All deposits are nonrefundable. Payment in full of the remaining balance is due 180 days before your trip starts.
A 7-day adventure in Patagonia to summit and ski amazing peaks in the Andes, learn fundamental ski mountaineering skills, and progress your big mountain skiing. Our program supports a range of skills and abilities & will be a ton of fun!
Deposit secures your spot, final payment will be ACH, Zelle or Credit Card with service fee
We'll tackle the following objectives and skills:
Ski Missions
Day 0 - Arrival in San Carlos de Bariloche!
Day 1 - Catedral Ski Day
Day 2 - Bella Vista or Cerro Lopez
Day 3 - Bella Vista or Cerro Lopez
Day 4 - Rest Day / Resort Day.
This will be a fun day with options for a variety of fun activities. We can take the day out of our boots or make it a mellow touring day if people would prefer more skiing. Down day activities include:
Blackbird will facilitate down day activities, but additional costs associated will be the responsibility of the guests.
Day 5 - Refugio Frey / Refugio Jacob / Refugio (Night 1)
Refugio Frey is a unique hut centered in a cirque of jagged granite towers, flush with excellent ski lines. We’ll do our best to make it to this hut on this trip, but ultimately there are a lot of factors that could impact our ability to get into the huts. After breakfast, we’ll load the ski lifts to get a start on our approach to Refugio Frey. We’ll tour into the hut where we’ll settle in and get some dinner for the evening.
Day 6 - Refugio Frey / Refugio Jacob / Refugio (Night 2)
Ski touring/mountaineering in the basin outside of the Frey Hut. The terrain and views in this area are spectacular! We'll get in a full day of skiing before heading back to the Refugio for dinner and bed.
Day 7 - Refugio Frey - Out and back to town
Our last day at the Frey Hut, we'll take advantage of the awesome ski terrain and get in some laps before packing up and heading back to town. We'll close our trip with a celebration dinner in Bariloche.
Here are the skills and fitness you'll need for your course:
Here's what's included with your trip:
Not Included
Ski/Split Touring Gear
Blackbird Mountain Guides offers both scheduled group programs and private programs.
Private programs are simply above and beyond what Blackbird Mountain Guides currently has scheduled. Scheduled courses are not always less expensive. Before booking a trip with Blackbird Mountain Guides, clients are encouraged to review the differences between these types of programs, and to decide what works best for them.
SCHEDULED PROGRAMS
Scheduled Programs have fixed dates, itineraries, objectives, curriculum, and costs. They typically appeal to solo individuals or small groups or who are looking to share the cost of their program with a larger group. Correspondingly, scheduled programs are less expensive for smaller groups (1-2), and they provide the opportunity to meet others with similar interests. If you have a large group (3+), Scheduled programs will often be more expensive. They can fill up quickly, and scheduling flexibility is obviously limited.
Scheduled programs will have advertised dates. All scheduled programs can be run as private programs with private dates/rates as well.
PRIVATE PROGRAMS
Private programs have scheduling freedom. They typically appeal to those who would like some flexibility in planning their own trip or course. In this regard, Itineraries and objectives can be tailored to suit current conditions as well as client goals. Private programs are normally less expensive for larger groups (3+). If you have a small group (1-2) private programs will be more expensive.
Day 0 - Arrive in San Carlos de Bariloche, pickup by Blackbird Mountain Guides
Day 1 - Catedral Ski Day
Day 2 - Bella Vista or Cerro Lopez
Day 3 - Bella Vista or Cerro Lopez
Day 4 - Rest Day / Resort Day.
This will be a fun day with options for a variety of fun activities. We can take the day out of our boots or make it a mellow touring day if people would prefer more skiing. Down day activities include:
Blackbird will facilitate down day activities, but additional costs associated will be the responsibility of the guests.
Day 5 - Refugio Frey / Refugio Jacob / Refugio (Night 1)
Refugio Frey is a unique hut centered in a cirque of jagged granite towers, flush with excellent ski lines. We’ll do our best to make it to this hut on this trip, but ultimately there are a lot of factors that could impact our ability to get into the huts. After breakfast, we’ll load the ski lifts to get a start on our approach to Refugio Frey. We’ll tour into the hut where we’ll settle in and get some dinner for the evening.
Day 6 - Refugio Frey / Refugio Jacob / Refugio (Night 2)
Ski touring/mountaineering in the basin outside of the Frey Hut. The terrain and views in this area are spectacular! We'll get in a full day of skiing before heading back to the Refugio for dinner and bed.
Day 7 - Refugio Frey - Out and back to town
Our last day at the Frey Hut, we'll take advantage of the awesome ski terrain and get in some laps before packing up and heading back to town. We'll close our trip with a celebration dinner in Bariloche.
We'll tackle the following objectives and skills:
Ski Missions
Day 0 - Arrival in San Carlos de Bariloche!
Day 1 - Catedral Ski Day
Day 2 - Bella Vista or Cerro Lopez
Day 3 - Bella Vista or Cerro Lopez
Day 4 - Rest Day / Resort Day.
This will be a fun day with options for a variety of fun activities. We can take the day out of our boots or make it a mellow touring day if people would prefer more skiing. Down day activities include:
Blackbird will facilitate down day activities, but additional costs associated will be the responsibility of the guests.
Day 5 - Refugio Frey / Refugio Jacob / Refugio (Night 1)
Refugio Frey is a unique hut centered in a cirque of jagged granite towers, flush with excellent ski lines. We’ll do our best to make it to this hut on this trip, but ultimately there are a lot of factors that could impact our ability to get into the huts. After breakfast, we’ll load the ski lifts to get a start on our approach to Refugio Frey. We’ll tour into the hut where we’ll settle in and get some dinner for the evening.
Day 6 - Refugio Frey / Refugio Jacob / Refugio (Night 2)
Ski touring/mountaineering in the basin outside of the Frey Hut. The terrain and views in this area are spectacular! We'll get in a full day of skiing before heading back to the Refugio for dinner and bed.
Day 7 - Refugio Frey - Out and back to town
Our last day at the Frey Hut, we'll take advantage of the awesome ski terrain and get in some laps before packing up and heading back to town. We'll close our trip with a celebration dinner in Bariloche.
Here are the skills and fitness you'll need for your course:
Here's what's included with your trip:
Not Included
Ski/Split Touring Gear
Ok, this was my 2nd hut trip with Blackbird and wow was it amazing. I mean, at 50 if I had done this 25 years ago I am pretty sure my life would have gone in a very different direction.
First and foremost, Zeb Blaise (owner and lead guide), is an absolute rockstar. He ensured that everyone made it to the lodge no matter how hard the weather and airlines tried to prevent it. He was constantly working to make sure this was an amazing experience.
While visibility was difficult all week I still think we scored big time. With 5-10cm of fresh every day and a mix of guides and practicum's with local knowledge we were never longing for more. With the ability to self select we were able to choose from skiing bell to bell or a more mellow day but always had fun.
I could go on about the food being fantastic and the hut's sauna for days but there is only so much room to type.
Oh yeah, about the pillows... This is probably this best pillow terrain I've ever seen, in person, a magazine or a video part. I mean Mike Lindell would be jealous of this place. A week later and I'm still dreaming about pillow lines!
The only real question is whether I will return to Snowfall or check out a different hut next winter...
In short, a once in a lifetime experience. The perfect balance between comfort (a lodge that is off the grid but has everything you need, including sauna and amazing food) and outdoor adventure (disconnected, epic snow and terrain, unreal views, the list goes on). To top it off, Blackbird guides helps to make the experience as good as it gets. They are professionals at coordinating and communicating plans, as well as true backcountry mountain guides - ensuring a safe experience, while providing education and guaranteeing epic powder turns. I have used Blackbird since they started and will continue to do so. They are at the top of their game. Don't miss this trip, or frankly, any trip Blackbird puts together. If you have the opportunity, GO!
Magnificent terrain to explore each day and a beautiful hut to return to each night. Couldn’t have loved this week more!
Blackbird trips are something special. Amazing terrain, super knowledgeable and fun guides, great guests, and spectacular food. Snowfall had it all, from high alpine & glaciers to super fun tree and pillow skiing. Looking forward to coming back.
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