The heli-ski season in South America is less than two months away, and POWDER SOUTH Heli-Ski Guides are hard at work making preparations for the upcoming season. If you believe the meteorologists around the world — and this time it seems they know what they’re talking about — South America and particularly the central Andes where POWDER SOUTH’s tenure is located, are in for a monster snow season. The national weather bureaus in Australia as well as the U.S. are both calling for an El Niño winter in the Southern Hemisphere, which means heavy snowfall and ample powder skiing throughout the high peaks of Chile and Argentina.
Their prediction stems from two main factors: sea temperatures have been increasing in a strip of the Pacific Ocean indicative of winter storms to come, and simultaneously tradewinds have been decreasing in some of the same locations, making conditions ripe for significant storms to develop and blanket the Andes. While there were rumors last year, too, that an El Niño pattern was imminent, they proved incorrect. This year, all signs point toward an El Niño for real.
Ocean temperatures are likely to remain above El Niño thresholds until at least the Southern Hemisphere spring,
– Australian Meteorology Bureau Forecaster – 4/28/15
Another thing you should know if you’re considering a trip to ski with us this year: the much-publicized and spectacular eruption of the Calbuco volcano did not occur anywhere close to POWDER SOUTH’s tenure in and around Santiago or Argentina’s Uco Valley, so our operation was not affected at all. The volcano, one of roughly 90 active volcanoes in Chile, sent an estimated 210 million cubic meters of ash onto the land surrounding the eruption, but it mostly affected agricultural areas, not the high peaks of the Andes.
All of which means this year is a fantastic year to ski powder with us in South America. In particular, our new operation in Argentina that we introduced last season is going to be even better this year. There is still space open for trips in both Chile and Argentina, but in the world-renowned Uco Valley, exploration opportunities abound.
People will have to fight to name the runs!
– PS director Rodrigo Mujica said.
For more information or if you have questions about a trip, feel free to contact us anytime. We look forward to hearing from you and hope you’ll come ski or ride powder with us this season!
