)

Andes Summers: Ski Chile & Argentina | Bluebird Ski Trips