I'm back in Las Leñas for two weeks this year. Coverage is definitely less good than last year, and heavy rains up to the top of the Jupiter lift about a week before I arrived have left the lower mountain a bit thin. The Cenidor area all slid to the ground as a result of the rain and is unskiable. That being said, conditions up high are good.
I got on the mountain around 1:45pm after my bus from Buenos Aires and the top of Marte was fully stuck in a cloud. I gave it a shot anyways, and although apparently the off piste was closed for a lack of visibility, I didn't realize this and skied an easy Mercurio lap. It was very cold, so the snow was good and it skied like 3-4 inches of powder on top of a smooth base, with the slight challenge that I couldn't see a thing.
It was totally sunny this morning and about 40° warmer, so I headed straight to Marte. Eduardo was a bit wind affected, but still held untracked snow that served as a nice warmup run. I then did a quick skin to Manhattan, a chute across from Marte and looker's right of Collar, where Tony skied last year. I reached the top of the 2,500 vertical foot chute (probably averaging 35-40°, but with steeper sections) around noon and conditions were absolutely perfect. There hadn't been a melt/freeze cycle since the last snowfall, so I suppose it wasn't technically corn, but it skied like a completely smooth 2-3 inches of corn, plus I had first tracks. Definitely one of the best runs I've had down here, or anywhere.
The next few days also look warm and sunny, so the plan is for touring above Marte, with some laps from the chair in the afternoon if time and fitness permit. The Norwegian forecasting site has a decent sized storm arriving on the 29th, but obviously that's too far out to be reliable. That being said, a storm would be very helpful to maintain coverage down low, and I'm sure I'll be wanting a down day or two after chasing much better skiers around each day in the hike-to terrain above Marte.
I got on the mountain around 1:45pm after my bus from Buenos Aires and the top of Marte was fully stuck in a cloud. I gave it a shot anyways, and although apparently the off piste was closed for a lack of visibility, I didn't realize this and skied an easy Mercurio lap. It was very cold, so the snow was good and it skied like 3-4 inches of powder on top of a smooth base, with the slight challenge that I couldn't see a thing.
It was totally sunny this morning and about 40° warmer, so I headed straight to Marte. Eduardo was a bit wind affected, but still held untracked snow that served as a nice warmup run. I then did a quick skin to Manhattan, a chute across from Marte and looker's right of Collar, where Tony skied last year. I reached the top of the 2,500 vertical foot chute (probably averaging 35-40°, but with steeper sections) around noon and conditions were absolutely perfect. There hadn't been a melt/freeze cycle since the last snowfall, so I suppose it wasn't technically corn, but it skied like a completely smooth 2-3 inches of corn, plus I had first tracks. Definitely one of the best runs I've had down here, or anywhere.
The next few days also look warm and sunny, so the plan is for touring above Marte, with some laps from the chair in the afternoon if time and fitness permit. The Norwegian forecasting site has a decent sized storm arriving on the 29th, but obviously that's too far out to be reliable. That being said, a storm would be very helpful to maintain coverage down low, and I'm sure I'll be wanting a down day or two after chasing much better skiers around each day in the hike-to terrain above Marte.