As most of you have probably heard, Chile’s Puyehue-Cordon Caulle Volcano had a massive eruption back on June 4, 2011.  The volcano has been calming down over this past week, but it is still spewing ash into the atmosphere.  The recent winds have been blowing ash from Chile directly across the border into the Argentine villages of Bariloche, San Martin de Los Andes, Esquel, Villa La Angostura, and Bahia Blanca.  However, since it is not spewing mass quantities of ash as it previously was, flights have resumed operation in Buenos Aires and in several other parts of Argentina.  The Bariloche airport is still closed with a projected re-opening of June 30th.  There is a possibility that it may re-open sooner then this, but they are in the process of trying to clean up all the ash from the runways and planes.  As a precautionary measure they are waiting some more days to make certain that lots more ash is not projected into the atmosphere, which could inhibit air travel.

Since the volcano is showing signs of stabilization, we are confident that this will not impact air travel to the ski villages of Bariloche, San Martin de Los Andes, and Esquel this quickly approaching winter season in the Andes.  We are closely monitoring the situation in Argentina and Chile & will provide weekly updates as news filters in.

If anyone has any questions or concerns about upcoming trips that have been planned or if you are interested in reserving a ski trip to either Argentina or Chile, please do not hesitate to contact us at 800-328-4993.  We are looking forward to another terrific South American ski season and hope to see all of you on the slopes!