Argentinien

A total of four meters of snow transformed Las Leñas into a winter wonderland: one day was better than the next... We were finally able to do all the things we had come here to do.

At last!!! The suffering is over! After three continuous weeks of frustration due to terrible conditions, snow finally fell!!!

Due to the poor conditions and the growing boredom, we decided to move on to the next valley for a few days. The "Valle Hermoso" ("beautiful valley") bears its name for good reason, I have rarely seen anything so beautiful.

Argentina - The land of beef and red wine! Of tango and beautiful women! And above all, the Andes!

When the first snow falls in the Alps in the fall, it is customary in the telemark scene to order the latest Powderwhore film. Two years ago, the makers of Powderwhore decided to expand their portfolio to include ski touring and snowboarding rather than just telemarking. With "Choose Your Adventure", a film worth seeing has been created that shows a wide variety of characters and their skiing skills. They all have one thing in common: an addiction to powder.

Last Wednesday evening, November 16, 2011 at 7:30 pm, the doors of the 8 Seasons Club opened for the premiere of the film "Soultrip Argentina". Shortly before the club doors opened, a large number of winter sports enthusiasts were already standing at the entrance. The Argentinean steaks were already smelling from the grill and the anticipation of a good evening could be seen in the guests' facial expressions. Not only the "Soultrip"movie was on the agenda, but also the premiere of "Path of Roses" with Eva Walkner and Katharina Schuler.

Fabian Lentsch is a freerider from Innsbruck and Austria's up-and-coming talent. He is spending this summer in the (almost) endless expanses of the South American Andes with his friends Leo Rauch, Eric Zeller and photographer Jonas Blum. He has summarized his summer freeride adventures in a blog.

It all started in the fall of 2010: Gore-Tex called for a freeride challenge on Facebook, where the main prize was a trip and participation in Seb Michaud's personal summer freeride competition. Just take part, I thought to myself. After all, the first prize was a trip to Argentina with some of the best freeriders in the world.

At the beginning of my trip to South America, the situation is bleak. The north is drying out and the south is sinking into the mud. At least the base in Bariloche is usable and it's not the first time I've had to sit out bad weather here. I'm good at waiting and drinking tea and otherwise all I need is a little faith in God that it will eventually get the necessary few degrees colder and one day you wake up and there's a meter of snow on your doorstep.

An absolute Powderwhore classic! The powder whores have clearly remained true to their style. All lines are developed using climbing skins and manpower. Although there are a few aerial shots that were certainly not shot by birds, on the whole the guys stick to their motto "back to nature". Of course, the introduction of a hermit is not to be missed: Nic Devore and his teepee tent in the middle of nowhere: "But I?m not a hippie – I swear!" Yes, of course?

Arrival

It was snowing hard as the huge, blue bus ran the gauntlet over the pass between Chile and Argentina. In Bariloche, it was snowing harder, and with stiff backs and heavy bags, we dug in for the night at a hostel. Grande flakes of snow fell in slow motion all night and when we woke up, town was caked and no-one could move. The sky had relieved itself of 1 meter of snow and we weren?t going anywhere- that is to say, the ski hill was shut down, and when it did open, we weren?t leaving until we had skied every centimeter of it.
We never made it up the mountain that first day. And nor did some friends that just arrived from Canada. Their skis had been lost in transit and all they had was what they were wearing.

Las Lenas is huge, but it isn't scary. It is supremely aesthetic and inspires you to leave a single, snaking track down each of its many faces. The thing is, it is very possible to do so with the Marte Chair running and incredible peaks within easy boot-packing distance. From the top of these, the mountains stretch on seemingly forever, and so do the possibilities...