Flight of the Condor
Ellie Sharpe takes a ski trip to Mendoza's most accessible resort Penitentes
After hiking Machu Picchu in Peru, learning tango in Buenos Aires and whizzing to Iguazu, my husband and I finally made it to Mendoza to relax. They say that Mendoza is the place for weary travelers to recharge. And recharge we did, after a couple days of wine tours with 5-course meals, too many steak dinners, empanadas and walking around Mendoza city, we began to get antsy looking up at the white-capped Andes mountains, the amazing backdrop to Mendoza. We did not plan on skiing during our summer trip to South America, but figured since we are here, what better way to end the trip with a day ski in the middle of July (and a bit of exercise to compensate for the over indulgences seemed like a good idea). The excitement started to kick in as we were fitted with our gear the night before. We were told to get a good night sleep as we would be picked up from our hotel bright and early the next morning. After a week in Argentina we found it near impossible to go to bed before 11:00. When in Rome… A late dinner and a bottle of Malbec later, we got to bed at midnight.
When the guide came to pick us up at 7:30am my husband wasn’t very talkative, sleeping for most of the way, I on the other hand had my head glued to the window taking in the sunrise over the Andes Mountains. After finishing our eggs and coffee in a small mountain town called Uspallata we had another short drive before reaching Penitentes ski resort mid morning.
“I had my head glued to the window taking in the sunrise over
the Andes Mountains”
Opened in 1978, Penitentes is a small resort that neighbors Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside the Himalayas. From the front you can see the beginner slopes (which I wanted to go on), and small children whizzing past (If only I could be like them). Yes, the beginner slopes looked tempting to me, but no, our guide said that we would be skiing the back (I think he had more faith in myself than I). Putting on your ski boots can take a large amount of time, with all the fastening and clicking, but I just let my guide do it and checked out the resort, which was pretty empty. It had snowed the night before and yet I could only count about 10 people skiing and maybe 10 more on the lift. Good, less people to crash into. I was astonished at how warm it can be at 3,000 meters, note to self – bring sunscreen next time.
“One of the highlights was spotting a condor during my chair lift ride”
Having only skied a couple of times in my life I was a bit nervous about lunging off, but my guide assured me I was going to be fine…yes, it was just like riding a bike, with a little bit more concentration. What was it? Arms forward, don’t sit like a tourist, and most importantly, I remembered how to stop. After the initial nerves I finally started to relaxed and got thinking that here I was, skiing the Andes, in the middle of my summer vacation. One of the highlights was spotting a condor during my chair lift ride, it was enormous, my instinct made me want to duck. To me it looked more like a pterodactyl.
Back at the base for a quick lunch break I caught my husband updating his status on his phone trying to make all his colleagues in the office envious. The seasoned skier that he is, I decided to sit the next few runs out and enjoy my coffee in the warm restaurant. He went off with the guide in search of “hidden tracks” which I am quite content leaving undiscovered.
The experience of skiing in the southern hemisphere for a day was surreal. After sharing a cerveza with our guide we headed back to Mendoza. In the car, watching the sunset, feet and legs sore, tired light headed and relaxed, I couldn’t have thought of a better way to end our trip in Argentina…well maybe one last empanada.
After hiking Machu Picchu in Peru, learning tango in Buenos Aires and whizzing to Iguazu, my husband and I finally made it to Mendoza to relax. They say that Mendoza is the place for weary travelers to recharge. And recharge we did, after a couple days of wine tours with 5-course meals, too many steak dinners, empanadas and walking around Mendoza city, we began to get antsy looking up at the white-capped Andes mountains, the amazing backdrop to Mendoza. We did not plan on skiing during our summer trip to South America, but figured since we are here, what better way to end the trip with a day ski in the middle of July (and a bit of exercise to compensate for the over indulgences seemed like a good idea). The excitement started to kick in as we were fitted with our gear the night before. We were told to get a good night sleep as we would be picked up from our hotel bright and early the next morning. After a week in Argentina we found it near impossible to go to bed before 11:00. When in Rome… A late dinner and a bottle of Malbec later, we got to bed at midnight.
When the guide came to pick us up at 7:30am my husband wasn’t very talkative, sleeping for most of the way, I on the other hand had my head glued to the window taking in the sunrise over the Andes Mountains. After finishing our eggs and coffee in a small mountain town called Uspallata we had another short drive before reaching Penitentes ski resort mid morning.
Opened in 1978, Penitentes is a small resort that neighbors Aconcagua, the highest mountain outside the Himalayas. From the front you can see the beginner slopes (which I wanted to go on), and small children whizzing past (If only I could be like them). Yes, the beginner slopes looked tempting to me, but no, our guide said that we would be skiing the back (I think he had more faith in myself than I). Putting on your ski boots can take a large amount of time, with all the fastening and clicking, but I just let my guide do it and checked out the resort, which was pretty empty. It had snowed the night before and yet I could only count about 10 people skiing and maybe 10 more on the lift. Good, less people to crash into. I was astonished at how warm it can be at 3,000 meters, note to self – bring sunscreen next time.
Having only skied a couple of times in my life I was a bit nervous about lunging off, but my guide assured me I was going to be fine…yes, it was just like riding a bike, with a little bit more concentration. What was it? Arms forward, don’t sit like a tourist, and most importantly, I remembered how to stop. After the initial nerves I finally started to relaxed and got thinking that here I was, skiing the Andes, in the middle of my summer vacation. One of the highlights was spotting a condor during my chair lift ride, it was enormous, my instinct made me want to duck. To me it looked more like a pterodactyl.
Back at the base for a quick lunch break I caught my husband updating his status on his phone trying to make all his colleagues in the office envious. The seasoned skier that he is, I decided to sit the next few runs out and enjoy my coffee in the warm restaurant. He went off with the guide in search of “hidden tracks” which I am quite content leaving undiscovered.
The experience of skiing in the southern hemisphere for a day was surreal. After sharing a cerveza with our guide we headed back to Mendoza. In the car, watching the sunset, feet and legs sore, tired light headed and relaxed, I couldn’t have thought of a better way to end our trip in Argentina…well maybe one last empanada.
Ellie Sharpe did her ski tour with the English speaking company Argentina Ski Tours
Darragueira 558, Chacras de Coria. Tel. 156300026;
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