New Lift at Catedral Alta

Argentine resorts are relaxing a bit after the massive yearly influx of skiers and snowboarders and their families taking advantage of South American school holidays. Bariloche received 100 flights in one week, filling the city streets with Argentine and foreign visitors, mostly Brazilians who seemed to be everywhere you looked. Intermittent sun, clouds and wind have left packed conditions, but resorts from Las Leñas to Chapelco are expecting a storm midweek.

Las Leñas will host the Banff Mountain Film Festival on August 30 and 31, and September 2 and 3 at the base village in Domo. This festival showcases the best nature and adventure films with submissions from the US, England and Canada, among others. Winds at the La Hoya resort slowed chairlifts to a standstill last week, stranding 40 people for two hours until they were helped down by ski patrol, without incident. La Hoya, the Patagonian resort located near the tiny town Esquel, is taking on a lot of interest from international skiers and the resort has been reporting 2,000 skiers even on weekdays, an unusual amount. Many foreigners head to La Hoya to get off the beaten track, and for the idea of skiing in Patagonia.

Alta Catedral (Bariloche) proudly inaugurated their new Triple Park chairlift last Thursday, which will give access to the central area of the resort that has wide open spaces and a variety of terrain difficulty; the runs here also end at the starting point for the Terrain Park. Across the lake, Cerro Bayo inaugurated its two new Snow Parks, one of which is a beginner park with low jumps, 15cm rails and specialized instruction for newbies.