Visitor reviews for Cerro Catedral Ski Resort
Cerro Catedral Ratings
Snowsure: 3.2
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Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing
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Is often closed due to a lack of snow
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Occasionally suffers from a lack of snow
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Rarely suffers from a lack of snow
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Cerro Catedral is snowsure even in the poorest seasons
Variety of pistes: 4.1
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The ski runs are featureless and unvaried
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The ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week
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Cerro Catedral has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain
Off-piste: 3.5
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No off-piste worth mentioning
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Off piste is out-of-bounds
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Some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days
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A vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days
Scenery: 4.6
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An ugly resort in a bland setting
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Average mountain views and resort
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A spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town
Access: 4.6
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At least one overnight stop
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Requires a whole day
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Requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns
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Arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon
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There is a main airport within an hour of Cerro Catedral
Public Transport: 3.6
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There are no buses or taxis to Cerro Catedral
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There are slow or infrequent buses / trains available
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Getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections
Accommodation: 4.2
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No places to stay in/near Cerro Catedral
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A few places to stay in the resort
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A wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets
Cheap Rooms: 3.6
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No budget accommodation available
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Just one or two hostels so book ahead
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Several cheap hostels and pensions available
Luxury Hotels: 4.0
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No luxury accommodation available
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Just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead
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Several up-market hotels in Cerro Catedral
Ski in/Ski out: 3.6
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The ski area is located far from any accommodation
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A free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip
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Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available
Childcare: 3.8
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There are no child care facilities at Cerro Catedral
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The resort has limited child-care facilities
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the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche
Snowmaking: 2.5
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Cerro Catedral relies entirely on natural snow
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There are just a few snow cannons
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There are snowmaking facilities on all pistes
Snow Grooming: 3.5
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There are no snow groomers at Cerro Catedral
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Occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state
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All the runs at Cerro Catedral are groomed daily
Shelter: 2.8
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There is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut
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There are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close
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Cerro Catedral is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close
Nearby options: 2.2
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If snow conditions are poor at Cerro Catedral, it will be poor everywhere nearby
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There are good alternatives within an hours drive
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Other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions
Regional rating: 3.5
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Cerro Catedral usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region
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Has average conditions for the region
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Usually has the best snow conditions in the region
Lift Staff: 3.7
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The staff at Cerro Catedral are rude or unhelpful
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Lift staff at Cerro Catedral are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help
Crowds/Queues: 2.7
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The resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues
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It is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays
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It is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare
Ski Schools: 4.3
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No ski schools available
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One or two ski schools but local language only
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A few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors
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Plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available
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Excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors
Hire and Repairs: 4.2
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Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex
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There are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance
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Good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible
Beginners: 3.5
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Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard
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A few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week
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Vast areas of gentle terrain
Intermediates: 4.4
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No intermediate terrain at Cerro Catedral
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Intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days
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Vast areas of cruising runs
Advanced: 4.2
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Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders
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Enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste
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Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week
Snow Park: 3.0
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Not even a kicker at Cerro Catedral
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Average sized park quite well looked after
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Huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails
Cross-country: 2.9
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There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Cerro Catedral
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There are some cross country trails available
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The area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails
Luge/Toboggan: 2.3
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No designated luge or toboggan runs
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There are toboggan runs that open quite often
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Cerro Catedral has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages
Mountain Dining: 3.8
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Nowhere to buy food by the pistes
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Some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive
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There is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets
Eating: 4.0
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Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop
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There are a few places to eat in the resort but nothing special
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A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants
Apres-Ski: 3.9
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Nothing to do, not even a bar
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There are a few bars in the resort but nothing special
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Clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere
Other Sports: 2.7
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No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts
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Resort has just a small public swimming pool
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Resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool
Entertainment: 3.8
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Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here
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The non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week
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The resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports
Winter Walks: 3.1
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Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails
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A couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails
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Extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities
Ski Pass Value: 2.8
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A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available
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The ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts
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Ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area
Value (National): 3.1
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Overall, Cerro Catedral is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money
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Overall represents average value for money
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Overall offers the best value resort in the country
Value (Global): 2.8
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Overall, Cerro Catedral is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world
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Overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries
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Internationally the resort offers excellent value for money
Show all 35 ratings
September 08, 2006
Marcelo
from
USA - California
Sometimes it helps to understand the perspective of the writer when reading a review. I’m an intermediate skier – used to skiing blue runs in Colorado resorts like Keystone, Copper & Durango. This was my 2nd trip to Catedral – we were there from 8/9/06 to 8/23/06. The conditions during this period were the best of the 2006 season.
THE GOOD:
Lifts – Plenty of them & lines are relatively short (our max wait time was 15 min)
Scenery - Lakes, mountains & forests. It really is beautiful
Price – Still a deal in USD. Single day lift tickets run between $20 USD & $40 USD depending on dates
Ski rental availability – Good equipment & plenty of stores to rent from at the base.
Snow Tour – free service with guides that take ski groups around the mountain to get to know the runs better.
THE BAD
Few “true” runs – There are a total of 35 green, blue & red runs per the snow report on the resort web site. Of those 35, only about 10 are true runs. The rest are trails or short connecting runs.
Short “true” runs – Condor I,II&III is the only top to bottom combination. Pista 6 & Amancay are 2/3 of the mountain. Other than that, you can expect continuous runs of about 10 minutes before hitting a trail or connecting run.
Too many crossings of runs – the trails cross many of the runs & makes for too many people going in different directions
Snow conditions: The combination of humidity, low elevation & relative high temperatures for a ski resort makes for tough snow conditions. We got dumped on when we were there but powder & packed powder conditions lasted only 3 days. In my opinion, you should expect spring skiing conditions as a general rule.
Grooming – Expect plenty of bumps by mid-morning. They don’t use snow machines to fill up & even out terrain when they groom at night.
Bottom Line:
Catedral gets rave reviews for it’s beauty and it having the largest infrastructure in S. America. Unfortunately its weak point is what matters the most to many – the quality of the runs & snow.
July 15, 2006
Nicolas
from
Argentina
It's not real that you have to start most of the time at 1200 mts., last 4 seasons you could start from base, making it perfect for beginners who can learn to ski with a really small pendent and single elevation.
Bariloche has an international airport, you can fly from the center of Brazil in almost 3 hours and from Europe and North America in 10 hours or less.
The trip is quite long as we are the southern most country in the world but it's worth it. Argentina's (the country where Bariloche is located, province of Rio Negro) economy has devaluated, it's pesos' value making 1 dollar cost 3 pesos, so if you come with dollars each of them will value 3 times (or probably more) than in any other ski center in the world.
If you are a pro, Catedral is also prepared for you.
Chairlifts are great, very well maintained and modern.
There are nice hostels for 8 or 9 dollars a night (check "Tango Inn" out) and if you like dancing there are 10 dance clubs in Bariloche city, including the famous Pacha.
July 27, 2005
Susana
from
Argentina
Catedral has fantastic views, surrounded by lakes and open views of the Andes and the volcanos of Chile The snow starts most the time at 1200 mts. and the base is at 700 mts. For that reason you must to take a chairlift or gondola to the start of the ski area. The slope are very different and challenging. Plenty of restaurants with good food and friendly people. Best place to stay is the Villa Catedral, in the base of the mountain but Bariloche city is 15 km away and has good hotels, restaurants, shops and all the amenities of a city. It has a train station, but the train is very primitive, and the airport is close to the city anyway.
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