Day 1 and 2

I arrived here on the 24th of July leaving Buenos Aires around 9 in the morning from the local airport. Lots of delays due to fog and the fact that no radar has been working for about two months. Hard to believe that a major airport does it all the old fashioned way and thus there is sometimes a 10 minute delay while signals and the such are done manually. New equipment was supposed to arrive and be installed from Spain, but so far it isnīt here. When Buenos Aires had a snow fall, maybe an inch or two of the wet stuff on July 9th which is their Independence Day it was the first snowfall in the city since 1918 so you can imagine the chaos and confusion it caused. It was the talk of the town and the media dwelled on it for over two days. All international flights were cancelled as no de icing equipment as really there has been no need for it. A man I met from New Jersey who had to get back spent two days here waiting to get out and was going bonkers. Such is life. And my flight which cost $200 last here from BA to Ushuaia this year was $420 as they have two tier pricing, one for the Argentine and one for the tourist. This is something very unfair, but I guess when in Rome????? One stop at a little town in the middle of nowhere in Patagonia, I think the DL airport was bigger, and then about 5 PM to Ushuaia. The sign said no food to be brought in, for whatever reason I do not know, but I had two pears in my backpack and they had to go to the trash can. I had bananas in my pocket of my jacket and I could have had a ton of things in my duffle bag, but no check on those. I really donīt understand the reason for this and they couldnīt explain it. The plane was packed and a waiting list to get in as this is school vacation time and lots of families and all traveling for winter vacations. There are also a lot of tourists from Brazil and also France here and the more well to do from Buenos Aires. Checked into my hostal which is right in the heart of town, a nice room on the top floor with a view of the harbor and the mountains and very nice. The next morning up fairly early and a two block walk to where the shuttle buses and vans take people to the various ski areas. Breakfast provided and there was a toaster here so had some toast for a change which was nice. And tea with milk along with the norm, the media luna, the most typical breakfast food in Argentina which is a half moon shaped pastry and can be coated with a glaze, plain, and really quite tasty. But I am getting a little tired of them, and would love some of our cook Debbieīs carmel rolls. The first day I headed to Tierra Mayor, about 20 Kīs from town and a center for nordic as well as dog sleds and snowmobile rides. The sun was out and new snow and the skiing was great. No tracks as such as, but I still had fun. I brought my skis with me this year as glad I did. A good fit and of course they are ones I am used to. Maybe three other skiers and that was it. The revenue comes from the dog sled trips and the snowmobile rides and they even offer a ride in a snowcat. Almost all the nordic areas have dog sled trips, snowmobile or ATV rides available, the only one, is the downhill area, Cerro Castor. But for the most part, the dogs and snowmobiles are on different trails so it is fine. This is a family run operation and the one son was on the Argentine biathalon team at one time and a daughter spent a season working at Canmore in Alberta. They were great hosts and they remembered me from last year, and were so nice to treat me to lunch which is the lamb BBQ, the specialty of Patgonia and it was so good. The shuttle van picked me up at 5 and after about 13 Kīs I was plenty tired. When I got back it was started to snow, and seemed to snow off and all night long. Had a nice meal that night of fish instead of meat and it was super. Also crab soup and that was very good too.

Photo taken in the Tierra Mayor area.

Photo taken in the Tierra Mayor area.

Photo taken of the village of Ushuaia

Photo taken in the Cerra Castor area.

Photo taken in the Cerro Castor area.

Photo taken in the Cerro Castor area of a tree that had been chewed on by a beaver, probably when the area was flooded.

Day Three of skiing in Ushuaia

After being snowed out on Day 2, I headed to Cerro Castor. This is a downhill or alpine area and fairly new and very nice. It was busy as school vacations are on and lots of skiers from Buenos Aires as well as Brazil and a scattering from Europe. The owner Gaston was out early and had groomed the one flat loop of maybe 2 or 3 K's and the new snow was great for striding. No tracks, but a nice pack and the glide was great. I brought my own skis and boots so that was nice to have my own equipment. Gaston has a PB and seemed to use it mostly for the nordic trails around the lodge. I came in for lunch and the specialty of the house here is the lamb Patagonia style cooked over the open fire. For 40 pesos, you get the lamb, salad and postre or desert. Normally the salad is onions, tomato and lettuce and then they give you vinegar and oil to mix yourself. As the onions are a little strong, I asked for no onions and thy brought me a king sized salad with about 6 other things and it was fantastic. And normally they bring a little charcoal stove to your table heaped with various lamb cuts for you to attack. As I like the rib meat, I asked for ribs and when they brought it out it must have been 10 or 11 baby loin lamb chops and it was fantastic. I was barely able to finish the meal. Gaston then came and said he had groomed the north trail which follows the creek and is more up and own and follows the edge of the mountain and the woods. Lots of dead trees in the river or creek bottom and beaver cuttings far up the edge of the mountains. It looks like maybe at one time the beavers had dammed the creek and it killed all the trees, and they must have destroyed all trees. Interesting fact in that no beaver here until introduced from Canada in 1946 and now they estimate the numbers to be around 450,000. Just like at home, the beavers are a problem. Look at the trees we have lost in the swamp behind the Freighthouse where I have blasted the ponds. At any rate, the beavers here are considered a pest, and there is payment for people to bring the tails in. Fur prices are poor here and thus no real trapping. I think they were introduced as a source of income. Other than the beaver, very little wildlife. Some birds and they advertise condors, but I have yet to see on. They do have an animal like a llama called guanacos, but pretty rare to overhunting and I have never seen one. It seems like ideal habitat for the Rocky Mountain goat as such steep mountains here. And in the places in tour that advertise tours, ecco tourism and the such, the only featured inland wildlife viewing is beaver watching so I guess they serve some function. Beavers are hard to see being mostly a night worker, but maybe they are out during the day. I might add I was the first one on the tracks and I did pass one skier all day. So the nordic skier is very much in the minority here. There are some great trails and snow, and it it pretty much an uptapped market. I tackled this trail after lunch and about 4 or 5 K's up and then across a river and a bridge the PB cannot go on and then the tracks ended. I bushwacked a little and climber up, the snow about 2 feet deep. Skied back and was totally wiped out. Got the shuttle bus at 5:30 and back the 30 K's to Ushaia. So ended Day Three with some great skiing and one very tired skier.

Photo taken at the Cerro Castor ski area.

Photo taken in the Cerra Castor area of some skiers on the trail.

Photo taken of the village of Ushuaia.

Last part of ski trip to Ushuaia, the southern most city in the world in Argentina.

My last day in Ushuaia and I was just going to take it easy, but my friend Marcelo who loves to ski wanted to take me to area close to town and give that a try. I had wanted to try it and never had so I was game to give it a go. It is only about 6 K's from town up a sharp valley and then the road ends. And it was a totally beautiful area especially being so close to town and really very different than the other areas I had been skiing. And they did have a Piston Bully there, an 070 just like we have at Maplelag and the day I was there they were using it to haul wood for the barrel stoves. The area is called Francisco Jerman and named after an immigrant from Croatia who is considered the father of cross country skiing in Argentina. The area was all wooded for the most part with some open bog like areas where the trails bordered. It extremely pretty and views in many directions of the mountains and the ocean were very beautiful. The wind was blowing pretty hard so some of the tracks were drifted in, but it had a great up and down pattern to it and there were all kinds of side loops off of the main track. If they had a Yellowstone track groomer, it would be great to touch up the tracks when the wind is blowing as it blows a fair amount here. I am not quite sure how this is run. It is really like a club operation, and a not for profit ski center. Perhaps the town or area gives it some funding. But it had a real home like feel to it and tons of snow and nice tracks. Also along for the day was a young racer, Ilene skiing classic and Marcelo has been helping her train for some of the local races here. She was skiing classic and soon left me in the dust. I might mention the night I had dinner with Marcelo and his family, his 17 daughter had just got back from a school year in the small Iowa town of Laporte and liked it very much. One great source of cultural interest to her was the fact the family had milk on table and everyone drank it for all three meals. Here in Argentina other than the baby bottle or milk with coffee, milk is not drunk. In my time in Argentina, I do not think I have ever seen on glass of milk the whole time I have been here. They do have a drink called a submarino which is a tall glass of hot milk and it comes with a little packet of hard chocolate which you break up and stir into the milk, much like our hot chocolate. And often depending on the brand, the little hunk of chocolate is shaped like a submarine. Ice cream is very popular and excellent here with ice cream shops all over town. Tons of flavors so they do like dairy products in this form While I am on food here, I might mention that the meat here is truly king and lots of it and the prices are really very good. Perhaps one of the best values here in Argentina. And a multitude of cuts, some we do not get at home. A great starter is grilled provoleta cheese brushed with herbs and olive oil. Perhaps one of the most disappointing things to me was the quality of the Italian food. With over 4 million Italian immigrants and 4000 pizza places, for the most part, the Italian food I have had here as been on the bland side. The pizza is heavy and oily and the pasta often overcooked and the sauces are lacking in the spark that makes for great sauces. The Italian food is Mexico and Puerto Vallarta at say La Dolce Vita is much better. The Argentine people just do not like spicy food in any way or form. Maybe that is the reason for so few ethnic restaurants. Maybe a couple of Vietnamese, a handful of Chinese, some from Peru and the Middle East and that is about it. There are some great little Chinese take out places and for 15 pesos there is enough for 2 or 3 meals. But not spicy in the least. When I get hot and sour soup, I have to ask about ten times to make it extra spicy. In 50 restaurants, maybe only 2 will have black pepper along with salt which they all have. You have to ask for it and even then, they might not have it. The one joy for me is that cilantro is not on the menu here in any shape or form. I am a disliker of cilantro of the first order (check the website: I Hate Cilantro) and the two sauces they have here I love. They are Salsa Criolla which is olive oil and chopped up tomato, onion and sweet green pepper. And the other is Chimichuri which is olive oil and vinegar and chopped garlic, parsley, oregano, basil and a few other spices. These are served for the most part with meat. There is a wonderful web site by an ex pat here originally from Ann Arbor and he does a great job talking about various restaurants and the culture in general here. Dan's reviews are excellent and very fair and he calls them like he sees them. Check it out: www.saltshaker.com So my last day of skiing ended on a high note, and I wish I had visited this area more often as it was only about a 10 peso or $3 cab ride from town. From the pictures, you will get a general idea of the area. it is a real treasure. Soon I will be back home in Minnesota and sure hope the deer flies have abated somewhat so can work in the woods. One of the reasons for heading here is that July with the bugs is one of my least favorite months in Minnesota at least in the forest so to speak. It has been a great vacation and hope that some of you might someday be able to experience the skiing here in Argentina. Always feel free to ask me questions at anytime. And Trip Advisor forums for Buenos Aires and Ushuaia are always great sources of information.

Photo taken at the Francisco Jerman ski area.

Photo taken at the Francisco Jerman ski area.

Photo taken at the Francisco Jerman ski area.