Patagonia in May?? Advice.
 

I am currently in Chile awaiting parts for my DR 650 that suffered the dreaded cracked engine case from starter clutch back force. In any event, my question is, how would the riding be down patagonia may? I have a job working the grape harvest that begins at the end of february and runs through to the end of April. So the last window I have is the month of May. I am not concerned about the cold, as I rode coast to coast across the middle of the USA in December during that record early winter of 2010. My main worries would be rain and snow like conditions, the amount of daylight, and the quality of the roads? Any advice would be appreciated

Cheers

Matt

Patagonia in May
 

I think May is too late but I Haven't been there at that time of the year.

I will ask people I know who live in Punta Arenas and post

Cheers man. I know it is not ideal, but is it Dangerous, and if so how far down could I go?

Patagonia
 

Recd from native of area:

Overall I would say it is too late, except for some parts of northern Patagonia and along the coast. A hardcore type could obviously do it in the middle of the winter.

In your specific case it depends about the specific route. Along the mountain range of the Andes, rain and snow can be possible in may even in the northern parts. Along the coast and the central section, snow would be very rare in may. The southern parts are much more unpredictable, but along the coast, till Tierra del Fuego,

Hey Matt,

I can't speak for Chile, but Argentinian Patagonia will be cool. As you no doubt know, it's drier on the eastern side of the Andes so in general you don't have to worry about ice except for on the road to Perito Moreno from El Calafate.

If you are thinking of heading to El Chalten to get to Torres del Paine, it'll be rainy and cloudy there. The roads are fine as is the riding but it will indeed be cool, the days are short, so usually late starts to let the day warm up.

On the positive side, you won't run into many tourists!