Heavy Snowfall in the Andes

There’s powder conditions on the slopes of Argentina this week after a huge snowstorm deposited up to 60cm (two feet) of fresh snow on the country’s ski slopes.

The snowfall, described as, “one of the most important of the last 20 years” by a spokesperson at Catedral ski area did cause some problems at some resorts as it fell.

Catedral near Bariloche, South America’s biggest ski area by uplift capacity, initially closed terrain as the avalanche danger level reached very high, and then a power outage knocked out the ski area’s electricity supply, along with that of 15,000 homes in the area.

The local airport was also closed yesterday by the snow with one airplane reported to have made two aborted landing attempts before deciding to divert.

However the snowfall has now stopped, power supplies restored, the airport re-opened and the powder covered slopes are largely accessible once more.

Most other Argentinian ski areas have reported big accumulations of 30cm/a foot or more too.

Chapelco (30/190cm), pictured below, which is posting the deepest base in the southern hemisphere at present by some distance has had 50cm (20 inches) and Caviahue (100/150cm), a 40cm (16 inch) accumulation.  Las Lenas, which has had 30cm (as foot) of fresh snow is pictured above.

There was some snow over in to Chile too, but not so much. Valle Nevado (40/60cm), whivch had been posting the lowest snow depths of all of the big South American ski areas for the first month of this season got one of the bigger Chilean snowfalls of 10cm.