SGT Argentina Sessions 3 & 4

We roll with an avalanche beacon, shovel and probe every day at SGT and practice full backcountry travel protocols for safety and so people can learn how to ski in the backcountry. Every session Head Guide Skylar Holgate opens up with an avalanche and backcountry safety seminar. With the knowledge and experience Skylar has gained guiding everyone from film crews in Alaska to heli skiing in Silverton, when he talks, you listen.

With a big storm socking in the beginning of Session 3, we stayed low and made the best of the conditions. After a five-minute build to clean up the Militares hip jump at Catedral, the ski crew got to work learning and landing backflips for the first time and new spins after that. Here coach and Bariloche local Mauri Cambilla goes alley-oop 3 with classic estiliano Mauriciano no-poles steez.

SGT coach Michelle Parker has found plenty of reason to come back to Argentina every summer. Here she scoots through the Palmero trees.

NYC native and SGT Argentina camper Lucas Zelnick came to Argentina for his first time weighing barely over one hundred pounds with tiny little skis. Now that he’s come back for round two, he’s six inches taller, 30 pounds heavier, and not a hair less obnoxious. It was pretty hard for him to make a wise crack following a bottomless run like this after six feet of snow had fallen at the top.

With Sierra Nevada College’s avalanche safety educator Travi Feist on campus at SGT, any skier who has come down has had the chance to get their AIARE Level 1 avalanche certification. Taken from a screenshot of my Contour GPS, this was the view of the Van Titter valley off the back of the resort here in Bariloche. You can see the terrain we got to ski after digging a bunch of snow pits up top and learning about snow strength and quality.

After spending much of the day up high, we decided to explore the entire drainage of the valley, skiing down several kilometers through an enormous valley that included everything from traversing to creek crossings to super fun tree skiing to skiing out on the Frey hiking trail. The view back in the late afternoon was amazing.

Coach Mauri Camilla straps his skis to his bag and starts the long walk back to Cerro Cateral. Walking all the way along Lago Guttierez (which you can see in the background) back to the resort, it was a long hike for ski boots and we got back tired and hungry. But man, did we get to see some sights along the way.

With the sun now out, the other half of the ski crew headed to our favorite sidecountry zone, Laguna. ere Swiss up-and-comer Piers Salomon checks off the Upper Laguna spine on his list of must-hits.

Peter Wentz, during his last session, manages to find yet another stupidly fun line down The Playground.

Once some of the more easily accessible zones got tracked out, it was time for those ready to put on their climbing skins and try some ski touring or splitboarding. Here guide intern Randall Stacy breaks trail up the back of the resort.

Another mellower but still long hike we like to do is out to a run we call Staff Party. Starting off with an amazing view over the whole town and a huge wide-open bowl leading into pillow lines and tree runs, this run is also a hit and a huge accomplishment for many of the campers.

Garrett and Michelle pose for the camera at the top of Staff Party.

Michelle slays her way down the upper section.

Camper Lucas Zelnick, clearing not missing summer in Manhattan.

A few contests go down every year at our home resort, Cerro Catedral. This week was the Reef Boardercross, taking place during the first few days of the Adults Only (18+) Session 5.

And sure enough, it wouldn’t be Argentina if they’re weren’t gorgeous Argentine women. The follow-up to the Reef Boardercross awards was a Miss Reef Argentina contest, so you can imagine how that went…

As we began our last two weeks of operation down here in Bariloche, we couldn’t help but be stoked on being able to experience this wild, awesome place with the incredible group of people who’ve come down, from coaches to guides and campers. It was a tight family this year, and we capped off an incredible summer with our Adult Sessions and the Roxy Women’s Session, which consisted of sweet riding with the older rippers who always come down for the last session. Stay tuned for an update on everything that went down.