South America Snow Sessions Continues

Words: Jack Pollner
Photos: Ben Giardi

As you might have noticed in the edit from Session 1, there has been a pretty high amount of snowfall down here in Bariloche this summer. The backcountry has been going off and with a stable snowpack and the help of our top-notch guides, we have been skiing lines that we had only dreamt of last season. With a two-foot storm rolling through last week, campers got a taste of what it is like to spend a few days in a South American storm cycle.

When waking up in the midst of an Argentine storm cycle, one can be grossly misled when it comes to what conditions will be like on the hill. On day one of the storm, campers groggily rolled out of bed and, upon checking the window, were greeted with the odd sound of raindrops falling. While the counselors knew what to expect, some campers we uneasy about what it would be like at Cerro Catedral.

All their fears were quelled when we got about halfway up the access road when rain gave way to snow, and lots of it. The trees off of the gondola, and in the woods of Segundo Lomo provided everyone with access to plenty of turns without having to cross another track.

Lucas Moore using up a few sky miles left over from the trip south.

By the end of the day, no one could believe the amount of snow that they had just skied. As the bus rolled back to the SASS compound, winter again loosened it's grip and we returned to a hotel free of precipitation. After a filling dinner, everyone went to bed wondering what the next day would bring.

If you wake up on day two of a storm in Argentina, and it is still snowing, you can take your time, knowing that that hill will be good when you get there. If you wake up and it's sunny in the valley, you hustle, because you can expect one of the greatest days of your life. Last week, that’s exactly what happened. The skies cleared, the wind died, and while the guides went up to Laguna to assess the snow, we hit up some tree laps that had blown in fresh overnight. 

Peter Wentz getting deep in the trees off of Condor.

James Heim finding his own freshies. 

After some checking by the guides, it was game on for lines in Laguna. I am just going to let the photos do the talking for this part. 

Peter Wentz going for redemption on the line that turned him upside down and shook out his lunch money in the Session 1 Edit. He stuck it.

Heim, once again, hanging out in the white room.

When Miles lined up this cliff, we thought he might have drank just a bit too much Tang at breakfast. When he landed it and sent the one below as well, we all worried if we had drank enough.

There are still some spots kicking around for Session 3 and 4. If you are thinking about it, get in touch with us. We have some pretty cool flexibility right now to offer some payment plans, so if you want to make it happen, we can get you down here! Shoot an email off to Jack@SAsnow.com or send a message to member SAsnowsessions right here on NS. For now, all you need to know is that we will be skiing these lines in beautiful sunshine until it snows again...which is looking like tonight!