Bariloche, Argentina Backcountry Conditions Report: Spines Are Good… I went for a solo stroll in the backcountry of Bariloche, Argentina today. I headed out to my favorite zone: Â Alaskita (little Alaska). I had the entire 2,000-foot deep valley to myself. Â There was no wind, no noise, no sound. Â The day was like one long meditation. Â I didn’t know I needed that, but I did. Â It’s amazing […] Miles Clark | September 1, 2016 0 Comments
Bariloche, Argentina Backcountry Report: “Alaskita” Powder on the LAST Day of the Season Yesterday was Catedral ski resort’s last day of the 2014 winter season. They will keep the Amancay gondola and Diente de Caballo chair open, but they will only allow beginners and sightseers to load. On Monday it snowed hard and added up here. The wind blew like crazy and closed the mountain at 1pm. We knew things in the backcountry were going to be smooth and fresh, but the heat was a concern. Our plan was to hit Zebra Chute, a northeast facing couloir in the nearby […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | October 1, 2014 1 Comment
Bariloche, Argentina Backcountry Report: “Overexposed in Alaskita” Today was the first sunny day since Bariloche, Argentina’s 2-foot Monday storm. The storm was cold storm and things remained cold until today. I used the sunny weather to get out to my favorite backcountry zone in the area, Alaskita. I arrived on top of Alaskita at noon, exactly when things were heating up. I could feel it in the air and a bit in the snow. I could see the avalanche debris from a small avalache (likely caused by a small cornice collapse) near the bottom of the upper spines. It looked fresh. I felt that the upper spines of Alaskita […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | September 12, 2014 8 Comments
Bariloche, Argentina Backcountry Report: The Big Lines of “Alaskita” Little Alaska is my favorite line in Bariloche. It’s not too bad of a hike, the views are stunning, and the terrain is intense. Avalanche terrain management is priority number one here. The upper spines are subject to wind loading. The middle convex rollovers are textbook avalanche start zones and the lower chutes would flush you extremely hard if anything came down. This zone is only to be played with when stability confidence is high. The wind really hammered the Catedral massif two nights ago – pressing the snow down, scouring some zones, and filling in others. Little Alaska is very prone to wind and wind loading. The last time I […] Conditions Report Miles Clark | August 8, 2014 10 Comments
Conditions Report
