Visitor reviews for Cerro Castor Ski Resort

• July 15, 2016
  Bruno from Brazil
  

  Excellent resort. Well structured and new, suberb rental facilities and shops. The "escuelita", or ski school, treated our 3 yr old daughter with love and care. She got the first skiing experience as something pleasant and safe. Fully recommended. Too bad snow is delayed this season but at least they managed to open parts of the pistes.

• Cerro Castor Ratings

  Overall: 3.9. Based on 28 votes and 20 reviews. Vote

  Access: 4.8 (1) At least one overnight stop, (2) requires a whole day, (3) requires more than half a day – you may have time for a few turns (4) arrive by lunchtime and ski all afternoon, (5) there is a main airport within an hour of Cerro Castor.	Public Transport: 3.9 (1) There are no buses or taxis to Cerro Castor, (3) there are slow or infrequent buses / trains available, (5) getting to the resort is easy with frequent bus / train connections.
  Scenery: 4.5 (1) An ugly resort in a bland setting, (3) average mountain views and resort, (5) a spectacular setting and a beautiful / historic resort town.	Accommodation: 3.8 (1) No places to stay in/near Cerro Castor, (3) a few places to stay in the resort, (5) a wide variety of accommodation suitable to suit all budgets.
  Cheap Rooms: 3.9 (1) No budget accommodation available, (3) just one or two hostels so book ahead, (5) several cheap hostels and pensions available.	Luxury Hotels: 4.1 (1) No luxury accommodation available, (3) just one or two luxury hotels so book ahead, (5) several up-market hotels in Cerro Castor.
  Ski in/Ski out: 3.6 (1) The ski area is located far from any accommodation, (3) a free ski bus takes you to the ski area in a short trip, (5) Ski-in ski-out accommodation is available.	Childcare: 3.6 (1) There are no child care facilities at Cerro Castor, (5) the resort has excellent child-care facilities including at least one reasonably priced creche.
  Snowsure: 4.7 (1) Occasionally gets enough snow for skiing, (2) is often closed due to a lack of snow, (3) occasionally suffers from a lack of snow, (4) rarely suffers from a lack of snow, (5) Cerro Castor is snowsure even in the poorest seasons.	Snowmaking: 3.6 (1) Cerro Castor relies entirely on natural snow, (3) there are just a few snow cannons, (5) there are snowmaking facilities on all pistes.
  Snow Grooming: 4.5 (1) There are no snow groomers at Cerro Castor, (3) occasionally some pistes are left ungroomed and in a poor state, (5) all the runs at Cerro Castor are groomed daily.	Shelter: 4.1 (1) there is nowhere to ski when it is windy or visibility is bad and lifts often shut, (3) there are some trees for poor visibility but main lifts sometimes close, (5) Cerro Castor is mostly in forest where you can ski in flat-light and windy days, lifts rarely close.
  Nearby options: 1.8 (1) If snow conditions are poor at Cerro Castor, it will be poor everywhere nearby, (3) there are good alternatives within an hours drive, (5) other locations on the same lift pass provide a rich variety of snowsure ski conditions.	Regional rating: 4.6 (1) Cerro Castor usually has poor snow conditions compared to other resorts in region, (3) has average conditions for the region, (5) usually has the best snow conditions in the region.
  Lift Staff: 4.2 (1) The staff at Cerro Castor are rude or unhelpful, (5) lift staff at Cerro Castor are pleasant, cheerful and eager to help.	Crowds/Queues: 4.3 (1) the resort is always busy and there are usually long lift queues, (3) it is quiet apart from occasional weekends and school holidays, (5) it is uncrowded and lift queues are very rare.
  Ski Schools: 3.7 (1) No ski schools available, (2) one or two ski schools but local language only, (3) a few ski schools but book early for multi-lingual instructors, (4) plenty of ski schools and multi-lingual instructors available, (5) excellent ski schools with friendly multi-lingual ski instructors.	Hire and Repairs: 4.1 (1) Nothing can be sourced, not even ski-wax or ptex. (3) there are some ski shops but rentals need to be booked in advance, (5) good quality ski equipment can be purchased or hired and overnight repairs are possible.
  Variety of pistes: 4.2 (1) The ski runs are featureless and unvaried, (3) the ski runs are varied but not extensive enough for a week, (5) Cerro Castor has diverse and interesting pistes including forests and high alpine terrain.	Beginners: 4.1 (1) Beginners can only watch others ski and snowboard, (3) a few gentle slopes but beginners will get bored in less than a week, (3) Vast areas of gentle terrain.
  Intermediates: 4.6 (1) No intermediate terrain at Cerro Castor, (3) intermediate skiers will get bored after a few days, (5) vast areas of cruising runs.	Advanced: 4.0 (1) Nothing for advanced skiers and snowboarders, (3) enough steep terrain for a few days with some good offpiste, (5) Enough steep terrain and offpiste areas to entertain advanced skiers for at least a week.
  Snow Park: 4.0 (1) Not even a kicker at Cerro Castor, (3) average sized park quite well looked after, (5) huge park area and expertly crafted pipes, jumps and boardercross trails.	Off-piste: 3.9 (1) No off-piste worth mentioning, (2) off piste is out-of-bounds, (3) some varied offpiste that stays fresh for one or two days, (5) a vast array of off-piste routes that can stay untracked for several days.
  Cross-country: 3.7 (1) There is nowhere to go for cross-country skiing around Cerro Castor, (3) there are some cross country trails available, (5) the area features many spectacular and well maintained cross-country trails.	Luge/Toboggan: 2.5 (1) No designated luge or toboggan runs, (3) there are toboggan runs that open quite often, (5) Cerro Castor has long and well maintained luge / toboggan facilities suitable for all ages.
  Mountain Dining: 4.3 (1) Nowhere to buy food by the pistes, (3) some places to eat up on the mountain but they are often busy and expensive, (5) there is a variety of excellent mountain eateries right next to the slopes to suit all budgets.	Eating: 4.2 (1) Bring your own food, there isn't even a shop. (5) A wide variety of places to eat and drink in the resort, from fast food to fancy restaurants.
  Apres-Ski: 3.4 (1) Nothing to do, not even a bar, (3) there are a few bars in the resort but nothing special, (5) clubs and bars stay open until very late and have a friendly atmosphere.	Other Sports: 2.2 (1) No sports facilities at all apart from ski lifts, (3) resort has just a small public swimming pool, (5) resort has all kinds of sports facilities, including a full-size swimming pool.
  Entertainment: 4.1 (1) Besides the snow and walking there is nothing to do here, (3) the non-skier will find things to do for few days but may become bored after a week, (5) the resort area is a fascinating place to visit, regardless of winter sports.	Winter Walks: 3.7 (1) Very limited walking and no snowshoe trails, (3) a couple of designated scenic walking/snowshoe trails, (5) extensive and diverse winter walking trails for all abilities.
  Ski Pass Value: 3.9 (1) A 1 week ski pass is overpriced compared to the number of lifts available, (3) the ski pass is averagely priced and covers a reasonable number of lifts, (5) ski passes are excellent value for money and cover a lot of lifts spanning a big area.	Value (National): 4.0 (1) Overall, Cerro Castor is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the country and not worth the money, (3) overall represents average value for money, (5) overall offers the best value resort in the country.
  Value (Global): 3.8 (1) Overall, Cerro Castor is one of the most expensive ski resorts in the world, (3) overall it offers pretty average value for money compared to resorts from other countries, (5) internationally the resort offers excellent value for money.

  Show all 35 ratings

• October 04, 2012
  Gary Charles from Australia
  

  I have now been at Cerro Castor for just over 1 week and in that time have the experienced the full extremes of weather from beautiful warm sunny days late last week through a wet (not rain) snowy day on Sunday (resulting in 20cm heavy powder on the upper slopes), a mainly sunny Monday - few people fresh tracks all day to a windy. Tuesday had very strong somtimes gale force wind gusts at the top of the mountain. However, skiing is still possible on all but the top of the mountain as it faces south and although still windy is well protected from the full force of all but southerly winds. Credit to the staff for keeping the all the chairlifts open in trying conditions. (Las Lenas take note).

  The resort is basically a large bowl containing rocky outcrops making for varied terrain - mainly intermediate runs with advanced sections. Two quad chairlifts run up each side. A quad chair services the snowboard park which has FIS standard jumps - no one using, too high. The bottom half is below the treeline and so pistes are well protected. This is serviced by another quad chair.

  The mountain still has a good but thin covering of snow with most runs still open and off-piste possible with caution.

  There are large self service restaurants well located with views of the ski field. These are heated and provide adequate retreat in bad weather.
  These serve good freshly made hot soup $24 pesos or large salad bowls with ham and egg ($40 pesos for the healthy skier snowboarder) and the usual range of hot food for the rest. A full silver service restaurant with asado etc is available near the base.

  Generally the resort has modern lifts by South American standards - nearly all quad chairs (no high speed detachable though) with tow and magic carpets for beginners.

  While some resorts have wasted money on expensive Wifi, (will be obsolete in a few years when 3G mobile data prices drop) Huesped service, expensive hotel renovations, etc to celebrate their 30 years plus existence while their lift system could best be described as a "working museum" (resulting in frequent lift closures). The well designed and run Cerro Castor is able to provide skiers with a full functioning resort in almost any weather as well as large on-piste restaurants spread around the ski field providing a retreat for "fair weather skiers."

  With more snow forecast for the final weekend all those reading this report who can't make it here can ''eat your heart out"

  The resort is not as good as Las Lenas when the top lift, Marte, is open but if Marte is closed (as is often the case) then Cerro Castor provides a good alternative.

• September 28, 2012
  Fabio from Brazil
  

  The resort is very good and you´ll probably get good snow. It's kind of expensive, but Ushuaia is at the end of the world....

  Here you can see a video of our trip, in early September 2012:
  youtube.com/watch?v=iMeH2abgAEQ

• August 27, 2010
  Patrick G from United States
  

  I have skied at 7 resorts in Argentina this year and Cerro Castor was somewhat disappointing terrain wise. Views were excellent! The other review mentioned this mountain being suitable for beginners and intermediates. This is accurate information. The mountain´s backside does offer some great runs. This year, they suffer greatly from a lack of consistent snow. It was extremely cold and icy when I skied there in the end of July. Also the mountain suffered from poor coverage and had several areas with exposed rock. Because it sees little sun aspect wise, when it does get good snow it stays well preserved is my guess. You have to use one lift to access the upper lifts at the bottom that crosses the road. It´s not a fast lift and a huge line can develop on busy days. This is not great if you don´t show up there with time available before 10. Overall, maybe not worth the cost of going down there unless you know the coverage is consistent or prefer to ski icy groomed runs.

• December 07, 2009
  Mark Cervantes from Argentina
  

  I just wanted to reach out and thank all the people that have been contacting us in regards to Cerro Castor and all the others we have first hand knowledge about. Fabio in the US mentioned us a couple of months ago and we have already helped several people plan sick vacations for next year in Patagonia. If you want info on the Cerro Castor or any of these resorts contact us at info@toursthroughargentina.com or visit our site soon.
  We ski them all and love telling people how to best enjoy them. I am packing the car and headed to mountains so perhaps we will meet along the way !! Bring on the freshies...

  Mark Cervantes(Owner/Founder)

• August 27, 2009
  R Hookham from Australia
  

  Spent 5 days at Cerro Castor this month (August 2009). All good. Great scenery, great food, friendly people and great skiing with slopes to suit all types. Well worth the trip for all Aussie skiers who want something different. Cerro Castor is much cheaper than Australian ski resorts for everything not just lift passes. Added bonus is the current value airfares being offered and the fact that it is located in Patagonia which makes it worth the trip even if you don't ski. Patagonia is a beautiful place.

• June 17, 2008
  Skisumo from United States
  

  Newest lifts in the Andes. Two more new lifts for 2008 and another one next year.
  Low elevation and nice day lodges, and did I mention no crowds.
  We stay in town because of the great food throughout the city.
  The best kept secret in Argentina or Chile.

• May 21, 2006
  roger blairs from Australia
  

  Amazing scenery,extremely modern facilities,lift tickets as cheap as chips,no crowds(August the best month). Just get a flight to Ushuaia then a taxi to the tourist info centre in town they will help you with whatever standard of accomodation you need. This is much cheaper than booking a package before you arrive. The touist agency Rumbo Sur run a bus from Ushuaia to the resort for 5 dollars. No party scene to speak of but to get away from it all and ski some nice powder this is great value for money.

• June 15, 2005
  Nick Russill from United Kingdom
  

  The newest in Argentina and, like everything in Ushuaia, the southernmost in the world, Castor Mount opens its fifth season. Very close to Tierra del Fuego capital city, where the sea and the mountains meet to be the protagonists of a dazzling geography, Castor is only 195 meters over sea level and its top rises to 1,057 meters.

  With a skiable drop that reaches 772 meters, Castor Mount distributes 19 runs with different levels of difficulties and off-piste sectors into 20 kilometers. Nordic ski is the most outstanding modality, with circuits that go through lengas forests which can also be visited on snow rackets.

  Unlike the general belief, Castor enjoys very good weather and the best quality of powder snow, due to the stability of its temperature, offering one of the longest seasons in South America. Modern lifts, skiing and snowboarding school, and all the services that complement the infrastructure and Ushuaia scenery, turn Castor Mount into a complete resort, to ski in the confines of the world. How to Get There: located 26 km from Ushuaia, where there is an international airport and a tourist harbor for large size vessels. It can also be accessed by land through National Route 3.

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