Patagonia Summers by Bluebird
JulySeptember
August in the Andes is peak season, and we have spent years riding it. Here is what a week down here looks like, and how we plan it.
Plan your August tripWhen your season is officially over, Argentina's is just getting good. From June to October the Andes fill in, and Cerro Catedral becomes the best place to ride in the southern hemisphere. We've lived down here for years. We know the mountain, the lodges, the local spots, and the people who make a week in Bariloche feel like visiting old friends.
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, sidecountry, or touring deeper into Patagonia, we build the week around the snow and the way you ride.
Asado with the crew, Fernet poured the local way, après at Berlina, and a night out that runs later than you planned. This is the part most travelers miss, and the part you will remember.
Argentines bring you in. The food is incredible and the people are warm. A trip here feels less like a vacation and more like landing somewhere you already have friends. Asado is a ritual: slow fire, shared tables, cuts passed around as they come off the grill, and bottles of Malbec opened late into the night. A ski trip in Argentina should have more than one asado with wine.
Backcountry
Bariloche is one of the best backcountry skiing and snowboarding destinations in the world. Every winter, riders and skiers come from Argentina, Europe, and North America to chase terrain that most people do not know exists. The combination of Andean snowpack, volcanic and granite spire country, and a hut system that makes multi-day travel possible puts it in rare company globally.
The refugio network is a big part of the draw. Refugio Frey, Refugio Jakob, and Refugio Lopez connect through high alpine terrain, letting you link days between huts on some of the most dramatic backcountry in the Andes. Frey in particular, set beneath a ring of spires above a frozen lake, is as good as any backcountry objective on the planet.
Brendan has spent 7+ years living and traveling in Argentina, including 4+ years based in Bariloche. The plan you get is not desk research. It is the mountain, the lodges, and the people he rides and eats with every season.
Beni, our Argentine co-founder and a ski instructor, brings the local read that only comes from growing up in these mountains.
Including the 986 x Bluebird Bariloche 2025 trip, shot by the crew at 986 Productions. A real crew, a real week.
Resort days and park laps at Catedral. Built for riders who want lifts, features, and a town with a pulse.
Touring, sidecountry, and bigger lines for crews chasing snow past the rope.
Bariloche and Cerro Catedral anchor it. From there we can add more, depending on your dates and what you want.
We can plug you into trips run by crews we ride with, like hosted lodge stays at Catedral, or heli and snowmobile days in Caviahue.
See Trusted HostsBook a free intro call and we will point you at the right week. Free, 30 minutes, no obligation.
Plan your August trip