Las Leñas

Las Leñas was built in the 1980s in a high valley of southern Mendoza and has a reputation among skiers that rests on two things: altitude, with terrain reaching above three thousand metres, and the Marte chairlift, which opens access to a large area of steep off-piste bowls and couloirs that has drawn international freeriders and professional filming for decades. The base is a self-contained village of hotels, apartments and restaurants rather than a town, with everything within walking distance and little outside it. Snowfall here can be exceptional, and equally can fail; seasons vary sharply. In summer the valley is used for walking and riding, but most of the resort shuts.

What you actually see

• The Marte lift terrain - steep bowls and couloirs above the resort.
• The high-altitude slopes - pistes reaching over three thousand metres.
• The base village - a self-contained cluster of hotels and restaurants.
• The southern Mendoza mountains - bare high Andes around the valley.

When to go

June to September, with the best snow usually from July into August; July coincides with Argentine winter holidays and is the most crowded and expensive. Conditions vary greatly by year, and low-snow seasons happen.

Honest expectations

The resort is isolated, and prices for lodging and food inside it are high with few alternatives. The Marte lift closes frequently for wind and avalanche control, sometimes for days. The access road can close in storms, and the village is quiet with limited nightlife.

Nearby

Malargüe is the nearest town; the Caverna de las Brujas lies south of it.