Thanks for your thoughts!

Another option might be to cross from El Calafate to Puerto Natales by bus (and then visit Torres del Paine), up to Puerto Montt and surrounds, then back into Argentina for Bariloche.

From my Lonely Planet (which I generally think is quite useless) the border crossing at Bariloche sounds easy, but I'm not sure if buses run from El Calafate to Puerto Natales in November. I found a reference to Bus Sur operating this route but it's not listed on their website. Turismo Zaahj seems to operate it for at least part of the year but their website is a bit lacking. So does anyone know if it's possible?

Steve