Chapelco

I planned on spending a couple of days in the Argentinian ski resort of Chapelco as part of a snowboard trip to Chile. We checked into a hostel, checked out the resort, and then it started snowing… and just didn't stop, the snow gods resetting the conditions to "knee deep powder" every night for a week. It could have been utopia if it wasn't for the agony of stiff muscles and the nagging worry that the road back to Chile was blocked by the storm and my Santiago flight departure was rapidly approaching.

I've abandoned a traditional review in favour of taking questions from the floor.

* So where is it then?
The town of San Martin is in the province of Neuquén, 1.575 km SW of Buenos Aires and only 45 km from the Chilean border. You can reach it by flight of bus from the argentinian capital, or by the worlds slowest bus across the border from Pucon in Chile. This route takes you up over a snow-covered mountain pass complete with military checkpoint which always takes at least an hour due to the time zone change ;-).
The ski resort of Chapelco is located about 20km out of town, and can be accessed by bus or hitch hiking, although hitch hiking is a bit slower here than it is in Chile, you may have to wait up to an hour for a ride, although this was in shoulder/low season.

* Sounds interesting. What is the town like?
Its another gem. Situated on a lake and next door to a mountainous national park it's a popular holiday destination for the locals. Building regulations have ensured the recent influx of hotels and hostels are all kept looking good, and the with it's wide streets and wooden buildings the whole town exudes a laid back atmosphere. Hostel accommodation is plentiful, cheap and good, and the restaurants are a delight. This is up near the Argentinian steppes, and the steaks are goooood. Locally caught trout is another specialty and with the prices so reasonable it would be rude not to try the local wine as well. Just don't fall asleep into your icecream after a couple too many.

* Very funny young man. I am after an upmarket tour, could this place fit the bill?
Actually sir, I believe it could. Without being able to offer any first hand experiences, there seemed to be any number of large hotels in town, and I witnessed several people smoking big cigars and drinking brandy. In addition, those fur-trimmed all-in-one skisuits sold exclusively to very rich people keen to project the image of "all-the-gear-but-no-idea" were much in evidence in the mountain restaurants. As a bonus, the resort is North facing, so it's you stand an excellent chance of catching the "panda tan." Yes, I believe you will be well served, fat man.

* That looked sore son, anyway, can I visit on a budget?
It was - I doubt if that umbrella is waterproof any more. To answer your question - you betcha! - There are no organised package tours, but the argentinian currency collapsed in spectacular fashion in January 2002, losing half it's value, and hasn't yet recovered. Argentina is well on it's way to being a developed country, so imagine Spain holding a half price sale on absolutely everything and you are about there. At current rates of 3peso to the dollar, you can get beer for less than a dollar, a bed for 10, and a low season week lift pass for 100usd. Once you bite the bullet on a 600quid flight to Chile/Argentina you will save on everything else.

* Keep talking, sunshine
It's proving a popular area, and there are new hostels and hotels opening all the time. I paid 12usd night for a great hostel accommodation, where we met other skiers, who told us about more places to stay and eat. Ours cost 12 usd per night, but I see on the web that prices for budget accommodation in the area are now even lower at 10usd. A good restaurant meal for 2 (inc wine) cost about 60usd, and I bought ski passes daily (or half day passes if I didn't make it up until lunchtime) and in my estimation it's very cheap for the standard of the resort.

* So the resort is good then?
Ohh yes indeedy. I thought the skiing was fantastic but then I am going to be biased as I got lucky with the snow. The resort is nice though, no queues for the chairs, good restaurants, plenty of different runs including alpine and tree runs. The skiable area is 140 hecters, and offers 22 trails with a maximum length of 5.3 km. The area is serviced by five chair-lifts, five pomalifts and 2 state-of-the-art cablecabins, which in total can transport 12000 skiers per hour. The lift system was thoroughly renovated in the 80's, and now includes electronic ticketing. It is as if some American developer got his map upside down and stuck his spanking new ski resort in the southern hemisphere by mistake.

* It takes more than lifts to make a good holiday though.
Yes it does, and there is a lot of attention to detail in this place. For those who need to ditch their kids before hitting the slopes, there are a range of options. teenagers can be left by the sound system and snowskate park, if you can drag them out of the terrain park area with all the jumps in. There is a "snow garden" for teaching under 5's to ski or snowboard, a nursery for the 1-3's, and a crèche for toddlers.

* Dude - what about the riding?
I'll try and explain this to you, my hoody-clad brother: It's awesome dude. Man, I scored soooo much powder it was like the best session ever, y'know? The place is so loaded with great off piste - bigass jumps and gnarly hits, we never even checked the terrain park bro! Right on! They do heli and guided off-piste trips too, but that stuff is just old, y'know, besides, I was broke, know what I mean? bummer. You got a smoke on you? No? Another question then? Yes madam.

* I don't ski, how does my week look?
There are no shortage of options for you dear. You could try a dogsled ride along wooded trails, snowshoe walking, or a snowmobile trip. A hike round the lake is also a nice relaxing option. What's that? Feeling the need for a sit down at the mere thought of all that exercise? No problem. There are plenty of places serving the traditional local beverage of "Mate", pronounced to rhyme with Latte even though it's a green tea, and a cup of that will revitalise you.

* Cut to the chase mate- are there any pubs?
Its not your European apresskiothon, that's for sure. No crowds of drunkards and no all-night nightclubs. You can get an apres-ski drink up on the mountain, but it would then be impossible to hitch hike down. Back in San Martin, there are restaurants rather than bars, although things do happen. We found out about a party at a club some distance out of town which turned out to be rocking. Unfortunately I have not the slightest recommendation of where it is or how to get there, or indeed anything else that happened after 01:30 on the night in question.

* I wanna go this winter! - how do I book?
Easy tiger - its south of the equator so the season there is finishing up now (Oct), and wont start again until next July, so you'll have to exercise a little self control. You can use the time to find out more and book accommodation etc through these pages:
Chapelco resort website at http://www.cerrochapelco.com/english/pre​sentacion.html
San Martin town at http://sanmartindelosandes.com