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| Bienvenidos!
Welcome to Argentina. Land of Explorers! |
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| After
your arrival at Ezeiza, Buenos Aires International Airport,
you will be welcomed by one of our guides who will be travelling
along with you through the entire trip. In order to catch our
flight to the city of Ushuaia, we take a short transfer to the
Buenos Aires Jorge Newbery domestic airport, and will be arriving
at the world's southernmost city in the afternoon. Ushuaia offers
a unique experience of the Patagonia Austral region. Surrounded
by the Andes mountains and the Atlantic Ocean, this beautiful
city is the perfect place to begin our exploration through the
Argentinean Patagonia. We will spend the next three nights in
our comfortable hotel. Breakfasts are included, and one special
dinner in town is included as well. |
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| Ushuaia,
Argentina: Skiing and Riding at the End of the World! |
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| After
an early breakfast we head northeast to Cerro Castor. A 16 mile
road separates Ushuaia from this small, fast growing resort.
There are many reasons why we make a stop in Cerro Castor, the
youngest ski resort in South America. Because of its location
- southernmost ski area in the world - , snow is guaranteed
from early June to late October! And even when this might sound
crazy, you will find it amazing: with a vertical drop of over
2,530 ft. the base is located at 197 mts (646 ft!) and the brand
new quad chairs reach 967 mts. (3173 ft.) at the summit! We
have two days to explore the pristine powder, open bowls and
steeps of Cerro Castor. With great lift-serviced off-piste terrain,
this mountain also offers great descents after short hikings.
For those looking for a challenge, heli-skiing in the surrounding
mountains is available. This mountain region with deep valleys
and dense Lenga forests offers an unrivalled beauty! When we
are not exploring the slopes of this amazing resort, Ushuaia
has many options to keep you busy for several days. Located
over the Ushuaia Bay and the Beagle Channel, this small city
offers countless restaurants, pubs, duty free shopping and even
a casino. We do recommend you to try the traditional Cordero
Patagónico (Patagonian Lamb) and the fresh Centolla (kind of
local lobster). At the End of the World, Ushuaia and Cerro Castor
are waiting to be discovered. |
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| Our
Trip Over Patagonia Continues: Welcome to Bariloche, Argentina!
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| Before
our departure to Bariloche, we will have enough time to do some
last-minute shopping. We arrive at Bariloche in the afternoon.
This famous Swiss-styled city will be home for the next four
nights. The Bariloche experience is truly amazing. Based alongside
the Nahuel Huapi Lake, in the heart of the Lake District and
surrounded by the spectacular snowed capped Patagonian Andes
and magical forests, this city can´t be matched in nightlife,
international and local cuisine, chocolate houses, casinos or
its many discos by any other ski resort. Located in the heart
of the small mountain village of Catedral, steps away from Cerro
Catedral lifts and a few minutes from downtown Bariloche, our
cozy hotel features a heated swimming pool, restaurant, bar,
massage rooms, fitness centre and includes breakfast and dinner.
We will have the rest of the afternoon free to explore the downtown
area, before we get together for a welcome dinner, courtesy
of Andes Ski Tours. Enjoy! |
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| After
having breakfast we hit the slopes of this European style resort.
With a covered, 6-passenger, high-speed chair called the "Super
bubble" and a high-speed quad added a couple of years ago, we
can reach the top of Punta Nevada in only 17 minutes. After
waiting for several years, you can ski the whole mountain under
one lift ticket. Once divided into two areas run by two different
companies the Cerro Catedral Ski Resort is now run by Alta Patagonia
SA, meaning skiing and riding options are endless. Excellent
off-piste terrain and hikes are offered here. Locals´ choice
is to hike or traverse into the beautiful steep chutes and bowls
of Punta Nevada. Most people ascend on a traverse from the Las
Nubes poma, but an easy 15-minute hike from either this lift
or the La Hoya poma accesses the area. After a intense day of
exploring there will be free time to spend the late afternoon
in Villa Catedral, the small village at the base. Before we
go back to our hotel you can enjoy a typical cup of "Chocolate
Caliente", check your e-mails or just hang out with your new
friends. Thinking about nightlife? Bariloche has it all! Check
out one of the many pubs in town that offer live music, a lot
of fun and meet the incredibly friendly local people! |
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| Catedral
Alta Patagonia claims to be the Most Developed Ski Resort in
South America. The only tramway in Argentina and Chile, the
state-of-the-art lift ticket system, the 6 passenger, detachable
high-speed chairlift and the new snow-making system confirm
this. This area offers excellent fast cruising runs, and some
really good tree skiing and riding, such as La Palmera and Segundo
Lomo, north of the Piedra del Condor. Looking for the chance
to fly? Parasailing is offered at Piedra del Condor. Three summit
areas define Catedral ski area. Piedra del Condor, Punta Nevada
and Punta Princesa. From the top at 2,050 mts (6,725 ft.) the
vistas of the Andes and the Nahuel Huapi and Gutierrez lakes
are amazing. On a clear day you are sure to enjoy the unforgettable
views of the nearby volcanoes of Argentina and Chile! If you
still have strength Bariloche has always something different
to offer! |
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Today
is our third day here. We´ll be skiing and riding the Patagonian
powder until lifts close at 5 in the afternoon. As we have an
all-mountain lift ticket we will be able to explore any area
of the mountain. Catedral Alta Patagonia has great news for
the 2006 season: The completion of the third face of the lift
system expansion plan which features more than 15 new lifts
including high-speed quads, a gondola and 2 surface lifts accessing
some great off-piste areas!
As this is our last night in the active city of Bariloche we
invite you to explore one more time the unbeatable nightlife.
Tomorrow we ski in the morning and we visit the amazing city
of Buenos Aires. Good night! |
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Day
8 is one of the most active days in our journey as it combines
skiing in the morning, flying to Buenos Aires, having a special
dinner in town and exploring the active night life of a truly
unique city.
We´ll be skiing and riding the Patagonian powder until
1 pm. As we have an all-mountain lift ticket we will be able
to explore any area of the mountain. Once we get off the slopes
we will start a 20 minute ride to the Bariloche airport. From
here we will fly to Buenos Aires only 1.50 hours away.
Buenos Aires is an amazing city and we are positive you will
enjoy our welcome dinner at one of the finest steak houses in
town. Some Malbec red wine will be enjoyed as well. For those
interested we will check a Tango show. Tonight we stay at the
fabulous Sofitel hotel. Enjoy this amazing city! |
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There
was only one reason to leave the beautiful Lake District Region.
That was making a stop at the incredible city of Buenos Aires
before hitting the world class ski resort of Las Lenas. We will
have an early departure from BA with final destination at the
San Rafael aiport in the Mendoza province, only 60 miles away
from Las Lenas.
We will arrive at Las Lenas ski resort in the afternoon giving
us an hour or two to explore the fun slopes of this huge mountain.
As soon as we reach the base at 2,240 mts. (7,349 ft.) the unreal
experience of Las Lenas starts! We will spend the next five
nights in our comfortable, ski-in ski-out hotel, where breakfast
and dinner are included. |
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| Welcome
to Paradise! You are just about to explore some of the best
powder on the planet! Besides the 64 km of groomers, Las Lenas
has the largest lift-serviced skiable area - more than 200,000
acres of off-piste skiing and snowboarding - in the western
hemisphere, and with a vertical drop of 1,230 mts (4,034 ft!)
you will find enough challenging terrain to keep you busy almost
forever! Even when this resort has 13 lifts there is one that
shadows the rest: Marte! This is the chairlift of every skier´s
dream. Reaching 3,400 mts. (11,155 ft.) and featuring a vertical
drop of 2,579 ft., hundreds of chutes and couloirs are accessed
from here. Explore the steep chutes of Marte and its wide open
bowl right underneath the chairlift, Las Vegas, Eduardo´s couloir,
Mercurio… the backcountry here is endless! With a compassful
of exposures, every condition is always available somewhere.
After a great day exploring, we will enjoy après ski at our
slope side hotel. You can taste some of the best Argentinean
wines at the Wine Point, relax at the heated pool or hang out
at the hotel bar. Nightlife is a really important chapter of
the local culture! Begin having dinner at 9 pm. (forget about
making reservations at 6:30!). Right after that, you can go
to the casino or have a drink at one of the many local pubs.
Finally, dancing will keep you awake until five in the morning...
But there´s no hurry. This is just the second night at this
amazing resort! |
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We
will spend the next three days skiing and riding powder, exploring
the steeps, chutes and bowls, making new friends and having
a blast in Las Lenas…
This place is fabulous, and may even rival the famous resort
of Jackson Hole, WY. There is no other place on the planet that
offers such easily accessible off-piste skiing.
Once you've reached the summit, at 11,253 ft. you will be amazed
by the incredible views of the surrounding snow capped peaks
and the huge treeless valley. From the challenging terrain of
Marte to the long and wide cruising runs down the face of the
mountain, Las Lenas is the place to be in South America!
When it comes to more challenging options our guides will show
you some incredible hikes that can take from 30 minutes to 2
hours accessing awesome lines. Also Las Lenas has been offering
snowcat skiing and boarding tours during the last two years.
The terrain explored is pretty amazing and the views are incredible.
This will definitely be a big plus for this trip! |
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| Adiós
Las Lenas… See You Next Year! |
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| It
is time to say goodbye to Las Lenas. After having breakfast
there will be enough time to do some last-minute shopping. At
around 10 am we head north to the small town of San Rafael from
where we will fly into Buenos Aires. We will have lunch at a
specially selected restaurant in town and will quickly explore
the city before we head to the Ezeiza International Airport
in order for you to catch your flight back home. If you are
planning to stay longer in BA, there is a special selection
of hotels we would like to recommend you. |
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Hasta
Pronto Amigos! We believe you enjoyed this adventure as we did, and that
you will be coming back soon. There are more amazing skiing and snowboarding
adventures waiting
for you in Chile and Argentina, in the Andes of South America!!!
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ANDES
SKI TOURS Headquarters
1387 Esteban Adrogue St. - 2nd Floor - Suite 20
Adrogue - B1846FHG - Buenos Aires - Argentina |
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Toll Free US & Canada: 1.866.265.1906 |
| Toll
Free United Kingdom: 0.800.032.9002 |
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| E-mail:
info@andesskitours.com |
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