August 5th - 8th, 2005, Las Lenas Argentina

After a night of partying at the Andino Hostel in Mendoza we drove south towards Las Lenas.  We got sandwiches from a funky store in a small town on the way.  As we neared Las Lenas we got a better view of the mountains and snow covered sage brush.  When we arrived, there was still plenty of day light so Ann and I attempted to ski some slopes behind where we are staying but were thwarted by a creek.  Sunday was cold and cloudy so we didn't ski much.  Monday was finally sunny and after several hours of delay the Marte chair opened.  The Marte chair is sweet!  It rises about 2500 vertical feet and accesses lots of steep terrain.  We skied two runs back to the lift and a third 4000 foot run back down to the base.  The snow ranged from light fluffy boot deep powder to a variety of wind affected surfaces.  I didn't take any pictures in the excitement of these first two runs.  The third and last run was at a slower pace so I took a few more pictures.  We have been skiing and traveling since Portillo with Brad, Steve, and Jeff, all originally from the Tahoe area.   Here is a picture of Ann and I at the top.  The first bowl was largely untouched and we skied some warming powder.  The next pitch near a rock outcropping yielded a couple good turns ( Ann , Brad ).  

Today (Tuesday) was also sunny so the Marte lift was running.  Ann was not feeling well so I took two runs with our roommates, Shane and Brianne.  The views from the top were again excellent ( peaks in distance , warning sign ).   This chute was the first run of the day .  The next run we continued farther down the ridge and skied the large bowl above the Caris chair.  Later I met up with Ann and skied another 4000 foot run similar to the last run of the prior day. This time we went further skiers right behind the knob above the Vulcano chair.  Here is a picture of Ann on that run.

Very nice Andy!<br><br>

Andy,<br><br>Just returned from hiking around Paradise area on dirt and enjoyed the winter ski photos of your trip. The terrain at Las Lenas looks great.<br><br>Did you bring your touring gear ?<br><br>We'll be there for the spring season.<br><br>Zap

Great photos and TR, thanks for sharing your adventure .

Andy-Thanks for the updates. I am reviewing my goals and this drooling report helps solidify some of my needs in life. Have a great time! I hope the weather turns out to your liking. BTW-How are you sending these reports on the road?<br>Joe

Thanks! Glad the TR was enjoyable. Once again it has started to rain so today we took a down day. Hopefully it will recoved like in Portillo.<br><br>Zap,<br><br>We did bring our touring gear but haven't had to put on skins. There is so much to ski here right off the lift. With skins the posibilities are pretty limitless. The lifts provide a big vertical boost though and tickets are $107 pesos or about $38 US. <br><br>Most of the stuff off the Marte is technically out of bounds and we did have to sign a wavier to leave the boundary. The boundary is actually enforced by some sort of government search and rescue group. Oddly enough after crossing the boundary there is actually a poma lift to gain a small amount of vert to better access the long run that we did back around to the base.<br><br>Joe,<br>I brought a laptop and there is WiFi at both ski areas.<br><br>Andy