Pampa Linda / Tronador
✓ Verified against the agency · APNThe glacier refugio trek. From Pampa Linda up the moraine to Refugio Otto Meiling (1,905m), sitting between the Castaño Overa and Alerce glaciers with Cerro Tronador's 3,478m icefall above. 14km, ~1,000m gain, moderate — no scrambling, no exposure.
Safety classification
Trail season Nov–Apr (Otto Meiling hut operates Nov–May). Snow has lasted near the ridge until late December in recent years — snowshoes/crampons recommended Oct–Nov. May–Oct the route is graded High: winter conditions, do not attempt as a normal hike.
- ▲Persistent snow near the ridge into December — crampons/snowshoes recommended in Oct–Nov
- ▲Crevassed glaciers (Castaño Overo, Alerce) flank the hut — the trail does not cross them; do not step onto glacier ice without a guide and glacier equipment
- ▲Rain turns the tread to deep, very slippery mud
- ▲One-way road timetable Los Rápidos–Pampa Linda (up 10:30–14:00, down 16:00–18:00, closed 14:00–19:30) — mistiming strands you
- ▲13 km / 1,050 m one way, 5–7 h — no bail-out points
Classified on the representative trek Pampa Linda → Refugio Otto Meiling (CAB grade: Moderate Nov–Apr, High May–Oct). APN registro de trekking mandatory and free; hut/camping reservation mandatory. Glacier travel beyond the hut (e.g. Alerce Glacier traverse to Rocca hut) is a separate, harder objective — do not extend onto ice unguided. Tronador summit routes are full mountaineering, out of scope of this trail.