Verified planning context

Snow, weather and avalanche context

Historical patterns help you compare trips. They do not predict your week or replace the operator's daily decisions.

Evidence reviewed 2026-08-26

Typical operating window

NovemberSouthern winter storms build coverage from June; the reviewed Patagonia program publishes a November window.

Strongest comparable snow evidence

176 mm SWE median · 131–217 mm interquartile rangeFutangue Park program base ERA5-Land grid cellTier C · modelled estimate · low confidence

Snow character

maritimeWind effect is frequent. Cold storm snow, dense maritime snow, and spring corn can occur within one trip.

Public avalanche information

Chile DMC and Argentina SMN weather warningsNo single verified public regional avalanche bulletin covers this cross-border destination.

Weather and flight context

Persistent westerlies and frontal systems create extreme windward-leeward precipitation contrasts.

  • Severe wind
  • Fast-moving frontal cloud
  • Remote terrain and glacier flat light

Meteorological reference area

Patagonia South Andes catalogue locations

Includes
The published Futangue program area in northern Chilean Patagonia.
Excludes
Santiago, Central Andes, and Mendoza profiles.
Elevation
No verified operator-terrain elevation band is public. Each evidence value retains its site elevation.

Evidence pack

Measurements, claims and gaps stay separate.

Tier CModelled snowfall water equivalent176 mm SWE median · 131–217 mm interquartile range
Site
Futangue Park program base ERA5-Land grid cell · -40.3000, -72.2000 · 4.4 km from Futangue Park program base reference point
Period
Calendar years 1991–2020
Completeness
360 monthly means; all 30 calendar years contain 12 values.
Method
ERA5-Land monthly mean daily snowfall accumulation was multiplied by calendar days and 1,000, then summed by calendar year.
Limitation
The Futangue program base is a named reference site. It does not define the complete flying or ski area. This unadjusted 0.1° reanalysis grid cell is not an observation, snow depth, or terrain-wide total. Grid elevation and wind redistribution can cause substantial local bias.

Monthly evidence

Each cell keeps its measurement type and unit. Reanalysis water equivalent is not snow depth. Text-only cells preserve a representative data gap.

Modelled snowfall water equivalent
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
0 mm SWE0 mm SWE0 mm SWE0.1 mm SWE2.3 mm SWE28.2 mm SWE52.6 mm SWE40.1 mm SWE20.8 mm SWE6.4 mm SWE0.3 mm SWE0 mm SWE

Commercial operator assessment

Operator assessment process not independently verified

The operator must assess current snow, avalanche terrain, weather, aircraft limits, and rescue options. No private operational plan is inferred.

Sources and evidence notes

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