Cerro Catedral vs Las Leñas

Argentina's two great resorts pull in opposite directions. Cerro Catedral, above Bariloche, is the biggest and most varied ski area in South America, while Las Leñas, alone in the Mendoza high country, is the continent's reference for steep, serious off-piste.

Side by side

Cerro Catedral

Argentina

Region: Andes
Base altitude: 1030 m
Summit altitude: 2388 m
Pistes: 120 km
Lifts: 39
Season: Jun 18 → Oct 5
Snow score: 78 / 100

Go deeper: Cerro Catedral →

Las Leñas

Argentina

Region: Andes
Base altitude: 2240 m
Summit altitude: 3430 m
Pistes: 29 km
Lifts: 14
Season: Jun 21 → Sep 24
Snow score: 86 / 100

Go deeper: Las Leñas →

Verdict: who picks which

Cerro Catedral is for everyone, Las Leñas is for experts. Catedral spreads 120 km of piste and nearly 40 lifts across all levels, with tree skiing, lake views and Bariloche's restaurants and nightlife twenty minutes away. Las Leñas is smaller on paper, 29 km, but its legendary Marte chair opens a vast high-alpine off-piste playground that draws freeriders from around the world, backed by a compact ski-in ski-out base with little beyond the slopes. Choose Catedral for size, scenery and mixed groups; choose Las Leñas for steep terrain and a pure ski mission.

Both run the same June-to-early-October southern winter, but they reward very different skiers. Cerro Catedral is the all-rounder: a huge, modern network above Bariloche where beginners, families and intermediates have room to roam, tree runs give shape on stormy days, and the town below turns the trip into a holiday of chocolate shops, steakhouses and lake excursions. Las Leñas is a specialist. Its groomed acreage is modest, but when the Marte chair spins after a storm it unlocks couloirs, faces and long descents that rank among the best lift-served off-piste anywhere, which is why it fills with dedicated freeriders every August. The base is a tidy cluster of ski-in ski-out hotels and little else, so nights are quiet. Pick Cerro Catedral if your group is mixed or you want a town at the end of the day; pick Las Leñas if you are a strong skier chasing steep lines and can live for the mountain alone.