September 7-9, 2007 Las Lenas, Argentina

We spent the night in San Rafael and then drove a good paved road to RP22 the cutoff road to Las Lenas (LL).  The road is paved and except for a few pot holed sections is an easy drive.  We stopped in Los Molles to check it out.  It is about 20km from Las Lenas and has numerous homes and lodges. Accommodations are cheaper in Los Molles, but there did not appear to be anything else among the few dirt roads in the small “village”.  We continued to LL which is a large resort.  It was early afternoon and we decided to go on up to the area.  There were lots of brown ridges and it appeared to be a low snow year.  We traveled past the resort to the end of the road and watched a pay loader filling a dump truck with snow for transport back to LL to fill in bare spots on the lower slopes. Hmmmm.

We located the gendarneria office at the resort and found our contact person Nelson.  The gendarneria are the border patrol police.  They have a refugio/lodge about 8km along the road to LL.  The refugio has 3 rooms with bunks which are rented out. Jill and I had the smallest room which used to be the office.  The facilities are very spartan but clean and cost only $10 per person per night.  There are 2 shared bathrooms with showers, a kitchen which you are welcome to use, satellite TV and a ping pong table for recreation. The officers were very friendly, but only Alberto spoke more than a bit of English.  If you don’t have a car, you can ride up in the morning with the officers to LL or hitch hike.

Last year, Jens and Annette skied at LL and jokingly said that LL probably means “windy”.  Yeah, it is windy. Parking is $8 per day, but we found that we could park free near the bus station and walk about 100 yards to a shuttle bus stop. Our 2 day lift ticket was $75.  There are about a dozen lifts with most chairs being on the front side with pomas nearby - which is good because the winds frequently shutdown the chairs.  We had “wind holds” on both days that we skied at LL.  The base is about 7200’ and the top lift served elevation is 11,200’.  LL has a variety of advanced terrain for the downhill rider and if you bring your touring gear it’s endless.  On our first day we cruised the front side, then rode the Marte lift in the afternoon as things softened.  I had wanted to ski Daredevil which descends under the Marte lift but it was closed and rocky along the upper bowl. There weren’t even any old tracks visible which meant it hadn’t been skied for awhile. On our second day we cruised the front side until a “wind hold” occurred, then, to our surprise, we saw that the Marte lift was operating.  Like a couple of kids we loaded the lift before they closed it.  Once at the top we traversed over to the short poma to the last lift served terrain.  Once off the poma, we signed out with the gendarneria and had the colored tape attached to our pack.  There were a few groups heading out plus the ski patrol.  We followed a group out along the traverse until it turned to frozen wind affected drifts and rock.  We descended about 150vf, then saddled the skis and traveled and stumbled about a quarter mile along the “Extreme Expedition” - their marketing term for their off piste route.  The wind was so strong along this section that I was knocked over twice.  Finally, the group rounded a rock outcropping and we found ourselves at the top of a steep and firm snow slope.  We were past the Paraiso run and I was glad that someone in the group ahead seemed to know the route.  The descent started with a traverse out of a no fall zone over to corn snow that gives you confidence that your jump turns will penetrate the snow rather than skid.  After 100vf we started a 4000vf descent in corn that ended in mush.  Fat skis made the ride really enjoyable. As we descended, the large snowfield became braided and we rode ridges and ribbons of snow until we met the steam near the valley floor.  At the bottom the ski patrol caught up with us and helped pack the sloppy snow and find protruding rocks.  Looking back along our descent route, it was obvious that there are limitless lines available in a normal snow year.  If riding lifts doesn’t appeal to you, then the touring options near the resort seem unending.  After a fun 4000vf adventure, we decided to leave and end our visit with the memory of our descent.  Time to head south where all the snow is supposed to be falling.

Photo 1 – A view of the front side of Las Lenas
Photo 2 - A view from the ski area across the valley from the resort
Photo 3 – From the top of the upper poma looking at the touring terrain

Cool pics. First time I've ever seen you without a hat!