Extreme Las Leñas: The Side Of The Coin That Makes It Special
On one side, a small, hidden ski resort at the foot of the Andes mountain range. Ideal for families, friends and beginners, and host to one of the most exciting après–ski of the entire world. On the other side, a place that hardcore skiers and snowboarders from all corners of the planet should visit at least once before they die: Las Leñas is a mind-blowing playground for extreme skiing. Today, we’ll focus on this side of the coin.
Location
With a population of aproximately 40 million, Argentina is the world’s eight largest country, and the largest Spanish-speaker country in the world. There are about fifteen ski resorts in Argentina, located along the border with Chile. Las Leñas is one of the most important ones, if not the most. Standing in the northern Andes, in Mendoza Province, it’s about 1.100 km away from the capital city of Buenos Aires.
The Resort
It’s hard to imagine something so different to anything you might know. Las Leñas is nothing else but a ski resort. There is no “town”. Just a few ski-related shops. If you don’t like skiing or snowboarding, you will have -for sure- the worst time of your life while you’re there.
Las Leñas is a valley. Next to this valley, lifts and slopes are placed on a mountain called Cerro Fósiles. This mountain can be divided in two main parts: the front side of the mountain, and the Marte area. Most of the lifts -8 exactly- are placed on the front side.
But what makes this resort so special is the Marte area. It’s a highway to heaven, literally. First, starting at 2.240 meters above sea level, you take the Venus lift. After that, you hop on the Neptune chair, which drops you off at the bottom of one of the world’s most famous, iconic and terrifying double chair: TS Marte.
Each feature of Las Lenas derives its namesake from either Greek or Roman Gods. In Spanish, “Marte” translates to Mars: The God of War. Just sitting there, hanging on a cable supported by columns screwed into the rocks forming an angle of 45º with the valley, and feeling the sound of the gusts of wind that scream like a banshee at full song, makes it an adventure itself. It’s unreal. If the sky is clear, unloading will be a glorious moment. You’ll have some of the most breathtaking 360ª views of your life. Last step is to get on the Iris poma, which will take you to the top of the world, at 3.430 meters above sea level. From there, there are infinite possibilities. It’s your choice.
Some people like to say that in Las Leñas, it’s possible to heli-ski from a chairlift. The reason for this is that it’s pretty easy to access to a really complex terrain -thanks to a combination of lifts-, which usually can only be accessed by helicopter.
Backcountry
As we said, the added value of Las Leñas is its off-piste and backcountry skiing. The reasons for Las Leñas having some of the best terrains of South America -and the world- are many. Here we list a few of them.
- The high of its mountains, which stand above the 3.000 meters, creating steep gradients with a huge vertical drop.
- The easy access to this terrain, thanks to the Marte Chair.
- The fact that all of the skiing is above tree line, creating a surreal scenery, worthy of another planet.
- The rocky terrain, that create outstanding natural features, such as colouirs and natural cliffs of every size, from XXS to XXL.
“In Las Leñas there are two mountains: one is the one below, the one of models and fashion; the other one is up here, the one of silence, strong nature and extreme skiers” said Fernando Fassano, Mountain Activities Coordinator, back in 2006 for an interview with local newspaper LA NACIÓN.
The pioneers: Gregg Wardle and Thomas Perren
Wardle was one of the first out-of-bound skiers that arrived to Las Leñas, back in the ’80s. Nowadays, he lives in winter, spending more than 300 days a year in snow. With 52 years, he’s already done 62 seasons.
“In Europe, you can walk for five hours and you will still see people around you. Here, you walk for 45 minutes and you are completely alone” said Gregg Wardle, Ski School Director, for the same newspaper in 2006.
In those times, these off-piste runs didn’t have a name, because no one had even dare to stare at them. Wardle did the job, skiing and putting a name to all -maybe not all, but many- of them. One of those faces, Las Vegas, is called like that because the first time he skied that line, he was with two Americans from Las Vegas, Nevada. Like that one, there are thousands of stories and tales.
The Maps of Thomas
Also in late ’80s, the Swiss instructor and guide Thomas Perren got to the resort. Apart from skiing sick lines, he was a good drawer, and made the first and only map of Las Leñas out-of-bounds terrain. It was published in 1994, and is still an incomplete book without any pictures; only his drawings.
But later, Thomas, who loved this place so much and saw himself in the need of making a better job, decided to start his second book. The project started in 2003 and was finished and edited in 2009. It’s an extroardinary piece, that every backcountry skier who wants to start challenging himself in these lands should have. It’s like the Bible of Freeriding in Las Leñas. In this book, Thomas shows -in panoramic photographs and maps- the 210 possible itineraries that you can access from Las Leñas. He also writes a detailed description of each of them, where he remarks some aspects such as steepness, complexity, difficulties, how to get into the line, etc.
The Famous Lines
We mentioned that there are over 210 out-of-bounds itineraries in Las Leñas. Each of them has a different terrain, a different complexity, and something different that makes it special. But all of them have something in common: they must be respected at every time, cause they don’t forgive.
Marte
Marte is the run that goes below the chair with the same name. In his book, Thomas describes Marte as an extreme and dangerous run if snow conditions are not ideal. Inclination reaches 38º at some places. With soft snow its easier. Lift-served.
Eduardo
This chute is amazing. Its faces turn from South to North-East. With a 45/50 degree entrance, it drops almost 1.200m of vertical feet till the base of the resort. It’s called like that honoring a ski instructor called Eduardo, who died there. Lift-served.
El Collar
There’s a wild rock formation at the top of Cerro El Collar which makes this place so special. It’s not a big deal, but it offers hundreds of big bowls that stand in between these rocks, facing from North to Southeast. Easy to access, by a little hike.
Cerros Martin, Entre Ríos y Torrecillas
From the very top of the Marte Chair, and if you look to the West, you’ll see three big mountains: the Cerros Martin, Entre Ríos y Torrecillas. All of them can be accessed by hikes which vary from 45 minutes to 4 hours. It’s worth the walk, believe me.
The enemy: wind
Something you should know before you travel all the way south to Las Leñas is that you might need to be patient. Weather is unpredictable, and wind can ruin your experience. As we said before, Mars Chair is like the key to access to another planet. However, It’s not strange that it shuts down. Sometimes because of the wind, sometimes because of low visibility, or extreme cold temperatures, or high avalanche risk, or sometimes without any reasonable explanation. But it will happen, Mars Chair will close, and you’ll have to stay at the front side, making long queues and skiing groomers, just waiting until it re-opens.
Avalanche Risk
Although Las Lenas does some extensive avalanche control work, it still has some of the most avalanche-prone terrain in the world. It is not uncommon to lose chair lifts to slides. In 2015, an avalanche during a major storm hit Neptune chair, obliging patrollers to shut it down for two weeks. This made it imposible to get to Mars. Back in 1999, a big avalanche killed two lift operators and damaged a hotel. In addition, Jordi Tenas and Txema Trull, two Spanish freeriders, spent more than 12 hours under the snow, after an avalanche occurred above their tent, in the Torrecillas area. Txema was able to survive but, unfortunately, Jordi couldn’t make.
If venturing off-piste, all skiers and snowboarders should be well prepared. This means, on one hand, having a proper avalanche knowledge and knowing the snowpack and weather conditions. On the other hand, they should carry -at least- an avalanche beacon, shovel and probe. But most imporatntly, they should know how to use their equipment. A transceiver is useless if you don’t know how to use it. An airbag backpack is also strongly recommended. Always leave the boundaries of the resort through marked exits, and having signed your waiver of responsibilities, in case of accident.
Also, you should know the place or go with someone who does. It’s possible to hire a guide at the Ski School. Another alternative is to take the Extreme Expedition, a full-day cat-ski activity that provides access to some of the most unbelievable powder and steeps that you can imagine.
A reason why you must visit Las Leñas
Not for nothing, Aymar Navarro and Adria Millan choose Las Leñas year after year to spend their summers. Here, their latest work, “South Lines”, a 15-minute film that show some of Las Leñas terrain.
As Warren Miller says, “If you don’t do it this year, you’ll only be one year older when you do.” Skiing in Las Leñas is skiing in a place where absolutely everything is different: language, people, food, snow and the moonscape terrain. Do yourself a favor, check Las Leñas 6 Day Forecast and Las Leñas Weather Map and start your next adventure.
