Ooonce, Ooonce, Ooonce I hear the South America 2005 Mini Discussion

I know it's a bit early...but these 60 degree temps in WA have me thinking ahead to better climates...

No that is not a jackhammer you hear in the background, it's the radiant vibe of club UFO. With the South American soul pounding delicate oonces through your head while you wash down that Vodka con speed and some fernet, take a moment and consider el tres lugares por un Mini de America del Sur.

As we have not really had much of a season in the PNW, we'll take up hosting duties for this vino tinto con lomo con nieve polvo gathering...
I'd post some more pics, but if you're reading this far, you already know what kind of goods can be had in SA :D

Dude le en Termas
Squirrel, Girlski, BC-Flow, Basom & Co. en Lenas (with Powstash???)
Arturus Fufkin con Cornholio, Yossarian and others en Bariloche

I would be more than happy to coordinate said mini for Las Lenas, say around Late August/Early September.

The floor is now open for discussion...

shite...I don't know where the hell I'm going yet. Prolly wherever Arty & lph are going as we've discussed trying to co-ordinate everything and traveling down there together. Las Lenas / Bariloche / or both....possibly leanin towards Bariloche....

Fairly certain I'll be in either LL or Bariloche around that time.

(coughs)it hit 70 degree's today(coughs)
I'm pinching pennies due to the lack of ski/work season here this year, but have alredy subtly plant the seeds soo as to...um go there and ski...

I am planning on going to south america in july sometime until school starts up at the end of august. Dont know exactly where and dont know with who, I dont have anyone to go with as of now, I have kind of been thinking I might go down and fend on my own and make friends I guess... I would be down to get some sort of crew together or something. I am new at the whole south america thing...

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Originally Posted by fineline

I am planning on going to south america in july sometime until school starts up at the end of august. Dont know exactly where and dont know with who, I dont have anyone to go with as of now, I have kind of been thinking I might go down and fend on my own and make friends I guess... I would be down to get some sort of crew together or something. I am new at the whole south america thing...

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I went solo the first trip I when I was Utarded in 2001. Very easy to meet people down there- look for the packs and helmets in the lineups. chances are good you'll be able to spot a gringo miles away.

If you are in Lenas July/August, there will likely be a small group I know from Whistler & Jackson in town. you'll spot them easily in the marte line up (or just try the Wine bar or UFO at apres).

And Tyrone, you need to go to both Lenas and Bariloche!

Bariloche, I think, for me.
It's really grown on me.

This just in: 13 may go South of the equator for the very first time this summer.

Stay tuned.

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Originally Posted by Squirrel99

And Tyrone, you need to go to both Lenas and Bariloche!

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I think I might only have 10 days of vaca time to spend though.....I guess if I piggy that up with the Labor Day holiday however, that would help out a little. Is that enough time for both do you think? Shit it's never enough time of course, but you know what I mean....god damn I 'm so stoked for this.

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Originally Posted by Tyrone Shoelaces

I think I might only have 10 days of vaca time to spend though.....I guess if I piggy that up with the Labor Day holiday however, that would help out a little. Is that enough time for both do you think? Shit it's never enough time of course, but you know what I mean....god damn I 'm so stoked for this.

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That's what I've done the past few trips to SA.

I'm tentatively thinking of leaving Thursday 8/25 and returning on Sunday 9/11. Labor Day falls in between so I end up burning only 10 vacation days, but I still get about 15 ski days out of it (overlapping both weekends).

It's tough to do both Bariloche and Lenas in 2 weeks, but I might try it this year. But like Yoss said above, once you find one you like, it kind of grows on ya.

try to find the maps of LL - they have great squiggle lines.

I haven't gotten as far as any kind of planning, but we've been the last couple years in the same time frame. If I go, it'd likely be then too. Last week of Aug, first of Sept. If it's a bad year, it can be really bad there when you first arrive, but usually you manage to snag a good storm somewhere in that two week stretch and get 3-4 pow days out of it, and then if you're lucky, you can tour for a couple more at best before it gets totally cooked again. But definitely be prepared to hang around a lot for relatively little epic skiing. That being said, I love it, love the pace, the people, all of it. At this point I just like being there, hitting a huge dump is just a bonus.

The other strategy is to go during the actual winter, much sooner, but I've never tried that. :)

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Originally Posted by Yossarian

The other strategy is to go during the actual winter, much sooner, but I've never tried that. :)

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Wouldn't have helped much the last two years. I don't wanna jinx things, but SA is seriously due

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Originally Posted by 13

This just in: 13 may go South of the equator for the very first time this summer.
Stay tuned.

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The first year I went there I met a few Alta chicas and they described skiing the Andes Powder as "Orgasmic" (not that it happens often, of course, with much less snowfall than NA).

But still, nonetheless, Alta chicks saying Pow was 'orgasmic' and not speaking about Alta in the same sentence spoke volumes about that day!

Does this mean that you're bringing X so he could still send in some "Alta pics of the day" photos from SA?

sorry i started an other one...i should read topics before posting...i have to agree with with all the points that were made up there. Las Lenas is sick its the biggest thing out there but its so tricky with the el marte chair. you can be sitting and drinking for quite a bit, i feel its important that you time your trip..

i have never been to bariloche and i am seriously thinking about spending time out there. i would love to see the advantages and disadavantages like i am about to do with termas...

I know termas very well i had great guides and the mountain has serious potential. the best comparaison to the mountain is baker, a little less steep a hole lot less of trees. i don't know if anyone that has skied it will agree. the other advantage of termas is on weekdays, well the car count in the parking rarely get over 10, the place is up to you. you know who lays witch track where...for a summit thats pretty cool...They are laying in an other chair this summer, that can be a plus too. The back country is quite accessible too its easy to plan tours and there is plenty of it. i have been dreaming of giant igloo multi-day sessions, its things that are super do-able down there....an other advantage of termas is the themals. hot water volcanic pools, some of them are poachable pretty easily.
its also pretty central its a day trip to bariloche in train and or first class bus rides. its also 6 hours from santiago, a day more or less, same deal with the winter cold surf...


the disadvantages of termas is that you are in the middle of the countryside. its quiet. weekdays the bars are often closed. the town of las trancas is a road with little dirt roads on the sides that lead into the native forest and bamboos, its quite a good way to disconnect from north american resort life. you have to be able to cope with that.
its also lower altitude, so the snow is sometimes heavier and it rains for quite a bit of time in periods.
the terrain also has its limits to get the more challenging runs you have to work them a little bit harder or more demanding. for sure that you have excellent lines up and around the resort, but the obvious terrain is not that steep and wide open..

et voila. like cletus says. once you find a resort that you like it sorst of grows on you...



edit : because of the investement of the plane ticket it doesn't make it that hard to stay there for longer at not much cost...

I'm definitely torn on this one-
Lenas is a definite for at least 8 days of my time this year- however, I would like to get to Termas or Bariloche to check out some other locales.

Marte chair can be tempermental if the winds pick up or heavy snow ensues for weeks at a time (like 2002). So that's a down side to Lenas. But it's also the biggest of the bunch and has the highest elevation on the plus side.

As another thought- I know of a touring hut that's about 2 hours from Las Lenas. If people wanted to really do the remote touring, I could look into renting it out for a week.

What does Ooonce mean?

Oooooooo. Nce?

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Originally Posted by Cornholio

What does Ooonce mean?

Oooooooo. Nce?

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You know, the loud sounds South American techno booms into your head at every restaurant and night club in town...like this- boom.boom.boom.boom.dadadadada..dadada.dadada.dada .dada. ooonce, ouuunce, ouunnnnceee - boom boom boom boom.

and then you head hurts while it still throws down techno beats and the popular English tune from Daft Funk- "One More Time"... that they play every night, in every bar.

I hear it Squirrel:
UummntzZ, UummntzZ, UummntzZ, UummntzZ...

That beat is calling me this summer!

Fineline: where you planning on going to school? I went to La Catolica de Valparaiso and it kicked ass.

My 2 cents: Valle Nevado/Farellones is a great place too. Excellent terrain, short hikes, high altitude, sooo accessible from Santi aeropuerto, but can be un poco mas caro as compared to the South or LL. I was living in VN for about a month in 2003 and definitely have a soft spot in my heart for the people there. As for the scene, all the Brazilian tourists tend to balance out the chica situation vs. Argentina. Brazilians can be very friendly :fmicon:

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Originally Posted by fineline

Dont know exactly where and dont know with who, I dont have anyone to go with as of now, I have kind of been thinking I might go down and fend on my own and make friends I guess...

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Same here..

Initial plans for summer 2005:Las Lenas

Arrive to Buenos aires 20th of july.
Bus to Los Molles,search and find the hotell/hostell there.21st.
Start to ski in LL, 22nd.
Take a flight back to Buenos aires from mendoza 9th.
Leave back to Yurup 10-11th.


Lodgings are a bit open atm, but staying in LosMolles seems to be the best way...cheap,2prs room (since im alone), bus or the hotels bus to the slopes.

Goddammit that sounds good!

Btw, does anyone have any snowrecords from the past years in las lenas?
If i understood it right, the winter/percipation cyckle differs quite a lot from the northern hemisphere?

I'm praying for snow this summer ! Yeah El Nino serve it up por favor !

Glad to see there is still south american stoke after last years rocks and bones.

Me plan if I don't injure myself, is to be in southern patagucci for a little stint in June and July then make my way north following the snow !

I hope to bump into some of ya there. T'was fun to meet Cletus, Odin and Cornholio for that total ten minutes !

AS for summit Locations. Las Lenas is sick and lots of potential. I gotta get back up there for a bit this summer.

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Originally Posted by Meathelmet

Same here..

Initial plans for summer 2005:Las Lenas

Arrive to Buenos aires 20th of july.
Bus to Los Molles,search and find the hotell/hostell there.21st.
Start to ski in LL, 22nd.
Take a flight back to Buenos aires from mendoza 9th.
Leave back to Yurup 10-11th.


Lodgings are a bit open atm, but staying in LosMolles seems to be the best way...cheap,2prs room (since im alone), bus or the hotels bus to the slopes.

Goddammit that sounds good!

Btw, does anyone have any snowrecords from the past years in las lenas?
If i understood it right, the winter/percipation cyckle differs quite a lot from the northern hemisphere?

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Unless you've actually seen Los Molles and know what you'd be letting yourself in for I'd strongly caution against this plan. There is an active market in cheap beds and room shares amongst US/Euro travellers in LL itself. Riding a bus up and down the highway to Los Molles everyday would suck pole and mean missing out on much of the LL atmosphere.

When everyone has their schedules nailed down how about booking a maggot condo from Brice at http://www.laslenasski.com/ ?

Holy fuck! Squirrell has the magic maps! PM sent.

Here's a picture of some of the lines on the magic map, taken from the Neptuno lift that goes up the valley. Marte lift is to the left of the picture.

Note: Sin Salida means "No Exit". You can see why. Miss the traverse and you go over the 50 footer.

The sound, incidentally, is:

"doof doof oontz oontz".

Accept no inferior spellings.