Perfect conditions evident in photos from, Aug. 11!

The El Niño predictions of a deep winter in South America have come true: Perfect conditions exist throughout the Andes Range, with blower powder blanketing slopes in Chile and Argentina. For proof, behold these photos from TODAY, AUG. 11, in the Uco Valley of Argentina.

POWDER SOUTH guests have been enjoying stellar snow for weeks and the forecast shows no signs of slowing down as we reach the middle of the Southern Hemisphere winter.

We have had so much snow I’ve lost track!

Rodrigo Mujica – Powder South director and UIAGM guide

If you are wondering whether to join us for a week of incredible skiing or riding, we have good news for you: We still have room for some of the 2015 season’s prime weeks in both Chile and Argentina.

Argentina Uco Valley availability:

• Week 11, Aug. 22-29: Three (3) spots remain with guides Jerry Hance and Christian Jaquier
• Week 12, Aug. 29-Sept. 5: Three (3) spots remain with guides Trevor Gavura and Marco Gaiani
• Week 13, Sept. 5-12: Four (4) spots remain with guide Marco Gaiani

Chile Andino Lodge availability:

• Week 11, Aug. 22-29: One (1) spot remains with guides Pete Patterson and Marco Gaiani
• Week 12, Aug. 29-Sept. 5: One (1) semi-private spot remains with guides Pete Patterson and Erich Schadinger
• Week 13, Sept. 5-12: Four (4) spots remain with guide Pete Patterson

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us anytime!

Book Now!

And now, enjoy more photos from today’s snow!

Deep powder awaits heli skiers, snowboarders in Chile and Argentina with POWDER SOUTH

Thanks to the Internet, news has traveled around the world about the extraordinary winter storm that blanketed the central Andes in Chile and Argentina with more than 2 meters of snow this past weekend (we received 220 centimeters at our measuring station at 3,000 meters elevation, and there may be more in the vicinity). Yes, winter started slowly this year, but it is now in full swing with a suddenly deep snowpack and excellent conditions awaiting those who venture to South America for a ski/snowboard adventure of a lifetime.

The snowpack appears stable and ready to be tracked.

POWDER SOUTH director Rodrigo Mujica.

POWDER SOUTH is anticipating a busy season with plenty of soft turns thanks to an El Niño that some meteorologists are calling the strongest in many years, and as company co-founder & director Joaquin Oyarzun points out, more snow is in the immediate forecast. Only a handful of spaces remain open on PS’s schedule, so if you want to join us for a ski experience unlike anything else in the world, don’t wait much longer. Here are the available weeks with spots still available:

• Week 7, July 25 to Aug. 1: One (1) space remains for a week of skiing in Argentina’s Uco Valley, where clients get the unique opportunity to ski first descents and name the runs they skied.
• Week 8, Aug. 1-8: Two (2) spaces remain for a week of skiing out of Chile’s beautiful Andino Lodge.
• Week 11, Aug. 22-29: Four (4) spaces remain for a week of skiing in the Uco Valley in Argentina.
• Week 12, Aug. 29 to Sept. 5: Four (4) spaces remain in the Uco Valley.
• Week 13, Sept. 5-12: Eight (8) spaces remain in the Uco Valley. Organize a big group of friends and book the trip together!
• Week 13, Sept. 5-12: Eight (8) spaces remain in the Maipo Valley in Chile.

Book any of these trips

That’s what we have available, so give us a call or send us an email and we will take care of you and answer any questions you might have.

In other news

The Chilean national football (soccer) team just upset neighboring Argentina and won the Copa America for the first time! It has been a glorious time here in Santiago, and now that the Andes are covered in white, the energy will only get better.

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!

Exploration opportunities abound at POWDER SOUTH’s newest base opening in Argentina for the 2015 season

Renowned lodge The Vines to host PS skiers, riders in Mendoza region

More than a decade after POWDER SOUTH began pioneering heli-ski terrain in the heart of Chile’s Central Andes, we’re expanding into a new country and will be pioneering terrain in Argentina this coming season in 2015.

Our newest base, the world-famous Vines Resort and Spa, is unlike anything the ski industry has ever seen. Situated at the foot of the towering Andes range, 90 minutes from the Mendoza International Airport in Argentina’s renowned Uco Valley winemaking region, you can almost pick your line from the lodge, the view is that spectacular. The Vines is quite simply the most luxurious and stunning heli-ski lodge on the planet — no exaggeration!

As you can see from the photos, the lodge is spectacular, with exclusive villas up to 253 square meters (2,724 square feet) in size surrounded by 1,500 acres of private vineyards. The villas include private decks equipped with gas fireplaces and high-end finishes throughout, as well as an elegant main lodge, an infinity pool and hot tub, a private spa and fitness center, and a gourmet restaurant run by executive chef Francis Mallmann, one of the most famous chefs in the world. The best part? The peaks and potential for skiing and snowboarding are equally world-class.

Our terrain is just a short flight from the lodge and features runs for all levels of skiers and snowboarders. Twelve years after we began naming EVERY run in the Central Andes of Chile, we are offering the same opportunity at the same latitude in Argentina. This kind of exploratory opportunity simply doesn’t exist in the heli-ski world anymore! Our founders have already scouted the peaks from the air and they are excited to introduce the bounty to you while pioneering new lines together.

We are offering everything from 3-day trips to weeklong adventures in the Uco Valley, so take a look at the options and decide what works best for you.

We are happy to answer any questions you might have as well.

Join us for the opportunity of a lifetime in 2015!

The POWDER SOUTH family, from our founders Rodrigo Mujica and Joaquin Oyarzun to our loyal clients, was crushed to learn of the death of renowned ski mountaineer and guide Andreas Fransson last Monday, Sept. 29, in Patagonia.

Andreas, who was 31 years old, died in a large avalanche while climbing Monte San Lorenzo on the Chile-Argentina border with famed Canadian freeskier JP Auclair, who also perished in the slide. Andreas had guided for POWDER SOUTH each of the past two seasons and was revered for his positive attitude, the can-do spirit he instilled in our guests, and his willingness to explore new terrain in our beloved Andes range.

“He was one of our greatest guides,” Mujica said. “He was also a philosopher and possibly the deepest mountaineer I have ever met. It’s a big loss for all of us and for the climbing and skiing community worldwide.”

Oyarzun echoed Mujica’s sentiment. “As a guide, Andreas was super conservative in the terrain and clients just loved him. He was really a human attraction for them. Very humble, extremely happy, full of joy and extremely secure skiing in big mountains.”

This past August, Andreas led a group of PS clients into a new valley, which he called Little Chamonix (and which we will explore further next season). After his recent San Lorenzo trip, he was scheduled to meet with POWDER SOUTH and discuss an ambassador role in his adopted home of Chamonix, to help people learn about the vast possibilities of skiing in Chile with our operation.

A handful of clients also sent remembrances of Andreas after skiing with him the past two years.

John Mullin of Jackson Hole, Wyoming:

He taught me more about managing fear and skiing steep terrain than any guide I have been with.

Alex Khlopova, who traveled from Moscow, Russia, to ski with Andreas at POWDER SOUTH, said he felt like he’d known Andreas for his entire life after just one week. Khlopova learned of Andreas’ death while paragliding in Chamonix. “We did several first descents together in Chile,” Alex said. “Steep and tight couloirs, no-fall zones. I would tell him, ‘Andreas, I can’t fall.’ His answer was always, ‘I trust you, you’re going to do it.’ At that moment I began to trust myself and would drop in.”

Alex’s wife, Anastasiya (who took the photos on this page), added:

I’m a mother and a wife, but in Chile there was a time with Andreas when I felt like I could do something so out of the ordinary for me. I felt a freedom! And they were magic moments. Andreas is still alive in my mind.

Finally, JP Gardella of France wrote in an email:

I could speak about Andreas’ knowledge and skill in the mountains, but that’s not what I want to emphasize. He was a very good person, always taking care of us, of everybody, with his eternal smile.

We encourage you to keep Andreas’ everlasting spirit alive whenever you go to the mountains. He loved them, as we do, as you do. Think of him when you come to ski with POWDER SOUTH. He was born in Sweden and lived in France, but he held a special place in his heart for the Chilean Andes, a magical mountain range just like he was a magical person.