South America 2016

[Duckpond]

Questions:
-Where/who would be a good contact to get local advice on the back country outside Las Lenas?
-How easy is it to find other adventurous skiers who are willing to share some knowledge and/or ski with you?
-What are some issues or problems that you have run into during previous trips that I should avoid?


I am planning a ski trip to South America from late August - Mid September of this year. I was hoping for some advice and recommendations. I am not posting this without having done significant research first. I have a good idea of what to expect from reading articles, trolling forums, etc... I figure additional info can never hurt.

I will be traveling solo, and was hoping that I might even find some folk on here who are doing the same and might want some company. (I promise I am not a serial killer) My Spanish, although not fluent, is reasonable enough to get around.

My plan is to fly into Santiago at the end of August and head straight to Las Lenas; barring there are not ridiculously awesome conditions somewhere else nearby, or a total lack of snow at Las Lenas. From there I have three weeks and am planning to wing it. I'm hoping to see and ski as much as possible.

GOALS FOR THIS TRIP:
-Shred some of those legendary massive lines I've seen in photos
-At least one day of waist deep pow
-Get into some back country touring without getting buried in an avalanche
-Immerse myself in the South American culture
-Sample some fantastic wine and beef
-Libations
-Doing sh*t so awesome I will be forced to return to South America annually

Any advice is most appreciated!

[klar]

Questions:
-Where/who would be a good contact to get local advice on the back country outside Las Lenas?
-How easy is it to find other adventurous skiers who are willing to share some knowledge and/or ski with you?
-What are some issues or problems that you have run into during previous trips that I should avoid?

1: What sort of advice are you looking for? Kind of depends on how comfortable you are with figuring things out in the backcountry by yourself. There is a sizeable community of gringo skiers there each season, find someone to tag along with or talk to one of the guiding services (e.g. powderquest) that offer tours, maybe join one of those groups.
2: Not hard, be friendly.
3: Expect things to not always go as planned, from busses not being on schedule to lifts not opening for mysterious reasons. Relax, plan to be flexible.

If you haven't seen the previous years' South America threads go look at those. (2014 thread, collection of links in the first posts), 2015 thread. this will also show you people who post here that have spent a lot of time in Las Lenas. See Casey's Ski in Chile threads for current snow conditions in Chile and general information: 2015 thread, the one for this season is on the front page.

I will be probably be around somewhere sometime in august/september, as usual.

[Duckpond]

1: What sort of advice are you looking for? Kind of depends on how comfortable you are with figuring things out in the backcountry by yourself. There is a sizeable community of gringo skiers there each season, find someone to tag along with or talk to one of the guiding services (e.g. powderquest) that offer tours, maybe join one of those groups.
2: Not hard, be friendly.
3: Expect things to not always go as planned, from busses not being on schedule to lifts not opening for mysterious reasons. Relax, plan to be flexible.

If you haven't seen the previous years' South America threads go look at those. (2014 thread, collection of links in the first posts), 2015 thread. this will also show you people who post here that have spent a lot of time in Las Lenas. See Casey's Ski in Chile threads for current snow conditions in Chile and general information: 2015 thread, the one for this season is on the front page.

I will be probably be around somewhere sometime in august/september, as usual.

Thanks for the reply, the info is much appreciated!

Contacting a guiding service may not be a bad idea. I have not done solo back country trips, and my previous trips were with friends who more experienced than I. That being said, I had done a bit of research and found that the tour groups aren't particularly cheap, but it might be worth it to gain some more experience especially in territory unfamiliar to me.

I had read through some of the previous years' threads but thank you for posting them. In regards to accommodation, what is your experience staying at the resort (in one of the cheaper of places there) vs. los molles vs. malargue? Which would be the best option for meeting fellow skiers?

[klar]

Finding a free bed in one of the places up at the resort is probably most convenient and best for meeting people. llyon might know how to best go about that, I haven't been to LL in a while and always stayed somewhere else. Los Molles would still be okay but can be a bit annoying to get up to the hill in the morning. Malargue much more so. would try to avoid that unless you're just going for a day or two.

guide might be a good option, perhaps just contact some and see if there are free spots left or something. I'll vouch for this guy, he's cool http://www.andescross.com/

[Duckpond]

Thanks again, both great suggestions.

At some point i'll give a shout to Llyon to get a bit more info.

Hoping for a season like last year, however from what I have read, it seems its expected to be a bit drier

[Ripzalot]

Las Lenas stoke ... yesterday (pics from ski mag)

[Duckpond]

That looks amazing, they got slammed eh? According to forecasts it's supposed to continue to snow for several days.

What I would do to be down there right now... Regardless, should be great for continuing to build base. Good signs for skiing down south come the end of the summer.

[Duckpond]

Does anyone know any avalanche education courses / trainers in the Las Lenas area still operating at the end of August?

I have done a bit of research and found that all AIARE courses in South America are finished by the time I arrive in Las Lenas August 26th.

As I plan to get into the back country quite a bit I wanted to further my knowledge. I have all equipment necessary and have some experience touring, however I have never taken a proper course. My knowledge comes from touring with experienced friends and guides in the US.

As I figure I may want to do some short solo tours, or more likely try and join groups I meet, I would like to be fully capable on my own. I don't want to be a liability to myself or others. Any advice????

[splat]

Go to LL.
Take transceiver, shovel, probe, first aid.
Find gringos. (no prob)
Ski Torrecillas.
Proceed to Adrenalina Couloir.

[klar]

Take transceiver, shovel, probe, first aid.
Find gringos. (no prob)

I doubt you'll find a course. Do that ^ and don't let yourself get carried away + be aware that potential rescue situations even in/close to the ski area may be more complicated than at home due to less/no professionally organized s&r and adjust behaviour accordingly. Depending on what you are looking to get from a course you could maybe find a guide and get them to go over the relevant topics with you.

[skideeppow]

I doubt you'll find a course. Do that ^ and don't let yourself get carried away + be aware that potential rescue situations even in/close to the ski area may be more complicated than at home due to less/no professionally organized s&r and adjust behaviour accordingly. Depending on what you are looking to get from a course you could maybe find a guide and get them to go over the relevant topics with you.

What he said. When you are about to do something that might have ramification dial it back. Closest hospital with real resources is in BA. San Rafael is a joke. And use the seach function, should turn up some good stuff.

[skiNEwhere]

Damn, was about to make a separate post asking about the exact same thing then clicked refresh


Gonna post it here anyways to fill in any gaps

Looking to ski Las Leñas sometime next month and attempting to work out all of the logistics to make the trip as cheap as possible. There is a small chance I may have to travel to Buenos Aires for work so I'm going to try to plan traveling from there to offset costs.

Transportation to and from

From what I can tell, Malargue has the closest airport but I can only get there via a charter plane which is only available to guests stays at the 4 main (and most expensive) hotels in Las Lenas. Mendoza seems to be the next best option with relatively cheap airfare. The biggest hurdle I've encountered so far though has been that the bus leaves at 02:00AM, and most flights arrive late morning so I'd have a significant layover. Similar situation coming back, bus arrives in Mendoza at 12:30AM and most flights leave early afternoon.

Lodging

I've seen apartments listed for about ~$90 a night, with a discount for staying a week. I don't care if I have to share a room to bring this price down. Internet would be nice but isn't a necessity.

Lift Tickets

Looks to be between $325-$375 USD for a week based on the time of year. Seeing as that's the price of skiing like 2 days at Flail I'm pretty content with that unless there are vouchers or coupons I don't know of.

Misc

If I do not end up traveling to Buenos Aires for work, my dates for travel are a little more flexible. Not sure how Las Lenas normally skis at the end of August/September in terms of smowfall but that's the timeframe I'm looking at now.

I defintely want to ski off-piste so looking for reputible guides to ski with. Currently have all my own avy gear.
Answered

Debating whether or not to bring my skis and deal with extra charge and hassle, or pay extra to rent. I currently have soul 7's with a touring setup.

Health/Ski insurance options?

And most importantly, how fucked am I in terms of getting decent turns if Marte is closed the entire week? What other ski options would I have?

[tylerjames]

Damn, was about to make a separate post asking about the exact same thing then clicked refresh


Gonna post it here anyways to fill in any gaps

Looking to ski Las Leñas sometime next month and attempting to work out all of the logistics to make the trip as cheap as possible. There is a small chance I may have to travel to Buenos Aires for work so I'm going to try to plan traveling from there to offset costs.

Transportation to and from

From what I can tell, Malargue has the closest airport but I can only get there via a charter plane which is only available to guests stays at the 4 main (and most expensive) hotels in Las Lenas. Mendoza seems to be the next best option with relatively cheap airfare. The biggest hurdle I've encountered so far though has been that the bus leaves at 02:00AM, and most flights arrive late morning so I'd have a significant layover. Similar situation coming back, bus arrives in Mendoza at 12:30AM and most flights leave early afternoon.

You should rent a car in Mendoza and you can drive to Malargue or busses leave more regularly to and from mendoza.

From Malaruge there are plenty of transportation options via hotels, tour companies and public collectivos.

Lodging

I've seen apartments listed for about ~$90 a night, with a discount for staying a week. I don't care if I have to share a room to bring this price down. Internet would be nice but isn't a necessity.


Malargue has plenty of cheap hotels and hostels. Check out Los Molles, which is a lot closer to Las Lenas.

Lift Tickets

Looks to be between $325-$375 USD for a week based on the time of year. Seeing as that's the price of skiing like 2 days at Flail I'm pretty content with that unless there are vouchers or coupons I don't know of.


Malargue used to offer a 50 percent off lift tickets but i am almost positive that deal doesn't exist anymore. Some hotels will offer some deals. So ask jeeves about that sort of thing.

Misc

If I do not end up traveling to Buenos Aires for work, my dates for travel are a little more flexible. Not sure how Las Lenas normally skis at the end of August/September in terms of smowfall but that's the timeframe I'm looking at now.

It usually is better during end of August is santa rosa shone up

I defintely want to ski off-piste so looking for reputible guides to ski with. Currently have all my own avy gear.
Answered

Debating whether or not to bring my skis and deal with extra charge and hassle, or pay extra to rent. I currently have soul 7's with a touring setup.

Rentals anywhere in south america are pretty crappy. I'd recommend bringing your gear and selling it when your there to a local, you could make some pesos that way.

Health/Ski insurance options?

what are you a Canadian? either way hospitals in argentina are decent.

And most importantly, how fucked am I in terms of getting decent turns if Marte is closed the entire week? What other ski options would I have?

Los Molles has a cat op. so does las lenas. but usually if Marte is down its because the wind is super angry and there are no trees so hopefully your spanish is good and you can find yourself una mina in UFO point.

[covert]

May I be the first one to suggest, with all due respect, that if you need some avy education, the bottom of the Marte is the wrong fucking place to start looking. No offense meant; I'm a contrarian by nature. People sure are nice around here these days.

[Duckpond]

May I be the first one to suggest, with all due respect, that if you need some avy education, the bottom of the Marte is the wrong fucking place to start looking. No offense meant; I'm a contrarian by nature. People sure are nice around here these days.

You are right about this; although I am not completely uneducated on the matter, I wanted an official course for my own personal safety.

Regardless, I am in Norway the weeks prior to heading to Argentina, and have coordinated with a local guide to spend a day covering avy education. (snowpack will be too thin to do a proper day of touring, so instead we have worked it out to review avy basics.)

I will eventually still attend a proper course.

Thanks again to all in this thread who have given input and guidance!

[alfajores]

Transportation to and from

From what I can tell, Malargue has the closest airport but I can only get there via a charter plane which is only available to guests stays at the 4 main (and most expensive) hotels in Las Lenas. Mendoza seems to be the next best option with relatively cheap airfare. The biggest hurdle I've encountered so far though has been that the bus leaves at 02:00AM, and most flights arrive late morning so I'd have a significant layover. Similar situation coming back, bus arrives in Mendoza at 12:30AM and most flights leave early afternoon.

You should rent a car in Mendoza and you can drive to Malargue or busses leave more regularly to and from mendoza.

From Malaruge there are plenty of transportation options via hotels, tour companies and public collectivos.

Yeah, stay in Malargüe and rent a little cabin. It is way cheaper and when I was there 8 years ago, the shuttle was free . It will also keep you out of the bar and club scene in Las Leñas but you wanted to save money anyways.

Lodging

I've seen apartments listed for about ~$90 a night, with a discount for staying a week. I don't care if I have to share a room to bring this price down. Internet would be nice but isn't a necessity.


Malargue has plenty of cheap hotels and hostels. Check out Los Molles, which is a lot closer to Las Lenas.

Correct. Plus, if it is dumping snow in Las Leñas, satellite internet will be down and until the dishes are clear, no interwebs.
There is also a Hostel in Las Leñas. It is over at the laundromat. I know someone living in the ski village right now if you need a contact.

Lift Tickets

Looks to be between $325-$375 USD for a week based on the time of year. Seeing as that's the price of skiing like 2 days at Flail I'm pretty content with that unless there are vouchers or coupons I don't know of.


Malargue used to offer a 50 percent off lift tickets but i am almost positive that deal doesn't exist anymore. Some hotels will offer some deals. So ask jeeves about that sort of thing.

Misc

If I do not end up traveling to Buenos Aires for work, my dates for travel are a little more flexible. Not sure how Las Lenas normally skis at the end of August/September in terms of smowfall but that's the timeframe I'm looking at now.

It usually is better during end of August is santa rosa shone up

I defintely want to ski off-piste so looking for reputible guides to ski with. Currently have all my own avy gear.
Answered

Debating whether or not to bring my skis and deal with extra charge and hassle, or pay extra to rent. I currently have soul 7's with a touring setup.

Definitely bring gear. I have seen bindings pull out from that rental shop. It doesnt instill confidence. I spent a couple weeks there at different points throughout 2008. Im sure some things change, SporTubes don't change and your skis will still be safe upon arrival.

Rentals anywhere in south america are pretty crappy. I'd recommend bringing your gear and selling it when your there to a local, you could make some pesos that way.

Health/Ski insurance options?

what are you a Canadian? either way hospitals in argentina are decent.

And most importantly, how fucked am I in terms of getting decent turns if Marte is closed the entire week? What other ski options would I have?

Los Molles has a cat op. so does las lenas. but usually if Marte is down its because the wind is super angry and there are no trees so hopefully your spanish is good and you can find yourself una mina in UFO point.

Ha! So true on all accounts. I went off piste between snows and when Marte was down for a really sad day of wind blown chunder. My mistake. You can still access the chutes a day after the good snow falls. Hopefully you will get something notable. One week is not enough to guarantee powder, but it will likely give you time on Marte. If you speak spanish well, you should talk to the lifties a lot. Just run laps all day and get to know them. They will let you know when Marte will open. Also, bring your passport to ski. You need it for off piste wrist bracelets. I just put mine on a small pack so that it would work day to day and I wouldnt have to get ine daily.

Selling old but good goggles, gloves, clothes, etc is really lucrative there. Not only do people want Americana and better tech gear, they will buy it used and off your back. I sold all my back up gear while there, and had a pair of mitts stollen.

Best of luck and report back!

[Duckpond]

Hey all,

Again thanks to everyone for the awesome info, really looking forward to this trip.

I have finally confirmed flights and have a bit of a plan. I'll be arriving in Las Lenas on August 27th and staying there until September 3rd. After that I am headed to Santiago, and plan to ski tres valles for a few days and check out the city. I don't return to the U.S. until the 21st of September so the last 2.5 weeks or so of my trip I have no plans.

I have coordinated with another feller through TGR forums, and he will be meeting me in Las Lenas and continuing on to Santiago with me as well.

Anyone on here who will be in the area during that time frame please shoot me a private message or respond on this forum, I'd love to meet up with folk who are looking to join us for some touring, shredding, etc...

Gonna be FUN!

[Duckpond]

Does anyone know where I might be able to purchase a compressed air canister, for a mammut pack using the protection airbag system, near Las Lenas?

I am traveling down without a canister as I was not able to ship one and then fly with it. I've got the pack and would like to be able to have it functioning.

Thanks!

[splat]

Do your best not to risk injury. Traveler's insurance is pretty much reimbursement based, so you'll pay cash for treatment in AR. Based on the treatment of people I've known who got hurt at LL, the hospitals around there aren't that good at all. If you do get hurt, do your best to get to a hospital in BA.

[alfajores]

Does anyone know where I might be able to purchase a compressed air canister, for a mammut pack using the protection airbag system, near Las Lenas?

I am traveling down without a canister as I was not able to ship one and then fly with it. I've got the pack and would like to be able to have it functioning.

Thanks!

Duckpond. Tons of surfing and some scuba in Buenos Aires. Maybe take an empty canister to a scuba shop with the charge adaptor and see if they can do it?