Travel South America #11: How to ski in the Andes

When you hear “Mendoza” you automatically think of wine. Argentina’s highly rated “Malbec” wine originates from the high-altitude wine regions of the Mendoza region. However being located in the North West of the country, Mendoza is conveniently located near the snowy peaks of the Andes mountain, making it perfect to go skiing.

Getting to the resort is easy. Many of the equipment hire shops in downtown Mendoza also provide transport services to and from the resort. Some of them are paired with hotels, however being a popular resort for the local people, it is very easy to sort accommodation out. To hire my equipment, I used Rancho Ski on Av. Las Heras. I got the lot from here: ski’s, gloves, boots and ski suit onesie (very retro!). They even helped organise our transport there and back, including storage of the equipment until we got to the resort. Whilst they aren’t the cheapest company, I was happy to pay a slight premium due to the convenience, and more importantly the fact that I had heard great reviews about them. I would definitely use them again!

The Los Penitentes Ski Resort

You leave Mendoza early in the morning as the drive to the Los Penitentes resort is nearly 3 hours. When you get there, you can go and check into your hotel and you are all ready to go! Like with any ski resort, the first thing I did was find the main office and bought my lift passes. As I was only planning on spending one night (so two half days), I bought the pass most relevant to me. Then I was ready to ski!

Lunch break on the mountains!

Being the wrong time of the year for skiing, the Los Penitentes resort only had 4 runs open, however they were perfect for what I wanted to do. There was one green, one blue and two red runs but for a days’ worth of skiing, it was enough. You can mix and match the runs and combined with a bit of off piste skiing, this really is a great trip for skiers of any ability.

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