OVER & OUT: THE VAN TITER VALLEY
For something wilder, drop over the back from Catedral into the Van Titer valley. Van Titer is a bit gnarlier and a real ‘day out’.
It's also accessed with a 20 minute hike. However, this one is much scarier and not for the faint hearted because the slope you walk across is usually sheet ice. Avalanches are also common on the line in too, which is over the back after scooting down the ridgeline skier's left off the Nubes Chair, or a short bootpack up and over above the Lenga chair.
Wind loaded slabs are a regular feature where it drops straight down to the Rucaco Valley 1,000 vertical metres or so below. Several people have died there over the years. Obviously you need to know what you're doing, current conditions, and at the least be with someone who has been there before (on good days, there is usually a decent amount of people heading out there so striking up a conversation to ask for directions isn't difficult).
Getting a good local guide is the smart ploy for visitors keen on the experience. They will find you the best lines and get you there and back as safely as possible. There are definitely some serious lines with big consequences when you get into Van Titer proper, but also some more mellow bowls to ski.
It's usually going to be a full day tour, because there is a decent amount of skinning/climbing involved to access the best slopes, plus you have to skin up and out to exit back down through Catedral. You don't want to be caught out if it socks in that's for sure. On good days the views are amazing out to Tronador, at 3,334m the highest peak in the region, and beyond to the volcanoes on the Chilean side of the Andes.
- Nic Lawrence