- Argentina - Portal público de noticias de la República Argentina.
The winter season is about to begin. The eight centers in the country are preparing to welcome fans of winter sports. For this year are expected heavy snow and good weather.
This is in June, July, August and September and sometimes in October, when snow falls all over the Cordillera de los Andes, from the central province of Mendoza until to Big Island in Tierra del fuego, in the south of the continent.
In June the ski season opens Argentina, and important snows guarantee a successful season on the slopes of the new ski centers of the country, where the landscape is added to sport and fun, playing a role to become and antique postcard taken in white and black due to the amount of snow. And what the landscape loses for lack of colours, is compensated for the sun gleams given by snow, that look like sparkling lights underlining with a soft “line of fire” the snowy mountains at dawn.
Las Leñas
Located in the province of Mendoza, 2.240 metres high up the Cordillera de los Andes, Las leñas is one of the classical ski centres in Argentina –big and with many skiing slopes-, they seduce an international audience. If you travel to the cities of Malargüe or San Rafael, when looking through the window you will discover the sky and the amazing valleys that look like golf courses covered by a white lawn.
The bus from the airport to Valle de Las Leñas runs by pavement also white and is hidden under an ice cap that seems to sparkle with sunlights. At your side you will see a landscape similar to a white desert.
Facilities at the ski center are in an isolated valley, with twenty different lodgings –from luxury hotels to dormi houses-, that let the skiers go out with their skies on from the hotel entrance door, straight to the ski slopes.
Las Leñas is a ski center with tv glamour –models and tv stars go there-, you can find discos and restaurants if looking for fun at night.
Regarding facilities, the centre has 13 lifts and 30 slopes designed for different posibilities like alpine ski or the “off-track skiing” and snowboard at complexed levels.
For advanced skiers a strongpoint at las Leñas is the ski out of the ring. This centre counts with 17.500 special hecters. For ski, inside and “off-track”. That is why Las Leñas offers a unique place to go on excursions through virgen snows, and in some cases, this activity requires high level skiers. To make these excursions easier there are three equipments adapted for transport to carry the skiers to the top of the mountain.
Cerro Catedral
Placed at the province of Rìo Negro in Patagonia -19 kms from the tourist city of Bariloche- Cerro Catedral is the biggest ski center of South America, a must in winter for over 12.000 skiers a day in the off season. The center has 120 kms of slopes looking the Lago Nahuel Huapi – one of the longest and most beautiful lakes of Argentina-, and even though it is the oldest ski center, around 70 years old, it is at the same time technologically modern. Among its features we can say there is an air seat for six people “super fast” that links with two others in the middle of the mountain, placing the skiers on top of the mountain in 17 minutes. Besides, Cerro Catedral is also glamorous it has exciting parties at discos at the foot of the mountain with a sophisticated cuisine.
Cerro Castor
At Tierra del Fuego, last province in Patagonia –where the map ends,near the “end of the world” you have Cerro Castor, the southern most ski center in Argentina, and thus in the world itself. At 27 kms. from the city of Ushuaia it was the latest ski center opened in Argentina, in 1999.The quality of the snow is most appreciated by the skiers, it is very soft and abundant, made of a white dust that never turns into ice thanks to the geographic characteristics of the place, a low temperature and near to South Pole.
Cerro Castor has everything to guarantee a comfortable and practical stay during ski journeys, for beginners who come to the ski school as for the European professional teams who choose this place to train when the northern hemisphere is in summertime.
Cerro Castor has a snow garden for kids, a ski school and snowboard, several restaurants and pubs, huts at the foot of the mountain,snowcat rents, rides on sleds with sibberian dogs and a snow park for bungee jumping.
23 slopes – many of them tested by the International Ski Federation-, with 24 kms. run in total. Skiers capacity is 2.700, who have climbing facilities not to be waiting when getting into the slopes.
A more relaxed possibility at Cerro Castor is the nordic ski, where you can skate softly on snow on flat surfaces –almost like walking on skis-, a very easy way that does no require specific learning. In this way you can ride through lenga woods at the foot of the mountains covered by snow, one of the most spectacular landscapes in Patagonia.
Chapelco
20 kms. from the town of San Martín de los Andes –in the province of Neuquén-, in a group of mountains coming from the Cordillera, this ski centre Chapelco is known for its intimacy and familiar profile. This means, for example, that there are no groups of students on holidays or any discos nearby. That is why San Mrtin de los Andes is so peaceful at night inviting the visitor to stay and find shelter inside the hut in front of the fireplace.
Chapelco has 27 slopes of all levels,by 13 lifts. And at 1.700 mts. High there are two terrain parks for skiers and snowboarders, who jump all the time.
Chapelco ski school has a group of teachers and at the snow kinder they train kids from 3 to 5 years old, who run through the Small Wood Road.
San Martín de los Andes is a small town half hidden on of the green corners of Patagonia, where silence is so pure that it becomes a main element of its landscape. Nearby, the mountains of the Cordillera de los Andes are a natural open theatre where the lake Lacar reflects a series of peaks covered by snow. And next to the lake appear the houses with wooden roofs, ressemmbling an old European alpine village especially when snowing.
Cerro Bayo
In the south of province of Neuquén, near the touristic town of Villa La Angostura, Cerro Bravo is one of the so called “boutique” ski centres, it is middle sized and has a living landscape with lago Naguel Huapi and Victoria Island in front of it.Other privilege of the place is the familiar atmosphere and peacefullness, without crowds or queues at the lifts.
Cerro Bayo was created three decades ago and today is a sophisticated centre with 21 slopes surrounded by woods and snowy peaks. There is a great variety of slopes for beginners and for experts who demand high level decent. Even the most advanced skiers have big areas of “off-track” and a “snowboard park” for any kind of jumps. There are 12 lifts for 6.350 skiers per tour, 12 kms and 7 slopes and other 4 “off track” slopes.
La Hoya
15 kms. from Esquel City –in the northeast of the province of Chubut-, there is a ski centre enclosed by a mountain in a semi-circle with the shape of a white amphtheatre. When you look at the map given to the skier at La Hoya, you discover a true bunch of rings inter crossing through slopes getting to one point, just in the center of this natural place called “hoya”.
A reason why this place La Hoya is considered a familiar one is that its natural feature lets parents keep in touch with their kids because all the slopes lead to the same place, and even in the case of friends skiing at different rings levels, they do not stop sharing their ski day.This center has 10 lifts, 60 hecters of ski surface and 24 interconnected slopes,with 22 kms. long and 750 meters of uneven surface. Regarding snow, since the slopes are on the southern side of the mountain, sunlight time is not long, which gives a long season with snow covered by dust (for this reason some European ski teams choose this place to train, especially “off-track”).
Caviahue
Northeast in the province of Neuquén,a town called Caviahue becomes an alternative to those classical ski centres, with nice slopes of different kinds. During the whole winter this lovely town has its houses half-covered by snow, which gives this landscape full of araucarian trees, a special charming look. This ski centre is middle sized and almost new, and the facilities include restaurants, equipment rentals, snow kinder for kids, ski school and 10 slopes for snowboard and alpine ski. A special feature is its teleski that goes 2.800 metres high, quite close to the Copahue Vulcano crater.And you can go down skiing by the vulcano slope through intermediate and slopes of high complexity. Besides, you can choose an “off-track” slope.
The other feature is its excursions department specialized on day and night outgoings with thirteen snowcats, two trucks for 17 people and a vehicle for other 15 people as well. These vehicles are used to get to Termas de Copahue (the town is under snow, but it is possible to take a bath in the warm sulfur waters in the open air.)You can also get to the crater of the Copahue Vulcano and to some frozen cascades between the araucarian woods. They also organise walks with snow shoes to shelters in the mountains to have dinner surrounded by snow, and any kind of snow activities for those people who cannot ski. Caviahue ski centre has a capacity of 7500 skiers, but the village has only 1.000 hotel beds. So there are no queues when climbing and you can enjoy the slopes at full.
Penitentes
In the province of Mendoza, 186 kms. from the capital of the province, you get to the smallest ski centre called Penitentes. Apart from the fact that you can get there from Mendoza in only two hours drive, this ski centre is cheaper than the others, and has lodging alternatives from hostels (cheap with rooms to share to shelters and apartments for families to comfortable inns, as well).
Penitentes ski centre has 25 rings for any level –including some extreme slopes-, and 10 lifts. There is also a ski school with 50 teachers. For lovers of snow jumping –whether ski or snowboard- there is a snowpark with every possibility for you to ski at ease.
Other ski centres
Neuquén
Snowpark Batea Mahuida
Snow parks are a kind of sportive leisure centes for those people who, if not skiers, would like to get close to snow to ski on soft slopes, with skies or sleds. They are ideal for kids, or for people willing to start skiing,and find out if this sport is interesting for them. Finally, they are cheaper than other traditional centres.
One of these parks is Batea Mahuida, located in Villa Pehuenia – province of Neuquén-, run by the aborigen community Mapuche Puel,whose leader is the actual manager. Cerro Batea Mahuida is situated 12 kms from Villa Pehuenia and was opened in the 2000 winter season.
Beautiful landscapes surrounded by hundreds of araucarian trees, kids enjoy an exclusive slope where they slide downhill on plastic devices used as simple sleds. There is also a ski school and a patrolling team at the slotpes ready to help in case of injuries.Ski ways common at Batea Mahuida are: the alpine, nordic between araucarians woods and snowboard.
The park only has two short slopes, with 700 metres of uneven surface from the ground to the top, where you can get through two lifts. Surface to ski is 4 hecters in total. Services include equipment rentals, ski school and first aid office. At Batea Mahuida pub you can try mapuches dishes base on toasted or boiled pine nuts with lamb.
• Cerro Wayle
• Cerro Morena
• Primeros Pinos
Mendoza
• Vallecitos
• Los Puquìos
Río Negro
• Cerro Perito Moreno
Santa Cruz
• Valdelèn
• Olla de chingue
Tierra del Fuego
• Glaciar Martial
