We visited Catedral in two stints during our Argentina jaunt, with the return trip being far superior. For the first trip, it was raining in the village. In the absence of a decent snow report for Catedral, it was hard to figure out if the skiing higher up the mountain would be OK. We didn’t venture out because we’re powder hounds not rain hounds, and it was probably a wise move because reports from fellow hotel guests at the end of the day suggested it was far from ideal. LAN had also misplaced our ski bag, so trying to rent skis would have added to the pain of skiing in the rain.

We stayed at the Club Hotel Catedral. It was a decent hotel but had some shortcomings that might have been excused had it not been so costly. The beautiful lounge area with its sofas, high ceilings, and huge windows looking up to the ski hill was a highlight of the hotel. Service levels were poor and lots of the staff had perfected their resting bitch face. Our room was cute looking but the walls were paper thin and we could hear every door slam in our corridor. One of the major problems was the water, and by the sounds of it, it was a common problem across the village. The drain in the shower/bath didn’t drain very well and the water was dark brown. Apparently the water supply in the village is not covered and contained, and when it rains, many of the properties have brown muddy water – yikes!

On our subsequent visits we stayed in downtown Bariloche, which was much more affordable. We’d heard so much about the insane crowds at Catedral and were wondering whether to buy a fast pass or not because there was a little bit of fresh snow. We’re so glad that we didn’t because whilst it was busy at the base with beginners, it was reasonably quiet at the top and there were no lift lines. We had plenty of fun and getting some quasi-fresh lines was easy without working for it. We were reminded as to why Catedral is so popular, with lifts that are far superior to many other South American ski resorts and the breadth of terrain, and the wow factor views.

You can see how we rate Catedral on our Argentina ski resort ratings.
See our video here

Skied Cerro Catedral on September 21st, 2019.

PROS
Large resort, never felt crowded on the runs/piste
Amazing views, snow capped peaks in most directions, glacial-fed lakes to the East and South and lots of exposed granite.
Good on-mountain food and beverages and patio decks to enjoy
Good village at the base
only 25 minutes by road to near-by town of Bariloche (either place is fine to stay at IMO)
Interesting areas of off-piste terrain
Friendly locals and skiers

CONS
Slow and old chairlifts.
Massive waits to get on the chairs
No organization or lines or gates to improve the wait process. Everyone just pushes through each other. Like animals...
Must download to get back down to the village, as snow line is about 500 vertical feet above the base village during most of the season (heavy snowfall can open the runs all of the way down for a few weeks during the middle of the season).

Definitely worth the effort to ski here. If you go, be at the lifts early, by 9am opening time. Lines are reasonable then, but get long by 9:30 am (we waited 40 minutes for the 6 seater chair at 10 am). Worth skiing 1 or 2 days. Combine this with a visit to Baguales Mountain Reserve Catskiiing about an hour south of Bariloche if you can. Baguales is awesome and totally worth the $500/day cost, and dinner/overnight cost of $300. Good airport (BRC) but only have non-stop flights to/from Buenos Aires (AEP and EZE), could not get non-stop to/from Santiago (SCL).
See our video here

Catedral is the biggest and best of the Argentina ski resorts. It might cost more, but you get the value for money.

Get there early because lift lines can be long when the snow's good.

The off-piste and slack country are the most diverse of the South American ski resorts.
See our video here

This area has great tree skiing and reliably receives storms but due to its low elevation the coverage can be really spotty. The 2012 season was just that, a spotty one with mandatory downloading on the chairs over the last pitches because they were nothing but dirt. When the storms did hit they were fantastic, immediately covering the mountain's great tree skiing from top to bottom with beautiful powder.

The high snow line makes it all the more worth it to visit Refugio Frey. Information about the refugio is found at the 'Club Andino' office in central Bariloche. This was the best hut I've ever visited; the snow, the terrain, the hut, the works were all perfect.

Overall I 100% recommend Bariloche as the destination of any ski trip. Don't be mislead by its Argentinian address, fly in and out of Santiago to get there!
See our video here

Cerro Catedral has the biggest and best terrain of any of the ski resorts we’ve visited in South America, and we’ve rated it as the best overall ski resort in South America because it has lots of great factors going for it.

The snow quality at the top of the mountain is pretty good, and better than nearby Cerro Bayo and Chapelco where the top elevation is lower. A great advantage of Catedral is the huge size of the mountain. The terrain for advanced and expert riders is superb with lots of variety, and some chutes will get the palms really sweaty. The slackcountry and backcountry terrain is also very noteworthy. The lifts are pretty good relative to other South America ski resorts, although the many slow double chairs are rather primitive.

Whilst some call Catedral the “Whistler of South America”, Catedral doesn’t have even a fraction of the organisational skills of Whistler Blackcomb. This plays out when the lift queues are long and the staff do nothing to aid lift loading to maximise lift capacity. It can be frustrating to watch 2 people sitting on a quad chair when there’s a half hour wait for the lift. But after a while the lack of service, signage and ski patrol work just adds to the charm of the resort and you quickly learn not to care. This is all part of getting into the culture of Argentina!

Back to the lift queues…… we visited in a supposedly quiet season when it wasn’t teeming with Brazilians (the season Volcan Puyehue spewed its guts) yet it was still really busy. Thankfully there aren’t too many great riders, but the freshies in-bounds still disappear too quickly. Another con is the quality of the snow anywhere except at the top of the mountain.

A major advantage of Cerro Catedral is the village. It’s a rarity in South America to stay on-mountain in a vibrant village. Of course Cerro Catedral’s proximity to Bariloche is also a huge plus.

For more detailed ratings of Cerro Catedral and to see how it compares to other ski resorts in South America, see our powderhounds resort ratings.
See our video here