World’s Most Southerly Ski Area Celebrates 25th Season

Cerro Castor, the world’s most southerly full ski resort, has opened for what is its 25^th season.

Having only opened at the turn of the century, the ski area is also one of the world’s newest.  It’s located close to the port-city of Ushuaia, from which many cruises and expeditions depart to the Antarctic, in Argentina’s southerly Tierra del Fuego province. The centre lies at 54°48'0"S, more than 6,000km south of the equator, although still nearly another 4,000km from the South Pole!

Cerro Castor is a well-equipped modern resort with more than a dozen lifts serving its 8km (5 miles) of slopes, including five quad chairlifts and four Sunkid conveyors.

Its name translates to Beaver Mountain and according to the book ‘Around The World in 80 Slopes’ that comes from a decision to reintroduce 50 beavers in the region in the 1940s.  There are now reported to be more than 100,000 beavers, said to be responsible for destroying 16 million hectares (nearly 40 million acres) of forest.   

There have been more southerly ski lifts built over the years, some of which may still be operating.  In the 1980s and 90s there were reports of portable lifts operating at a number of Antarctic scientific bases, however at least in the case of the US base’s lifts, media at the time reported that base staff were instructed to discontinue using it due to the difficulty in obtaining medical help in case of an accident.

Antarctica got its own fixed ski lift in the 1980s on one of the continent’s few small permanent, non-scientific establishments, Cerro Franciscano. The Chilean Air Force flew in a second-hand T Bar on behalf of the country’s Ski Federation with American ski champion Billy Kidd flown in for the opening ceremony. The lift served a 60 metre vertical but is reported to be no longer operational.

Ushuaia has also been home to two other ski areas prior to Cerro castor’s opening but both are believed to have ceased operating.