The Exponieve was bigger and better than ever and was 4 full days of gear, ski resort staff trying to grab your ear, an inside snow ramp with a quarter pipe hit with high flying Porteno skiers and snowboarders, lovely female "promotoras" and a lot of vino. There were over 100 exhibitors and more than 26,000 visitors. All the major Argentine and Chilean resort sales and press staff are present at this event to talk about new improvements, events, and just skiing and snowboarding in general in South America.

To finish any kind of event in Argentina, of course you have to have a party. To cap off the Exponieve, on May 31 there was huge outdoor rail session organized by Propaganda Magazine, Mauricio Cambillla & Boys Toys at Kite Beach bar in Martinez outside of Buenos Aires. A large crowd was on hand to witness some of the top Argentine skiers and snowboarders grind, 50/50 and just let it slide on the large outdoor down kink rail. All the participants fed off the energy of the crowd, and as a warm-up for resort opening weekends, the event was a huge success and the most impressive skier was by far Nico Alba in his bright yellow ski pants nailing the best moves on the rail. It was apparent that he ws the best as when after the sliding was over he had the most girls around him. Mauricio, Nico and others continued their jibbing antics when we caught up with them later in June for the Las Lenas opening weekend rail jam session.

While all the parties and events where going on in Buenos Aires, all the Northern Andes resorts of Las Lenas, Penitentes in Argentina and El Colorado, La Parva, Valle Nevado (that make up the area known as 3 Valleys area) Ski Arpa and Portillo were getting pounded by late May snow storms. El Colorado, located 1.5 hours from Santiago, Chile and part of the interconnected 3 Valleys ski area, was the first ski resort to be open this year in South America. Why open so early while the other resorts don't plan to open until June 13? Lots of nieve onda. With over 3 feet of snow you could not have asked for a better start for conditions on the first day of El Colorado's very special 60th anniversary year early June. This meant a lot of shovelling late May to get the resort ready, but mountain staff were motivated to make it happen . While El Colorado is generally more known for its grooming, terrain park, and race training, it actually has some of the steepest chutes, bowls and couloirs in South America accessed out of bounds down to the road back to Farellones and up to Valle Nevado. This is, however, only advisable with a driver and a guide as two things can go wrong: being easily cliffed out with no exit, or the second waiting over 3 hours in the dark for a ride back close to your accommodation. Both happened to me in 2007 and I can assure you it is not a good time and why you came to ski in South America, let alone anywhere. Some companies that offer these guided days are Casa, Powderquest and SouthAmericaSki.com. One of the great new options in 2008 for the solo traveler on more of a budget, and also looking to meet up and ride with other people while staying at the base of El Colorado, is the shared accommodation option offered by 3ValleysChile.com. The best hostel and budget accommodation in the 3 Valleys, is located right by the base of Farellones and within easy walking distance of the Farellones lift Refugio Aleman (www.refugioaleman.cl).

La Parva, the quieter and lesser known of the "3 Valleys" resorts, opened the day after El Colorado. The best feature of La Parva is its lack of crowds. It does not attract as much international destination as Valle Nevado and El Colorado because it lacks major, local hotels having private apartments only. La Parva does have great groomed runs and some of the better chairlifts in South America. There is the odd Poma lift, so snowboarders beware. La Parva's high elevation is ripe for lighter, fluffier snow, but it's probably not your best bet for a week-long destination. It is better suited as a one or two day visit while spending a week at Valle Nevado and El Colorado. Visitors can purchase an upgraded, interconnecting pass to allow access to both mountains. There is a must-ski, expert chute called "La Chimenea." The hike is about 1.5 hours and is not recommended for the solo skier, so recommend going with someone else. The run itslef is not that steep bu the hike is tricky through some of steep rocks. Valle Nevado,. the biggest of the 3 Valleys area opened on June 13 with tons of snow and in full operation. Valle Nevado has lots of runs and lifts compared to El Colorado and La Parva and the only halfpipe in South America and a decent terrain park. The one advantage of staying at Valle Nevado is you can stay ski in ski out in one of the 3 hotels or one of the apartments Mirador Del Inca or Valle de la Luna or Valle del Sol. Valle Nevado also has a very big apres scene at the Louge Pub but not as much happening at night, but if there is anything happen it is always at the Tres Puntas pub in the Tres Puntas hotel. The 3 Valley resorts - La Parva, El Colorado, and Valle Nevado - currently have a huge base of snow and all the runs are open.


On the other side of Santiago you have of course the oldest resort in Chile, Portillo. Opening day, June 14, was accompanied by beautiful blue skies, and tons of snow. The season is off to a great start with a current base depth of almost five feet. Two more feet of snow fell last Wednesday and Thursday (June 18-19) and guests enjoyed the first of what are certain to be many powder days this season. Powder days are truly special at Portillo, as with a maximum of only 450 guests a week, there's no need to fight for fresh lines all the time like at other resorts. While Portillo is not known to be as steep or as big as other resorts, there are some chutes you can access traversing off of the steep Roca Jack lift and of course the very steep and world famous Super C Couloir. Not too far away from Portillo (45 minutes) is the truly unique cat ski destination, Ski Arpa that opened on June 24 with tons of powder just waiting to be shredded. Ski Arpa had its first clients on June 24 and they were treated to an incredible powder day. When visiting Ski Arpa you can stay at the gorgeous Casa San Regis just outside of the town of Los Andes or in Los Andes itself downtown.

Back to Argentina, the biggest opening weekend of them all was at Las Lenas opening on June 13 and celebrating their 25th year anniversary. The advanced/expert terrain is why most North Americans make the pilgrimage to Las Leñas, and the Marte high alpine chair is the key to reaching it. Marte was open on Sunday on only the 3rd day of the season and we enjoyed four afternoon laps, despite that fact that the lift is infamous for closure due to high winds and intense snow storms. The snow was like springtime corn and super soft by 1 p.m., allowing skiing on some of the steeper runs. The resort staff and ownership was proud of its 25 years and pulled out all the stops on the Sunday with a weekend special concert party and rail jam, featuring the top Argentine skiers and snowboarders. The crowd was impressed by the athletic prowess on display: straight rail slides, 50/50s, and two riders sliding the rail at the same time. Straightlining from the top of Eros 1 poma the skiers and snowboarders avoided regular skier traffic on the groomed run to get enough speed to be able to jump on the rail. Standouts were Santiago Guzman, Mauricio Cambillla, Garrett Russell, and Nico Alba. One of the better trices was Mauricio and Santiago grinding the rail both at the same time. Guests were offered up free wine and hot chocolate in appreciation of the opening weekend turnout. Popular Argentine electro-pop band Miranda wrapped up the celebration with a fireworks finish. After a weekend of riding and fun events it was time to get to work and tend to the gringo ghetto and get it prepared for the 2008 season. Any gringo who has travelled to Las Lenas solo or on a budget has stayed in the Residencia zone and in one of the many 2 bedroom apartments that normally are for 6 people but often end up with 11. This meant taking on the help of long term locals Yaya ¨Ama de Casa¨ Luna and Jose ¨Ex Pistero¨ Becar to fix up and get ready the most infamous building in the residencia zone, for this article it will be referred to as the ¨yellow building¨ This meant getting a water pump to empty the 3 metres of water in one apartment, using interesting Malargue plumbing and electricity techniques and of course lots of hammering and patience. For the budget traveller looking for shared accommodation in Las Lenas in 2008 who just wants to rent 1 or 2 beds in the ¨yellow building¨ you can contact Yaya at yayaluna@hotmail.com who has availability during the whole season and Jose at josebeccar@yahoo.com who has beds in September.

While the conditions in Las Lenas were already amazing for mid June with snow all the way to the base and all the out of bounds filled in, they were about to get better. Las Lenas received more snow on the Wednesday (June 18) and the storm was intense for two days. The snow was waist deep and cold on the off piste runs of Cenidor and Vulcano during the store, and on most of the normal runs that had not actually been groomed.. Visibility was tough so most people finished early on Thursday for this reason, but also to get some rest in anticipation for the high alpine Marte chairlift's potential opening on the Friday. On Thursday, as the poor visibility was too much to handle in combination with our tired powder legs, myself and Yaya went down to grab a Lomo completo at Las Rosas restaurant at the base. Any ski bum who has been to Las Lenas has been to Las Rosas to get to know the overfriendly lovely female staff that is the norm every year. On this day the girls were extremely bored as yaya and I were the only customers as everyone had stayed incide due to the big storm. Yaya wanted to try out his new camera and never likes to see anyone bored, so we talked the girls into a little winter photo shoot. As they were part time models from Cordoba they were up for it and we spent the rest of the day walking around Las Lenas in the snow. It was a wise move to take it easy Thursday afternoon as Marte opened on Friday to a blue sky, and the first runs of the season were made down Eduardos and all the rest of the front side off-piste. There were smiles all around Las Lenas Friday night that could be seen on all tourists and especially locals and employees. June 20 and Las Lenas had already seen 2 Marte days and one deep powder out of bounds day. Marte was not open the next day on Saturday, but it was knee deep on the Mercurio traverse from the Vulcano chiarlift. Now is a great time to come to Las Lenas, rather than wait until August as most North Americans do. There is a lot of snow, rates are lower, and no crowds at all until July 19. Las Leñas currently has snow all the way to the base and all the runs are open. Out of bounds areas on both the front and back sides being open are subject to daily evaluation based on if the snow becomes wind affected and temperatures. The snow there is hard but should be open after the next snowfall. Visitors may ski out of bounds off Cenidor run and to the right of Vulcano chairlift as of now. Las Leñas is the safest bet in South America for skiing and boarding due to the amount of snow they currently have and more in the forecast. Las Lenas has 5 hotels, tons of apartment options, cabins in Los Molles 20 minutes away and ture hostels in Malargue 45 minutes away.


Southern Argentina and Chile resorts have unfortunately not gotten off to great starts this winter
season. Some people believe the eruption of the Chaiten volcano has affected the atmosphere
in the south and made it harder to allow for normal precipitation and snowfall patterns. All resorts
are now open except for Chapelco but with not a lot of snow and limited amounts of runs open.
No problem if you are the typical Brazilian Patagonia tourist who only snow plows, loves the chocolate stores and eating great beef, but a bit of a problem if you are a gringo seeking steep lines, out of bounds and touring possibilities. HOWEVER, there is a BIG storm forecasted this
Thursday for all of southern Argentina and Chilean resorts so we are quite confident this will help turn things around for all the resorts and get them off to a great start for the 2008 season. Speaking of south, the most southern ski resort of South America Cerro Castor in Ushuaia, Argentina has already been open with decent snow conditions. Cerro Castor is the best run ski resort in all of South America as the owners of the resort, the Begue family, live at the resort and are involved in the daily operation of the resort. Cerro Castor has the best chairlifts, grooming, progressive learning terrain and on mountain restaurants in South America. While it is definitely not as steep as Las Lenas, there is some hilkable terrain off the skiers left part of the mountain and behind the resort. If you are there in August or September I highly recommend making a stop at Puerto Madryn on the way back to Buenos Aires or Bariloche to see the whales and other animals.

One important thing to mention for those thinking of coming specifically to Argentina specifically is that it is a lot more expensive than before. A day lift pass opening weekend in Las Lenas cost 190 Pesos/$65 USD and a season pass $1100 USD and a seasons pass at Bariloche for Cerro Catedral costs an incredible 4500 Pesos/$1500 USD. Inflation has gone up about 30% the past 6 months and there are many problems with fuel and food. Due to an increase in export taxes established by president Cristina Kirchner it has caused huge national problems and affected prices for everything and the economy. The main issue is that it has left the farmers extremely angry blocking fuel and food transport trucks on major highways. Argentina is still 100) safe and this situation has settled down, but Argentina is not the same perceived bargain as in the past.

In closing, the northern resorts of Argentina and Chile have the best bases and snow conditions for this time of the year in years in South America and the southern resorts am sure are soon to follow. If you come down here be sure to leave enough time to have a day or 2 in Santiago, Mendoza or Buenos Aires to take in some local food, culture, sights and nightlife upon arrival or before departure. It is important to travel to South America with an open mind, careful eye when at bus stations, on buses, airports and on planes and realistic expectations. One thing I can promise you, it is never boring, and also not for beginners. Pay attention to what is going on, most importantly to enjoy it and soak it all in, but also to not lose your wallet, passport, laptop and sanity.

For general info on skiing and snowboarding in South America check out www.southamericaski.com

For Las Lenas general info and shared and budget accommodation, including new options in Los Molles check out www.laslenasski.com. The official website of Las Lenas is www.laslenas.com and has live webcams.