South America Season officially wrapped...

The last of South American ski resorts have shut down their lifts and the snow torch has been passed back to North America for its winter duties.

Here’s the last installment in South America now that the winter winds are blowing again North of the border.

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Cerro Catedral Alta Patagonia and Cerro Bayo.

The southern region in the Rio Negro province of Argentina is host to some of Argentina’s most amazing mountains and marks the beginning of Patagonia. The area is rich in history and draws riders from all over the planet in search of winter shredding in June through October.

The town of Bariloche doesn’t really fit the term “town” It’s a Snowboarding City. With over one hundred thousand occupants, it’s got all of the amenities that you could find in any major city in the world. It also has one of Argentina’s biggest ski resorts. It’s been getting more and more popular with snow travelling enthusiasts as the years pass and shows no sign of slowing down. It seems that it’s become the new gringo hot spot for riding in the summer as I’ve never seen so many foreign travellers in the lift lines and it’s showing on the mountain as well. What was once an easy catch for fresh tracks has become more of a fight to secure untracked turns. It’s easy to understand though as Cerro Catedral Alta Patagonia has amazing lift access and is a very modern resort in comparison to other areas in the country. This past season Bariloche was blanketed with powder and had an amazing base right to the village (mall) that sits perched on the mountain, a short 15 minute drive from the center of town. The newer Nubes Chair, which reaches the peak of the resorts ridge line, makes for what was once a hike to now a full on freeride zoo on a powder day. There are still mixed reviews about it from hardcore locals but more chairs means easy pow turns so hey….. Awesome!

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Across the Nahuel Huapi Lake sits the smaller more family orientated Cerro Bayo. Still holding its unique charm of old world skiing with rustic lifts and some small lodges on the mountain this place is much more laid back. Sharing a similar weather pattern to the other side of the Lake but with sometimes a bit more snow, Cerro Bayo was host to an epic season as well.

So as this winter season ramps up where ever you are North of the border, remember that if you don’t get your fill up here, the South American season will be waiting for you come next summer….er …. winter I mean.

INFO
Flights to South America: www.lan.com LAN airlines

Tours: www.powderquest.com

These posts were made possible with help from DAKINE. www.dakine.com

Brought to you by Chasing Winter: www.chasingwintermedia.com

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