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Once one of the bigger ski areas in the Andes with roughly 300 hectares (740 acres), 700 meters (2,297 feet) of vertical drop, and eight ski lifts, Los Penitentes was a staple of skiing in the Central Andes region. But after over 40 years of operation, it shut down in 2018 due to administrative and legal conflicts with permitting and remained closed for 8 years, lifts and on-mountain lodging lying dormant. But now, a grand revival of Argentina’s northernmost ski area is officially underway.
Located along Ruta Nacional 7 in the Mendoza Province just 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) from the Chilean border and standing in full view of Aconcagua, the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere, newly rebranded “Penitentes Park” carries a rich alpine history. Founded in 1978 by skier Emilio López Frugoni and officially opened in 1979, historical records from Wikipedia show that at its peak, Los Penitentes operated 25 to 28 marked runs across 300 hectares (740 acres). Powered by eight lifts, including the twin double chairs Pirca and Punta Guanaco, it boasted an hourly capacity of nearly 8,000 skiers and lodged close to 2,000 overnight guests. It was a powerhouse in the Central Andes.
But when the original 1978 concession expired in 2013, the mountain fell into a slow-motion collapse. As administrative disputes flared between provincial authorities and the operating family, the lifts eventually went still for good by 2018. As reported by local news outlet El Sol, Mendoza’s local government stepped in and legally seized about 42 hectares (104 acres) of key private land at the base of the mountain in 2019. Because the resort’s original owners still privately held the land where the main chairlifts, base area, and access roads sat, the state couldn’t bring in a new operator. By legally taking that land for public use, the government was later able to clear the legal logjam, bring the entire property under state ownership, and pave the way to officially re-lease the mountain to a new company.
The turnaround began in 2024 when Mendoza granted local adventure-tourism operator MAPSA Group S.A. a temporary license to manage basic non-lift activities like trekking, guided hikes, 4×4 tours, and mountain biking, as documented by iloveski.org. But the real breakthrough came in July 2025, when Mendoza formally awarded MAPSA a 20-year concession, paired with a corporate pledge to invest roughly $6 million in infrastructure over five years. MAPSA founder Pablo García told local news outlet MDZ that the priority immediately shifted to reviving the dormant Pircas chairlift to create Mendoza’s only year-round panoramic ride. Specialized engineers from Buenos Aires were brought in to conduct magnetographic testing, replace the main haul cable, recondition motors and brakes, perform structural analysis on concrete bases, and run non-destructive testing on tower structures under inspection by Argentina’s National Institute of Industrial Technology (INTI).
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Reopening Argentina’s northernmost ski destination has been a multi-stage process driven by both engineering and nature. According to coverage from Sitio Andino, the Pircas chairlift first cleared INTI safety checks on April 2, 2026, carrying pedestrian sightseers for the first time in a decade. By June 12, the resort published its winter pricing tiers but a massive El Niño-fueled storm cycle in mid-July dumped up to four meters of snow, forcing an emergency evacuation of 50 stranded travelers and closing Route 7. Resort crews then spent weeks hand-packing snow while waiting for the national highway authority to clear access roads. Provincial authorities officially authorized Penitentes Park and neighboring Los Puquios to open to the public on July 28, bringing back parking, dining, sledding, and lower-mountain baby lift and ski tows, according to Diario Uno. 11 days later, on Saturday, August 8, the resort hosted a promotion granting local Mendoza residents free ski access on the Pircas chairlift, complete with an après-ski DJ set and a traditional torchlight descent.
Today, Penitentes Park operates as a multi-use “mountain park” and “mini ski center” rather than the full-scale resort veterans remember. Current active operations include the Pirca chairlift, surface lifts, a baby lift in the La Herradura sector, a small snow park, sledding, ice skating, snowshoeing, mountain biking, and a planned ski school in the old Las Liebres beginner area, Nevasport reports. Full lift-served skiing across the upper mountain has not yet returned, and master-plan projects like a toboggan park, motorhome rest stop, new retail space, and an express supermarket remain paused while resources focus on lift infrastructure.
Adult day passes for the relaunch season are priced at 80,000 Argentine pesos (roughly $53), while children’s tickets cost 60,000 pesos (about $39). Visitors accessing only the sledding hill or the panoramic chairlift pay 25,000 pesos (around $16). Early buyers who secured passes in mid-June received a discounted 40,000-peso rate ($26), and the resort offers a 20% discount during low-season periods alongside a 20% discount on gear rentals through outfitter Límite Vertical.
The resort’s revival carries strategic weight well beyond regional skiing. As MAPSA and provincial officials told news platforms iloveski.org and Sitio Andino, changing climate conditions, less predictable winter snowpacks, and the high cost of operating legacy lift infrastructure are driving the decision to redevelop Penitentes as a year-round mountain park. The company’s five-year master plan includes UTV circuits, an Aconcagua ultra-trail race, an enduro competition, and a high-altitude winery designed to maintain steady tourism across all four seasons. Geographically, the valley occupies a critical position on the sole paved highway connecting Mendoza to Santiago, Chile, and serves each November as the primary staging ground for Aconcagua mountaineering expeditions embarking on the four-hour trek to Confluencia Camp en route to Base Camp Plaza de Mulas. As MAPSA executes its investment plan, Penitentes is demonstrating how a high-alpine resort can rebuild after eight years in the dark around a modern, multi-season model — and that, with the right backing and enough hope, a forlorn ski area can be brought back from the dead.
More information can be found via the resort’s official Instagram account, @penitentespark.
