South America Resorts - Las Lenas

There is sure to be a lot of excitement in the southern hemisphere this week, as most of ski resorts in Chile and Argentina will have the lifts running by the weekend. In fact, El Colorado-Farellones and La Parva in Chile opened during the past week, with La Parva running 10 of 14 lifts.

In Argentina, the country's most famous resort, Las Lenas, will be opening this Friday and it seems the snow, that can be fickle early in any season, is building up nicely with a couple of storms last week and more in the immediate forecast. I've read reports that there is already 2+ meters on the summit. This base photo was taken on June 3, so it's definitely there.

The temperature here is causing heat waves across the US, and when I hear about 6' of snow on a skiable summit I feel like the proverbial cartoon of the guy crawling across the desert looking at the mirage. Well, the photo shows it's definitely not a mirage at Las Lenas village. So, if you want to break up the summer with some easily accessible extreme terrain, promises of lift-served bowls of powder, dreams of riches in the world's highest casino, and a nightlife that runs until daylight, take a close look at Las Lenas.

When you look for information on Las Lenas, you will find a lot of varying reports based on expectations related to skiing here in the northern hemishere and particularly in the United States. What many of these reports or reviews fail to take into consideration is that Las Lenas is totally above the tree line. Trees have a buffering effect during snowstorms, they absorb much of the wind force, and take a lot of the snow out of air. Above the trees, storms can rage with unfettered fury creating unskiable white-out conditions that may last for days - but when the wind dies and the sky turns blue, Las Lenas is paradise in the Andes.

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