Catedral ski resort in Bariloche, Argentina has a chairlift called Nubes.  It’s a high speed quad that rises 2,000-vertical-feet to the top of the mountain.  It accesses steep, jagged terrain, cliff hucks, cruisy groomers, wide open bowls, natural halfpipes, and the terrain park.  Nubes would be a solid chair anywhere.
Nubes is the key to days like today. Â Like Tahoe, Bariloche experiences mid-winter springtimes. Â If you embrace them, they’re excellent. Â Spring hit about 4 days ago here.
Today started out with firmer conditions that softened every run. Â The day started on fast, fun, empty groomers and slowly progressed into the off-piste and park.
11:30am was when the off-piste truly softened and the park opened up. Â From then until the closing bell it was fast, furious big mountain terrain draining right into the terrain park. Â The snow on the upper mountain was corny, soft, and fun. Â The park has three small jumps that progressively get larger. Â The second two are great for 360s and I even saw some cork 5’s and backflips off ’em today.
The weather was warm, but not too warm today. Â The sun generally stayed behind the clouds. Â There were times when the clouds hit the mountain and the visibility was near zero. Â Most of the time, it was just right.
I had a blast today. Â Non-stop Nubes laps from 9:30 until 3pm. Â There were no lines at all until about 1pm. Â Even after 1pm, the lines weren’t bad and were always less than 10 minutes.
The forecast shows some weather moving in the next few days. Â Looks like nothing heavy but certainly a bit of rain and a bit of snow. Â Winds look like they’ll be mellow enough to keep the lifts open. Â Hopefully this storm will leave cold (as they often do) and leave us with some powder.