August in Argentina

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Hola muchachos!!

Well its a very, very balmy day here in Las Lenas.. you certainly wouldn't believe that its the middle of winter because its about 10 degrees outside and you can almost see the snow dissapear off the hill...

Its been an up and down couple of weeks really... July saw us with very little in the way of new snowfall but cold temperatures and no crowds (thank you GEC) allowed us to really explore the high mountains within a few hours walk of the valley and we still managed to ride fantastic snow on steep mountains almost every day.

On top of that we had the good fortune to have Conal and Megan swing by for a crash course in snowboarding which they took to with reckless abandon... Some might even suggest a little too reckless... god knows Megans backside was probably wishing for an early end to things after the first few days

Luckily they also embraced the Argentine Malbec with similar gusto which seemed to ease the pain somewhat such that by the end of their time here they were ripping it up both on and off the mountain..

After that me and Ali spent another week exploring the backcountry and hoping for some more snow to fill in the rapidly expanding gaps in the runs...

Luckily that storm coincided with the recent arrival of Dr M and the P-bird who were kind enough to bring about 40cms of fresh snow with them... That resulted in quite the steep learning curve for Scotty though.. as his first day saw some of the steeper and deeper runs he would have seen and I then welcomed Mijic to the mountain by dropping him down a steep narrow, 1km long couloir for his last run of the first day which was perhaps not the relaxing descent he was looking for...

And since then its been an absolute blast.. there's been BBQ'd baby goat at midnight in -16 degree temperatures, afternoon beers in the sun, and lots and lots of hiking and riding...

today perhaps heralded the last day for the resort riding however with hot temperatures and lots of sun turning it mostly to glue.. still we snuck in a cheeky early line that was well worth the effort and tomorrow we plan a 4 or 5 hour walk up the valley to see what we can find...

then its batten down the hatches in preparation for a 3-4 day storm which threatens to dump around 80cms of snow on the mountain, hopefully rejuvinating the season and extending the good times into the forseeable future!!

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Photos

Pow Pow
Ali ripping it in some dry pow

Asado
BBQ argentine style... muy delicioso!

Party Time
Megs' birthday at the wine bar!

big mountains
Quinn dropping a somewhat picturesque line

Rocks
Funky Rock Fomations on the top of Cerro Torre Cillas

hiking
Ali busting out some mountain climbing up around 3800m

pano
One of the backcountry playgrounds within easy access of the resort

Comments

[iron my shirt]

goat on a boat
Don't say that's the last of the resort riding! Goat at midnight works beautifully. Getting the last of my gear together for said trip. Really getting excited!

[iron my shirt]

goat on a boat
Don't say that's the last of the resort riding! Goat at midnight works beautifully. Getting the last of my gear together for said trip. Really getting excited!

[debbie]

Awesome
Looks like you are both having a great time, now what about the house!

[vex mayo]

nice one brus
looks great, what about the argentinian women? next entry i want more hot foreign lass stories. make it up if you have to.

[Luke]

Wow. It looks like you guys are getting in some very nice rides within few hours walk. You're going to come back with lungs as big as ballons with all that hiking at 3800m. I'm very impressed. It looks absolutely stunning there. Quinn, that 'big mountain' photo... 10/10. Keep it up. I'll be praying for snow for you guys. Luke

[Luke Reeves]

big mountain
...that photo goes straight to the pool room