Otto Meiling

Meiling left Bavaria for Buenos Aires in his early twenties, working as a labourer, learning the skills of carpentry and construction.

He gained a taste for adventure, then moved to San Carlos de Bariloche, at the time a small village, in the Lakes District, near Cerro Catedral.

[1] Other adventures included descending the treacherous Rio Manso, and a phenomenal 96 kilometre walk home from the end of a hike in one night.

As an active member of the club, Meiling used his construction skills to build a number of huts or "refugios" in the mountains, including the "Berghof" ski school near Cerro Otto (named after a different explorer) where he would live for most of his life.

As a result, his lift-less ski school at Cerro Otto began to lose students, as they were attracted by the less arduous conditions at Catedral.