Your friends at Steamboat Powdercats are back at it, hosting another Argentina powder adventure with our friends at SASS Global Travel this coming August 25 – September 3. If you are still craving face shots, love adventure travel and earning your turns then we’d love to have you and members of your crew come travel with us later this summer.
For this 2017 version, SPC’s Director Eric Deering and Master of Chaos Kent Vertrees are looking to cater another experience to guests who fit Powdercats Ability Level III skill set. To pull this tour off, we need a minimum of 6 super-charged guests. If you are not of the Level III skill set call us anyway so we can chat about options.
We have chosen the destination at Cerro Catedral for several reasons. Not only does Cerro Catedral have some of the best lift accessed backcountry terrain in South America (think big mountain lines and alpine zones within a 30 min to 1 hour tour from lift), it also has a reliable snowpack, tree skiing/riding during storm cycles, and the city of Bariloche, Argentina providing us with excellent options for off mountain dining, adventure and experiences beyond just the skiing and riding.
You may remember that we ran one of these hosted tours to Argentina last summer and in 2013. Check out the blog post from last years trip here and view all the images from this adventure here.
Once again, we will be partnering with SASS Global Travel who is helping us dial in logistics, local knowledge and many other aspects of the adventure.
What’s included?
• 7 Nights lodging at the Base 41 Apartments based on double occupancy (own bed of course) and 4ppl per apartment. Single occupancy upgrades are certainly available as well.
• Lodging is from August 26 – September 2
4 out of 6 day lift tickets to Cerro Catedral, along with daily guide services from SPC and SASS guides
All photography/images complimentary from Kent Vertrees and Eric Deering
Backcountry equipment (Beacon, Shovel, Probe)
3 of 7 dinners including transportation to and from
All breakfasts during trip. Argentine style with scrambled eggs, cereals, bread and coffee
Apre ski Picada each afternoon, i.e. “Argentine snack plate”
Airport transfer to and from Villa Catedral
Additional adventure add-on:Alto Snowmobile-Ski Adventure. We are planning a night and a full day at Mallin Alto during this trip. We’d love to have all participants join us but we understand this may not be in the budget for all. Mallin Alto is an adventure that should provide us with new and exciting terrain and a uniquely Argentine experience. They will provide us with lodging for one night at their mountain huts, dinner/breakfast/lunch and a full day of snowmobile assisted backcountry skiing/riding. Check out their site here to get a full idea of this excursion.We can also put together a 2 day stay at Mallin Alto for those that are interested.
How much will this cost?
Base price is $4300
Mallin Alto add-on $950, final add-on price dependent on how many of our guests sign up
What’s not included?
Private room or apartment: Upgrade to your own room for an additional $800 or your own apartment for $1400.
Airfare – we are estimating around $1600.00(ish) for round trip flights. Arrival to San Carlos de Bariloche Airport is on August 26th and departure is on September 2, 2017.
Airport transfer from Buenos Aires – you may not need this depending on your flight into Arg. We will help dial this in as you develop your plans. $40-ish for transfer.
We suggest travel insurance which is running around $125 for the trip. This can include air evac/heli rescue. We’ll help dial this in as we get closer to trip.
Meals
Lunches – we estimate about $10/lunch and there will be 6 lunches during our stay.
Dinners – again 3 dinners are included, so we will be arranging the 4 other dinners either together as a group or on your own (and if you are going to Mallin Alto another dinner is included). We are estimating $20-30 for dinner which includes beer/wine.
Booze – Everyone is different in this regard. Our welcome dinner at a local brewery will include beers, but in general, you’re on your own for drinks.
Snacks – If you’re a midnight muncher, we’ll help you stock up at a local store.
Additional sking/riding/guiding – For those who do not chose the Mallin Alto option, you can always ski/ride an additional day or 2 at Cerro Catedral with or without a guide. Since ticket prices are not announced until the start of the season we estimate roughly $70-$80 USD/day for the lift ticket. Pricing for guiding will depend on number of guests with the guide.
Down days? – there’s always the chance that we are unable or unwilling to ski due to Mother Nature, or you may choose to not ski with us on the day we are going to Mallin Alto. In these cases there are other activities in and around Bariloche that we will help coordinate.
Gear – SGT has a limited number of touring ski’s and split boards and skins available for rent at a minimal fee.
Incidentals – share of taxi’s, gratuities, massages, extended nightlife, souvenirs, gluttony, etc.
Based on what is and what isn’t included, we estimate your total cost to be around the $7,000/person if you choose to join us at Mallin Alto and go with double occupancy lodging.
So, if this sounds intriguing, call us at the office (970-879-5188) or email an inquiry to Eric or Kent as we’d love to chat with you about this exciting skiing/riding adventure.
Our due date to pull the trigger on this trip is July 15th. Again we will need a 6-guest minimum to make this happen. Deposits and cancellation policies will apply and we will line you up with details when you book.