Mt. Thunder - Bariloche

Esquel, Argentina - Strong winds and snow have finally made their way to the southren andes of Patagonia. It's a down day in the sleepy hamlet of Esquel, and skiers pace the hotel lobby waiting to hear if the lifts will open in the afternoon. With 60 centimeters or more in the forecast people are excited. The six day forecast shows rain after the big dump, but we all know how accurate those six day predictions can be. If one thing is for sure it's that Santa Rosa is here once again right on schedule and what a welcome blessing of snow it is this season; a decent season that has been much colder than usual if not a bit dry, but surely good.

Yesterday saw us skiing Lenas style lines all to ourselves at La Hoya, hiking dry alpine scree slopes to drop straight 1500 ft shots on supportable corton, powder, and spring corn. Lines with names like Las Agujas (the needles), Cerro Carbon (Mt. Carbon), and Aero Silla (Air Chair) pumped everyone up (props to my friend Monica for coining this ski phrase).

With another day on the schedule here in Esquel and then road trippin´ to Bariloche I'm stoked to check out some deep pow in the trees at Caterdal for the rest of the week. Only time will tell if Santa Rosa will bless us with her goodness, so cross your fingers and hold on this could be a big one.