Bariloche.

The drive into Bariloche was so nice. We did the overnighter, so we missed the barren landscape in the evening. After changing buses in Neuquen, the scenery started to get better. By mid-morning, we started seeing mesas, trees, and crystal blue lakes. Once we reached Lago Nahuel Huapi, you could see the city.

Bariloche is quite small and before we knew it, we were checked into the hostel. Hostel Pudu was recommended by a few people I met back in Argentina. It was a nice little place run by an Irish couple (Emma and John). The best thing about the hostel was the bar downstairs which had three different kinds of home brew (HH from 6-8 PM).

We quickly made friends with an English guy (who works as a guide in Verbier) and another American. Both Jim and Tarn had been to Cerro Catedral that day, so they were sort of familiar with the mountain. The report they gave me was as I expected from talking to another American a couple weeks ago. THE SNOW IS CRAP (but better than last week where it was crappier)! Well Jon and I didn't take two overnight buses just to sit in a hostel and drink beer. The next day, we shared a cab with Old English (Jim's new name) and Big Drop Heath (Tarn's new name). Confirmed! Crap conditions! Although recent snowfall allowed people to actually ski to the bottom, the snow was heavy and not nice. My rental gear was also shit! The second day was even worse with rain towards the end of the day.

I woke up on the third day to see John at the computer. "120 KM/hr gusts at the top! There is only one lift running." There is only one thing to do now and that's shop, drink, eat, and repeat. We found some great restaurants in Bariloche. Jon was continuing his quest to eat every possible cut of beef on the menu. He went back to the bife de lomo, but it was no match for the 800 gram ribeye he would order the next evening. Tomorrow would be our last day on the mountain, so we were going up regardless of the conditions.

We were delighted to see that the storm that brought the screaming winds also brought a massive amount of snow. The report said 55 km/hr winds at the top, so it was a bit calmer than the day before. The website said that 50 cm had dropped over the last two days. I'm not sure how accurate that report was, but based on our estimate a solid 30 cm was fresh. One major disappointment was how poorly the mountain was managed. The two best people movers (Nubes chair and the big gondola) were not running all week. All of the other lifts were slow to open. There is no such thing as a high speed quad in Catedral. It is all slow and the queues are looooong. By 12 pm the four of us completed one long run from top to bottom. The powder was sweet, but it would take a local to show us where the goods really were.

Sophie is married to an Argentinian and spends half of the year in Bariloche and the other half in Verbier. She is a good friend with Old English and lucky for us, she knew how to get to some steep open powder fields with a little bit of a hike. I had the best two powder runs this season my friends! The second run was highlighted with a 3-4 meter launch off of a fallen tree. That was it for me. My legs were shot, but it was worth it.

Pictures are from the mountain.
I also have one of the 800 gr ribeye.