Roxana Badaloni
08/29/2021 8:15 AM
Clarín.com
Travels
Updated 08/29/2021 8:15 AM
The
snow arrived
later than other winters
in Mendoza.
Almost when the season ended, in the third week of August of this 2021, up to 80 centimeters of snow was reached in some areas of the high mountain range.
And, although the mountain landscape looks beautiful with its white peaks, tourists who visit the Cuyo province
have nowhere to ski
.
The
Valle de Las Leñas ski resort
, which is located in Malargüe, 350 kilometers south of the city of Mendoza,
has decided not to open
.
The Los Penitentes ski center is not enabled either, on route 7, on the way to the Cristo Redentor-Los Libertadores crossing, on the border with Chile.
In Mendoza
only a few snow parks are operating.
The busiest,
Los Puquios
, has its beginners and toboggan runs open.
Play with the snow in Los Puquios.
“We reopened on 8/21, with an accumulation of 40 cm of snow at the base.
Other small subsequent snowfalls allowed us to open a ski and snowboard slope, and to maintain the toboggan runs ”, said Eduardo Soler, administrator of the place, in the high mountain range of Greater Mendoza.
Orders
In the south, the Malargüe city government asked the concessionaire of the Las Leñas valley to put in place a
chairlift so that tourists
who arrive attracted by the hotels and gastronomy of Las Leñas and Los Molles
can ski
.
Other times in Las Leñas.
This 2021 did not open.
Ski instructors and other employees who work in the area also demanded the opening: "Before there was no snow and that was a reality, but now the snow has arrived and covered them because they were not prepared," said instructor Lisandro Guiñazú Fader.
But, since August 17, a
statement
can be read on the resort's portal
that rules out the opening of
this 2021 season.
“The meteorological service announced snowfall that will continue for a few days. However, these precipitations on warm ground in a time of seasonal transition and without snowy base, will not allow to meet the technical safety conditions for the opening of the ski area, since strong winds are also expected from the west sector that will throw significantly precipitated snow without compact, generating situations of high risk of avalanches ", says the statement from Las Leñas.
And it details: "As it is not possible to carry out snow treading and delimitation of slopes, the ski center will
remain closed to the public
."
The management of the main winter resort in Mendoza maintains: "We have all awaited the 2021 winter season with deep expectation, but the accumulation of adversity prevents us from guaranteeing the opening."
On the Las Leñas website they point out that the conditions for opening are not given.
Officials from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Mendoza clarified that they cannot intervene in the decision of private companies.
Las Leñas Ski Center is owned by Malaysian businessman Tan Sri Arumugam.
"Mendoza has worked on the protocols for several months now, and the ski centers had the possibility of opening this season since June but due to lack of snow, they did not do so," they say in the Mendoza government.
The Malargüe Tourism Director, Marcelo Rivarola, told Clarín that they expected Las Leñas to open a track with its lifts, with instructors and lifeguards, in order to provide a complete service to tourists.
However, “the difference in temperature between the ground and the heat caused by the Zonda wind, made the snow melt.
And it was only possible to prepare the base so that people could carry out recreational activities, culipatín and sleds ”.
Despite not having skiing enabled, the Malargüe official explained that there are a large number of tourists who come to Las Leñas to, at least, play with the snow.
Los Penitentes, waiting for a new dealer.
Business critics
The Tunuyán Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture and Tourism, in the Uco Valley, joined in the criticism for the lack of ski centers.
"In addition to the lack of snow due to the effects of the weather, there is also the deficient management of the provincial authorities," say the businessmen.
They question the expropriation process of
Penitentes
, which has remained in the hands of the State and has
not
yet
been awarded a concession
.
And they claim for another project, the Cerro Punta Negra complex, which has not obtained authorization for environmental reasons.
“
Cerro Punta Negra
is located in the Manzano Portillo Piuquenes Protected Natural Area, like most of the Argentine Patagonia ski centers that are found in National Parks.
However, Mendoza decides not to approve a ski center - with all the others closed - without first doing homework.
The province is left out of the winter tourist offer ”, declares Carlos Dávila, spokesman for the Uco Valley Business Chamber.
Regarding Penitentes, the provincial Minister of Tourism, Mariana Juri, explained: “We have concluded a complex judicial process.
We will call a concession shortly so that the ski center can be enabled ".
The
crisis in the sector due to the lack of snow has been going on for several seasons
.
"We have been very hit, with short seasons in 2018 and 2,919 due to lack of snow and no 2020 season, due to the pandemic," said Soler, from Los Puquios Park.
He announced that they are developing an associative project with other investors and the support of the Government of the province to grow in infrastructure and services: they intend to build an accommodation with 50 beds, a mall with businesses and new gastronomy venues to
enhance the tourist offer in the city. Mountain range .
Look also
Snow furor: how much does a September ski getaway cost
Pre-trip 2: what it is and how to take advantage of the benefits to travel through Argentina