By James Cove
BBC in Argentina
Skiing in Argentina is on the increase with some resorts reporting 10% growth year on year.
The figures follow the success of a World Cup competition held in the south American country.
British snowboard cross racer Zoe Gillings finished fourth in the resort of Chapelco thus keeping her on target for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.
The increase in South America has been fuelled by larger numbers coming from the northern hemisphere.
Some are keen recreational skiers and boarders, while others are race teams from Europe, including the British team, finding new slopes as the Alpine glaciers deteriorate during the summer months.
Snowy Winter
It has been one of the best winters in recent times with record levels of snow and last month almost three metres of snow came in one snowfall in the Argentine resort of Cerro Catedral, near Bariloche. I was lucky enough to be there just as the lifts opened.
It was the largest snowfall of the winter and has helped prolong the season.
For many people skiing in the southern hemisphere is as much about an adventure too and it comes "South America style".
Lifts sometimes stop working for no apparent reason, it takes a while to get equipment and lift passes sorted out while the airport in Bariloche sometimes closes because of activity from a nearby volcano.
It all makes for a somewhat different experience than on the slopes of Europe or North America.
On the up
Cerro Catedral is the largest resort in South America with 39 ski lifts able to take 36,000 people per hour. There are 120km of marked pistes and several off piste routes.
One British company, Peak Leaders, has been running instructor-training courses in Argentina for the last seven years. They offer 10-week gap year courses and are aimed at people just before or after university and for those who want a career break or a change of direction in life.
"When we started we had just a handful of people but this year we have 43 people and things are set to continue to grow', says the course co-ordinator Ed Cornfield.
"People from Europe and North America are discovering that the Andes has a lot of skiing and many other things to do as well."
Chile is also popular with skiers and boarders. They head to the resorts of the Tres Valles and Portillo often combining it with a visit to the wine areas or the Atacama desert.
More than just skiing
In Argentina many visitors spend a few days in Buenos Aires or take trips to the glaciers and National Parks. Once in the mountains there is also white water rafting, kayaking, paraponting, canyoning, climbing or even a visit to a ranch.
Currently, it is cheaper than skiing in the Alps, although that is changing with costs going up by about 10% a year, partly due to inflation but also because the influx of visitors has led locals to raise their prices.
Rather oddly more Brazilians come to ski in Argentina than Argentines themselves. Brazil has no ski resorts and yet the country is keen on winter sports with a popular snowboarding team.
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