You are looking at posts that were written in the month of August in the year 2007.
Posted on August 11th, 2007 by gomez.
Categories: The Apres Ski Lounge, Recent Posts, From the Guides, South America Food & Wine.
By M. David Johnson
Many people have caught on how serious Argentines take their food and drink. Argentina is often recognized as having the best beef in the world as well as producing some fantastic wines including Malbecs and Cabarnet Sauvignons. Argentines are also very proud of their Italian heritage and serve up some delicious pastas and pizzas. They are crazy for their national drink mate which has an entire culture surrounding it.
However down here in Patagonia and the lakes district, where there is a strong German influence, beer is taken very seriously. In Bariloche alone there are over a dozen microbreweries handcrafting tasty stouts, lagers, wheats, golden ales, red ales, IPA’s, bocks, frambuesas and scotch ales to name a few. These artisan beers are found throughout the region and can be enjoyed at many different pubs as well as the breweries themselves. One of the most distinct breweries in the region is found just outside the town of Bolson and is called the El Bolson Ceveceria. Walking through the front glass doors the visitor is immersed in a scent of fresh hops. This German influenced brewery serves up all its selections of tap, offers tasters, and can be complimented with a daily lunch/dinner special. Even better it has a campground on its premises so one can really indulge in all its flavors.
In Bariloche, I highly recommend visiting La Berlina where one can get scrumptious pizzas and platters of smoked deer, boar, trout and salmon as well as a variety of cheeses to go along with their handcrafted brews.
For a local watering hole try and find La Cruz, a micro micro brewery, where locals gather to meet up before heading out on the town. Situated in a very residential area, La Cruz can be a tough find, but its character and mouth watering IPA’s and Scotch Ales will be sure to delight.
Also in Bariloche is the Blest Brewery, a very fun and lively spot with plenty of brews on tap.
Yes the beer culture down here in Argentine Patagonia is fuerte and although it is somewhat overshadowed by its wine, beef and mate, it rates as some of the best beer I’ve ever tasted and offers a unique atmosphere for beer connoisseurs.
Posted on August 11th, 2007 by gomez.
Categories: Recent Posts, Best Lines in South America, From the Guides.
By M. David Johnson
Located deep in the heart of the Patagonian Andes, La Hoya Ski Center is a gem especially for off piste enthusiasts. Situated above the town of Esquel, in the Chabut province of Southern Argentina, La Hoya reminds me of Colorado’s Arapahoe Basin.
It receives some of the driest Andean powder in all of South America and its upper lifts bring skiers and snowboarders to an enormous cirque where all types of terrain can be accessed via short traverses along the bowl’s ridgeline.
Couloirs with jagged teeth piercing through the snow are some of the most dramatic aesthetics of this ski area. Large open bowls with various cornice drops to enter provide plenty of hucking potential. And the off piste potential reachable within 45 minute walks are limitless.
The base of the ski area is simple; a small parking lot, the mate bar, a ticket booth and a four-seater taking riders past large couloirs and wind swept ridgelines. Mornings are chilly, as the base does not receive much sun due to its southern exposure and ridgelines, which block the sun. However as you climb up into La Hoya’s (The Hole) namesake bowl the morning sun lights up the surrounding terrain.
After taking the quad, you reach a mid station where there is the ski school, a beginners surface lift, an on hill mountain restaurant, a t-bar, and a 2 seater, which brings riders to a poma lift and another 2 seater and La Hoya’s prime terrain. The lift system at La Hoya is pretty impressive for such an off the beaten path South American ski resort. The top poma lift drops riders just below La Hoya’s distinct ridgeline and a 3-minute sidestep/ hike accesses this traverse and an enormous amount of riding potential. This first traverse allows riders to drop into several bowl like features as well as airing off a cornice with 5 feet to 25 feet options. Keep traversing around and one can access a distinct couloir with massive rock walls or several chutes with jagged pinnacles jutting out of the snow or snaking hallways with little pointers to get the juices flowing. Because of the exposure this particular face receives little sun and preserves powder excellently, not to mention it is not easily seen from the mountain so attracts little ski traffic.
From this main traverse, off piste enthusiasts can continue on to a series of summits which lead riders into more open bowls and steeper chutes. To reach these summits take the skis or boards off and hike 5-30 minutes for a variety of lines and adventure.
The patrol at La Hoya has a very liberal off-piste policy. They are very helpful with questions about conditions and routes. For some excellent adventure skiing/snowboarding, climb to the 3 furthest peak on the ridgeline, where riders can drop into massive bowls, billygoat around and get into some very aesthetic couloirs and wind up about 1.5 kilometers down the La Hoya access road, where hitchhiking is relatively easy. I was very impressed with the backcountry potential La Hoya offered and with a few more meters of base you could see opportunities galore. La Hoya maintains snow late into the South American winter and its snow quality is consistently some of the driest in all the Andes. La Hoya’s one downfall is it does receive a lot of strong winds and the resort can close down because of this. No worries though as the town of Esquel offers travelers many other sightseeing opportunities such as excursions into Los Alerces national park, taking a train ride on the narrow gauged Old Patagonian Express called the Trochita, visiting the Welsh influenced town of Trevelin, or checking out the impressive hydro-electric dam at the headwaters of the Futalafu River, one of South America’s biggest river rafting destinations.
Be sure to finish your day at the Mate Bar with some cold and delicious Aracaunia beers. These handcrafted microbrews will replenish the calories from a full day of riding. For dinner head to Esquel and Don Chiquino for excellent hand-made pastas and a magical Patagonian atmosphere, Patagonian Winds for tasty pizzas, calzones, and smoked picadas, or get your meat on at the parrilla La Espanola. Esquel is located 300 kilometers south of Bariloche along the incredibly scenic Ruta 40.
Posted on August 8th, 2007 by gomez.
Categories: Recent Posts.
By Aaron Bilotta
Just dropped my group off at the airport last night. Gomez designed a trip for a hard-charging group of Denverites celebrating a 40th birthday and called it the Arpa Custom. Five ski days, three separate areas. The group flew into Santiago a day early and we hit the city, walking around the bustle, sounds and smells that are Santiago de Chile. Breakfast at Melba’s, metros, the fish market and the Bohemian district- time for piscos and a parilla. A darkish, wet day in Santiago likely means snow in the Andes above.
-Ski day one: We awake to city fog… Mucha neblina. As we drive the forty curves up to Farellones we break above the cloud line at curva 5 and we’re greeted with huge, glistening peaks, freshly coated from the night before- Andes candy. Access from two separate ski areas allows us to cut lines in the backcountry bliss of the Santa Teresa. Huge couloirs and cliffed shoulders drop 2000 ft. below to Valle Nevado’s access road. Line of the day is our first Santa T. A hidden couloir that is not easily found proves fresh and deep. The birthday boy drops into the dog-legged chute and the rest of us hear a loud cheer of elation. Pure virgin powder. We all grab tracks through the chute and slice big signature lines on the carpet-smooth apron below. Our driver Marco, awaits with a grin that seems to say, “Gringos locos.” Crazy indeed. We skied laps on the Santa Teresita for two days and could’ve skied fresh for two more.
Back in Santiago we sit down for sushi and pisco sours. The goggle tans are filling in nicely. Tomorrow, Portillo.
-Ski day three: Driving to Portillo on a blue-bird morning-tweet-tweet. The drive to Portillo is a winding snake of trucks up and down the mountain pass that cuts through the Andes and into Argentina. A view of the Super-C couloir and a chairlift above the vehicle- we’re close. One of my favorite experiences year after year are the looks on my client’s faces as they approach the Roca. A five-person poma lift, the Roca Jack accesses the steeps which make Portillo an international destination for skiers worldwide. Tired legs get warmed up early as four of us jump into the S-chute. A mandatory rock hop in the center leads to a curving exit with high rock walls defining the chute. When you tell people that you skied in Chile you are invariably asked, “Well, did you ski Portillo?” Yeah- we skied it and poached its hot tubs too.
-Ski days four and five: Ski Arpa is something that just has to be experienced. Words will never come close. Over 5000 acres of pristine ski terrain with 22,841 ft. Mount Aconcagua looming above the Andes and Arpa- inspiring. Snowcats are fired up and so are we. For two days we carve up Arpa. Another group has been farming the snow- skiing tightly together in order to preserve the powder. We let loose on Arpa like a pack of wild dogs and put tracks on every shoulder and chute that we can. Bad, bad guide-oops.
I’ve led many ski trips throughout Chile and I have to say that this might have been my favorite. Great group, great weather and great itinerary. Call Gomez and have him book you an Arpa Custom.
Aaron Bilotta
Lead Guide
CasaTours
Posted on August 2nd, 2007 by gomez.
Categories: The Apres Ski Lounge, Recent Posts, South America Food & Wine.
Heading to ski/snowboard at Termas de Chillan?
Check out the restaurant Oliva´s in Las Trancas. For delicious food, including Oliva´s signature dish, a juicy steak complimented with a savory chocolate sauce and toasted almonds, the best pisco sour in Las Trancas, and live music, stop into this classic Chilean restaurant. This is certainly the best bar/restaurant in the Las Trancas valley. Give Hansie a big what´s up and enjoy the warm hospitality, live entertainment, and fantastic food. Oliva´s is a great way to finish off a stellar day at the hill.
Posted on August 1st, 2007 by shredbetty.
Categories: Recent Posts.
I am here in the US, still. Haven’t left for South America yet and I can’t stop thinking about it.
The heat is kicking in here in the Salt Lake Valley. I guess I shouldn’t be suprised, it is a desert. The winter was minimal here, basically the last two weeks of February and then the backcountry was so scary that I never experienced more than a handful of powder days away from the valley resorts. Some winters its there and some…it’s not. This is somehting I should be comfortable with after spending my entire adult life skiing, but it still bothers me when I don’t get in enough (I guess its never enough) of those days. I mean that feeling of plowing through the whiteness, feeling the edge of the snowpack rythmically breaking against your thighs or, even better yet, your chest at every turn. The feeling of the endless bounce as the skis resist off of the pressure bubble underfoot and launch you into a bit of visability and fresh oxygen.
I am starting to sound nostalgic.
I have been skyping (now a verb) Chile and Argentina about every four days to see what is going on down there. My friends say, bloody cold and white dusting on the slopes. Not bad for this time of year. I just need one day of powder, or maybe two to get my fix, be satisfied, hold my head high for another few months. Just one…..or maybe two days.
I go down South August 1 for a few months and although I know the days will fly by and I will be loading onto a jet plane in no time, the desert heat makes those days seem long.
58 days to go before I can smell the snow
57 tomorrow and then
there will be no more sorrow.
For this sorry arsed powder addicted ski junkie “when am I going to get over it!” SAP!
Posted on August 1st, 2007 by soulskier.
Categories: Best Lines in South America.
Every real skier at Las Leñas can’t help but notice Adrenalina towering across the valley on a clear day. Arguably, one of the great faces in the ski world, Cerro Yesera, as it is called, is 4,000 meters above sea level. The valley floor is at 2,240 meter, making the peak about 1,760 meters or well over a mile of vertical relief. Adrenalina is the obvious large southwest face from just below the summit.
If you believe mother nature was a skier when she made Las Leñas, then mighty Adrenalina is her showpiece. The climb is perfect low angle skinning about 90% of the way around the back, up a route called “El Ripio”. In parts of El Ripio there are sections with potential for rock fall, keeping you moving alertly through the bowling alleys. From the summit, there are comanding views of the big Andes, including Cerro Sosneado, the southern most 5,000 meter peak in the world. There is a short down climb to a nice launching pad to refresh and switch over to descent mode.
The top of Adrenalina faces southwest, is in the mid 40’s for a bit, and generally holds classic Las Leñas chalk. After the throat, which is surprising wide, you can traverse right to ski a more west facing lower slope if you are late or follow the naturally falline to the valley floor.
Posted on August 1st, 2007 by Travis.
Categories: Recent Posts, From the Guides, videos.
By Travis “Taco” Toelkes
Good day to all the lovers of snow out there!! This last week was an amazing one. It all started with a day of total debauchery in Santiago with my two new buddies, Aaron and matt. After picking matt up from the airport we hit up the cultural section of the tour including the subway (pretty wild experience for 3 boys from Montana and Wyoming!!), the plaza de armas (kind of like central park in new York), Bella vista (a pretty posh, eclectic, artsy barrio of Santiago), the mercado central (where you can find anything that has to do with fish, meat, veggies and fruit) and the paseo de ahumadas (an open air mall that stretches for about 10 blks). Then it was time to hit up the cafe con piernas (coffee with legs). This is a unique Chilean experience. It is a cafe where the ladies are dressed, shall we say, a bit on the provocative side???? But, man…the coffee is great!!! After that it was piscosour time. Pisco is the national liquor, made from a special type of grape. It kind of reminds me of guaro, the Costa Rican national drink, pretty nasty alone, but, mix it with some sweet and sour margarita mix and wowzers…look out! After a few you are ready to take on the world…or maybe just more of Santiago. With a six-pack of escudo (the local brew) in hand we took the funicular (a sort of tram) to the top of Cerro San Cristobal and took in the evening view of Santiago. It is pretty amazing to look over 7 million people and then gaze up to the Andes looming over the entire city…especially when you are buzzed up and chatting with the carabineros (police)!! Back in Providencia, the barrio we live in, we ate a feast of churrascos (a sandwich full of steak, avocado, cheese, mayo and tomatoes), fries, and of course, more escudos. Mix in some tequila, red bull vodkas, a couple of clubs, some taxi rides in search of fun and low and behold it was 6 in the morn! After 2 hours of sleep and with a serious hangover we loaded up and headed north to an area called Arpa. Here lies the only cat ski operation in Chile and on this day it was buried in a foot of fresh powder! Though it was a touch cloudy, the views were amazing and you could almost see the entire peak of Aconcagua (tallest peak in s. america). Not to mention, the skiing was phenomenal. We did two cat assisted runs and then me, Gomez and our friend, Francisco toured 2 hrs out to one of the most amazing runs of my life. Maybe it was the oh-my-god-I-might-die feeling I had the entire tour along the ridge (reminded me of a headwaters traverse with even more consequences and three times as long), maybe it was the 2000ft decent through virgin pow, or maybe it was the loss of the hangover…. whatever it was, the run was unreal. Next stop was Termas de Chillan and its 2 meters of new snow. Yes, that is over 6 ft of new snow!!!! For 2 days we raced around the mountain boundaries hitting every cliff, cornice, chute and open face we could find (see photo below). We went to an area called the dedos (fingers) via one of the more exposed boot packs I have ever done. But there, waiting for me, was such a rewarding couloir. I was so giddy to get an opportunity to ride a line like this. Upon the drop in I was giggling to myself, riding not only the fluffy powder but also the wave of adrenaline coursing through my veins! However, to my total dismay, half way down the run, the nose of my board decided it would be fun to see exactly how deep the snow was and with gravity leading the way my face submerged, I did a full front flip, landed on my board and kept on going. Noooooo…. a fall on a line like this…. oh but I am still going. A bit shaken by the fall, I made my way down the remaining critical section of the run only to do one more depth charge flip at the bottom in the run out. Maybe not the ideal descent, but I lived to tell the story and ride another day!! On the third day we donned skins and split boards and took off on an all day tour of the neighboring Pirigallo and Hermoso valleys plus an area called agua calientes. This tour was one for the books. The views were mind blowing, the runs were untouched and we covered close to 7500ft of vert. after taking in volcanoes, thermal pools, and acres of pristine powder we toured to the ridge between the Pirigallo and Hermoso valleys for one last run back to Termas de Chillan…I think we counted well over 70 turns each on the descent!!! Can you say leg burn??? The next morning we made our way south to a volcano called Lonquimay. The drive took us through podunk little villages and araucaria forests. Araucaria trees, also called monkey-puzzle trees, look like something out of a dr. Seuss book. Spiky trunks that bolt straight up to the sky topped with a broccoli looking foliage, all you need is some green eggs and ham and the scene is complete! Now, I have been on many a volcano, but never with the intention of riding down it! After a bartering session with the ticket attendant (three for the price of one) we rode up the lift, the one and only lift, to begin our tour up Lonquimay. With sustained, and I joke you not, 70 mph winds we made it to the summit via skinning and boot packing. We sat trying to decide the next move: which face to descend??? But after a few minutes of trying to scale the crumbly volcanic rock and being pelted by the raging winds the choice was obvious: back the way we came. Gripped with fear, cold and an intense desire to survive, I somehow managed to get my split board put back together and we rode down the chalky, carvey snow all the way back down to the parking lot. Though the beer was warm, it never tasted so good, and as we sat in the sun relishing our victory we formulated out next move. A few warm beers and 9 hours later we were back in Santiago, hunkering down for a few hours of sleep before heading up to Portillo. None of us had ever been to Portillo, but the rumors were good and plenty and we were excited to see what the hype was all about. However, little did we know just driving to Portillo is an adventure. The road leading up to the resort is also one of the major arteries across the Chile/Argentina border and it is chalk full of semis carrying goods between the two countries. Combine trains of 10 to 20 semis with 29 hairpin turns, 6000ft of vertical gain, and hundreds of impatient skiers weaving their way through it all, and you have the recipe for a tense drive. We saw passes that would make a NASCAR driver blush! Three semis, a blind corner…no worries, go for it!! Somewhere around turn 20, you realize that, yes that is a chair lift going over the road and yes, the ski run does go over the road! What a drive! Arriving white knuckled at the parking lot, you are welcomed with an amazing view of a perfect V shaped valley dropping into the frozen lake, Laguna del Inca. We started on the north facing side of the valley and hit 4 different couloirs all accessible by the 5-person pommel lift called roca jack. Once the sun hit the south facing side of the valley we headed over for a quick boot pack up to the lake run. This is so amazing. You hike for maybe 15 minutes and then you are dropping classic S turn chutes all the way down to the lake and then riding the lake all the way back to the base area! Where else can you do that??? To finish off our epic day we stopped by the mid mountain bar, tio bob’s, for 10,000 ft cerveza. Taking in the views of the mountains and the crisp, clear flavor of an escudo you can truly appreciate the spirit of the Andes. And so our week came to an end…and what a week it was. We were whipped. Cat skiing, volcanoes, and 2 resorts later and I am ready for a vacation…oh yeah, this is vacation!! Life is good. Work starts in a few days. Time to do some laundry and get my stuff together before the clients arrive. Who knows what waits on the next mission? Until later…Travis
ps. check out the videos of us sending it on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ugmUz4O_Qc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQaqM5WEGkI