By Adam Stern on Wednesday, September 01, 2010

We are finally getting the late season snow!  Perfect timing as there will be Heliskiing starting tomorrow Sept 2nd.  Contact us about some of the cheapest heli skiing you can do!  Also those of you in Mendoza, this Saturday at 7:00pm we are having 'Andes Snow Sessions' there is going to be a Big Air, Music and Art in Plaza Independencia.  Winter isn't over yet.

 

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By Adam Stern on Sunday, August 29, 2010

It is now the end of August but feels more like early October here in the High Andes.  Penitentes never opened this year, and Las Lenas has been pretty thin for most of the winter.  We pray for the famous Santa Rosa storm that comes through at the end of August and beginning of September, but until then we're keeping our eyes open for rocks as our low snow year continues.  The nice thing about Argentina is we can always keep ourselves busy whether we are cooking asados, building baby kickers, or dancing in UFO until the sun rises.  The high hikes are holding the snow, and as long as it is south facing, we are still finding some nice turns. 

taking in some rays at Corbus

 

 

John and Lara on thier honeymoon

 

John finds freshies up high.  Way better than going to the Beach!

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By Adam Stern on Saturday, August 14, 2010

We have been back and forth to Las Leñas a lot this month.  It is a bit lower snow pack than normal but we are still having fun on the off piste that Las Leñas is so famous for. 

Last week we were able to catch the annual fashion show.  In two weeks they will also host the Freeskiing World Tour Aug 25th- 28th.  Snow is forecast for Tuesday!

 

Guiseppe Hiking Cerro Martin

 

 

Fashion show after a good day on the slopes

 

 

 

 

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By Adam Stern on Thursday, August 05, 2010

We have had a strange start to winter here in Mendoza. Penitentes, which usually opens in late June or July is still not open as the early snow that fell on the city skipped over the resort. 

We have been staying busy by going to Las Leñas and checking out Bariloche, which is having some nice storms. 

We are also taking beginner skiers to Los Puquios instead of Penitentes, its lower slopes are open and they are great for beginners. For the time being we are praying for snow here in Penitentes! If you are coming soon to Mendoza, your best bet is to go to Las Leñas.

We also are doing our back country tours later in the month and September for anyone that wants to sign up!

Check out an article done by our local magazine here in Mendoza.

http://www.wine-republic.com/tours/53-adventure/442-taking-the-flipside

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By Adam Stern on Friday, July 16, 2010

After a good ski in Las Leñas we came back home to fresh snow in Mendoza.  Even though we live at the base of the Andes, it is not very common to get much snow in the city.  We live up by the vineyards so we got a bit more at the house.  Penitentes got hammered with this storm and there is another on the way. Opening day should be amazing this year.

 

Woke up this morning to find this in the yard July 15th

 

The dogs like it

 

morning walk through the neighbors orchard

 

Started to clear in the afternoon, 100 year old vines in Vistalba

 

 

They love snowmen on cars in this country, This was one of the better ones.

 

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By Adam Stern on Monday, July 12, 2010

We went up to Las Leñas for the weekend, because Penitentes still doesn't have enough snow.  Penitentes is now saying this Friday for opening, but the last storm that came through didn't leave much on the ground. It is a slow start to the season, but that normally means a big August and September!  Happy Birthday Argentina!

 

Trish and Greg enjoy the sun in Las Leñas on Independence Day!

 

 

Enjoying some Torrentes our famous white wine from Salta

 

This guy hopes it snows soon too! 

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By Adam Stern on Monday, July 05, 2010

 

To check out the snow, we headed up to Portillo last Thursday. Only staying for a day and a half, we were more than able to get our fill of the available skiing. Unfortunately, resorts this far north have yet to receive much snow. It looks like there is a storm that should hit Penitentes/ Portillo today and tomorrow, and Penitentes is scheduled to open this coming Friday. 

 

Portillo has a different sort of feel to it that Las Leñas. As a guest you really don’t have many options, the front desk controls everything from your lift ticket to your lodgings to your food. This certainly is not all bad, but you do feel limited. 

 

Leaving from Mendoza in the morning on an O’Higgins bus, we waded through various traffic jams and customs and were dropped off on the side of the road about 100 meters from the hotel entrance. After getting our lodging in order we hit the slopes. The snow was neither particularly good nor plentiful, but we did find some soft turns in sun warmed snow. 

 

Eating in the cafeteria reserved for those of us staying in the very comfortable dorm (the “Inca lodge”) we had nice dinner with fellow guests and the staff. Of course really anything tastes good after a day of skiing. We spent much of the rest of the night in the “Living Room” up on the second floor of the hotel where guests have the opportunity to relax, maybe have a drink, play a board game and meet new people. 

 

The next day we got a few more turns and watched Brazil v. Holland in the hotel’s cinema, finally returning to the side of the road to get picked up for our trip back to Mendoza.

 

The hotel right next to route 7 that crosses the Andes

 

Skiing early July

 

William finds some soft stuff

 

Relaxing in the hotel living room

 

Watching Brazil lose to Holland

 

The lake in the morning

 

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By Adam Stern on Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Opening day in Las Leñas was officially Monday the 21st of June, but the day before they offer a free day for locals and people who don't want to pay regular season prices.  It is always lively here in Mendoza the days before opening with different bus companies offering packages including ski gear (mostly from the 1980's and older) and round trip transport.

 

We decided to take the bus this year, choosing CATA which also offers non-stop service to Las Leñas every day during ski season.  They had 10 buses lined up in downtown Mendoza for the 5 hour drive to Las Leñas.  Most everyone on our bus stayed up all night so our bus stopped every hour to load up with sugar and caffeine. Upon arrival in Las Leñas everyone was so wired they could head straight for the slopes. 

 

It was a beautiful sunny day, with more snow than we were expecting.  We found some deep powder even though Marte was closed up top due to wind.  

 

I always love opening day because it is the one day that everyone gets to ski; there were people that had never been on snow before, snowboards flying down the mountain without the rider and people using skis that my grandpa used in the 50's.  This special mix of people and gear you just don't find in North America or Europe anymore.  No matter gear or experience, everyone is just having fun enjoying the white stuff.

 

At the end of the day most everyone got back on the buses for the long ride back to Mendoza, but we decided to stay and check out the night life.  Here there isn't much aprés ski, after skiing you have a beer but then have to wait like everywhere else in Argentina to go out.  We hit the bar for a few games of pool at about midnight and then went to UFO Point to get our groove on.  

 

If you aren't a night owl, you will be the only one on the mountain from around 8:30 until 10:30am, no waiting in line at 7:00am for powder in Las Leñas.  It was a good couple of days, I hadn't been on snow in awhile and it was nice to get a skiing fix.

 

Most importantly, WINTER IS HERE!

 

Early morning arrival 

 

Everyone buying the 20 peso insurance ticket

 

A little windy up high

 

Riding up

 

Looking down to the base

 

 

Powder!

 

William first time skiing in June

 

Lazo pool, best bar in Las Leñas 

 

UFO Club, for late night dancing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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By Adam Stern on Saturday, June 19, 2010

Calafate Ski is open with some of the best rental gear in Mendoza, Stop by our office upstairs while in Mendoza and ask about discounted ski rentals and ski tunes.  We will be at Las Leñas for the next few days enjoying the fresh snow and free skiing!

 

Front of the the office

 

William checking the snow report before we leave for LL

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By Adam Stern on Friday, June 11, 2010

Fresh snow today, more on the way, there is still time to make if for opening day!

Las Lenas web came June 11th, 2010

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