Skiing in Argentina
For our final week of the trip, we treat ourselves to skiing and snowboarding in San Carlos de Bariloche. We take three buses to get here from San Antonio, Chile, totaling about 22 hours. Fortunately, the overnight buses have sleeper-seats, but nevertheless, Paul and I are barely able to get any sleep, while Quinn snores away.
This area is truly breathtaking: snow covered peaks, numerous deep blue lakes, towering pine trees, fluffy white clouds in the sky. The town of Bariloche is very upscale – fancy and expensive restaurants, hotels and shops. Think Aspen or Vail, but with more chocolate. Chocolate shops are everywhere; white or dark chocolate bark is very popular. We are in sticker shock with the high prices, but manage to find local places to eat and stay in a lovely, yet inexpensive hostel.
The resort near Bariloche is Cerro Catedral (12 miles from town). Because we are here late in the season, only the top half of the mountain has enough snow to ski. The ski resort is enormous – around 17 chair lifrts and 2 gondolas. The views are amazing: jagged mountain tops overlooking Nahuel Huapi Lake. The resort reminds me a bit of Lake Tahoe, but with wide open slopes and no trees on the top half of the mountain. We experience typical spring skiing – icy and hard in the morning and soft and slushy in the afternoon. The weather conditions are overcast the first three days and the off-piste snow is wonderfully soft. We ski and snowboard the entire mountain!
We stay at a comfortable resort at the base of Cerro Catedral, so we can walk to the resort every day. The place is fairly empty and we are upgraded to a suite with a small kitchen and Jacuzzi bathtub (my favorite!). Breakfast is a big buffet with fresh fruit, yogurt, cereal, rolls, ham, cheese and pastries. We find a delicious restaurant next to our hotel and try different soups every night: zapallo (kind of like pumpkin), lentaje (lentils, potatoes, beef, chorizo, carrots and more – hearty and yummy) and verduras. We go to bed with aching bodies, yet full tummies.
I notice several aspects of ski resort life that are very different than most other resorts that I have visited:
– The ski passes are electronic and we are required to insert the pass in a scanner EVERY time we board the chair lift or gondola. Kind of a pin in the ass…
– The ski resort itself only sells lift tickets and all other services on the mountain are privately owned. This means competition, resulting in low prices for ski rentals and decent food. Even the ski schools are independent of the resort.
– The rental shops require that the skis and boards are returned at the end of the day, even if the rental period is for several days. This is actually nice because the rental shops are closer to the lifts than the hotel. Plus, the guys at the rental shop help us with our boots each day 🙂 However, the concept of ski lockers seems foreign.
– Some Argentineans ski with their arms straight out, making fast “S” turns…on the groomed runs. The style looks chaotic and is definitely overkills for an easy run. Maybe it is a show-off move. At the same time, I also see skiers and snowboarders move fluidly and gracefully with excellent technical skills. Thus, not sure what to think about the weird style.
– Pedestrians are everywhere on the mountain. People upload and download on the chairlifts without skis or snowboards in order to go to the restaurants and play in the snow. Very odd to see so many non-skiers at a ski resort.
– Large groups of high school students wear the exact same snow clothes. At first glance, I think that they are ski instructors. Wrong! Argentinean high school seniors take their class trip to Bariloche to play in the snow and enjoy the area. Since most Argentinean metropolitan areas are located in warm climates, people don’t have cold weather gear and must rent their snow clothes. Big business here.
After our stay on the mountain, we return to the town of Bariloche for our last two days in Argentina. We go on an incredible horseback ride through the mountains and along lakes. Side note – riding after five days of skiing is not a good idea. We are sore and tired, yet the scenery overshadows our aches and pains. The area is spectacular – truly a beautiful part of the world. We all agree that this is the prettiest place of the entire trip. A great way to end our seven month adventure!
Tags: Argentina
hwy1alltheway
Such a great way to end your trip. Back in California- fall is here, the leaves are turning color and the days are still warm. It’ll be nice to get back at home and sleep in your own beds. We all look forward to seeing you again and hearing all about this trip. Thanks for posting all the pictures. this was truly a great adventure. Enjoy the rest of the week and have a safe trip home.
Just read the last few entries. Wow, what a great way to finish up an unforgettable journey! You really have documented your travels so thoroughly and beautifully. I’ve loved every word and every image along the way! Can’t wait to see you…I’m up in your neck of the woods all the time so let me know when you are back!