Your major Argentinean Ski Destinations are:
Las Lenas
Touted by many as one of the “must ski” destinations in the world, Las Lenas Resort is the largest ski destination in Argentina and the largest single destination in South America. Reports vary as far as skiable acreage is concerned somewhere between 7, 000 and 8,000 with unlimited additional possible acreage comprised of hikeable off piste and back country terrain that may number in the 100’s of thousands. The base elevation is 7,349\’ and this rises to a top of 11,253\’ producing a vertical of 3,904.\’
Las Lenas offers 12 lifts serving 35 marked runs of over 40 miles of terrain that is defined as 30% Beginner, 25% Intermediate, 20% Black and 25% Double Black. The entire resort is above treeline and one lift, The Marte, accesses most of the expert off piste terrain. Large snowstorms and high winds can close down the Marte Chair sometimes for days at a time eliminating access to a lot of the most highly touted terrain for advanced and expert skiers. The Las Lenas infrastructure is reasonably modern although most agree it could use some updates. Even so, its base area is well developed and has an abundance of near mountain or ski-in/ski-out hotel and apartment options to choose from as well as the world’s highest elevation casino.
Las Lenas is located some 1200 plus kilometers from Buenos Aries and generally requires a charter flight into Malargue from Buenos Aries and a 45 minute commute from Malargue to the resort. Las Lenas certainly is not the easiest resort to get to for this reason, but most avid skiers agree that once there the trip is well worth it!
