Las Leñas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Las Leñas |
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View of the valley
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| Location | Mendoza, Cuyo, Argentina |
| Coordinates | 35°08′49″S 70°04′52″W / 35.146888°S 70.081139°W |
| Vertical | 1,190 m (3,900 ft) |
| Top elevation | 3,430 m (11,250 ft) |
| Base elevation | 2,240 m (7,350 ft) |
| Skiable area | 17,500 hectares (43,000 acres) |
| Runs | 40 Green - 15% Blue - 45% Red - 35% Black - 5% |
| Longest run | 7 km (4.3 mi) |
| Lift system | 14 |
| Lift capacity | 9,500/hour |
| Snowmaking | 30 cannons |
| Website | Las Leñas |
Las Leñas is a famous ski resort in Argentina. It's located in the western part of Mendoza Province. This place is known for its amazing powder snow and perfect weather for all kinds of skiing, even off the main trails.
Building the ski center started in January 1983, and it opened just a few months later in July 1983 with a hotel that had 300 beds. Las Leñas has many different slopes, from very easy ones for beginners to super challenging ones for experts. There are also lots of areas where you can ski off the marked trails.
The lowest part of the ski area is 2,240 meters (7,350 feet) above sea level. The highest point you can ski from is 3,430 meters (11,250 feet) high! This means you can drop a total of 1,190 meters (3,900 feet) when skiing down. The total area you can ski on is about 2.3 square kilometers (0.9 square miles). It has 27 marked runs, and the longest run you can ski without stopping is 7 kilometers (4.3 miles) long. The entire ski area you can reach by land is the biggest in South America.
Las Leñas is also home to the Piscis Hotel, which has the highest casino in the world.
The skiing season usually runs from mid-June to mid-October. However, sometimes it can end a bit earlier, around mid-September. When it's not winter, during the southern hemisphere summer, Las Leñas is still open! You can enjoy other mountain activities like mountain biking, horse riding, and climbing.
The ski center has a ski and snowboard school for all ages. They also have places to take care of younger kids. The school even offers special classes to help you explore the huge off-piste areas.
You can find different places to stay in Las Leñas, including hotels (many are fancy), apartment hotels, and sleep houses. There's also a small shopping center with a bank, ski shops, chocolate shops, souvenir shops, and a supermarket. You'll also find Coffee houses, restaurants, and night clubs.
Since Las Leñas is far from big cities, it's usually not too crowded, except on weekends. This means the lines for the ski lifts are often shorter than at other ski resorts in Argentina.
Las Leñas has hosted some big international ski events. It held men's Downhill races for the 1986 and 1987 Alpine Skiing World Cup. It also hosted women's Downhill and Super-G events in 1990. Most notably, it was the location for the only Winter Pan American Games ever held, in 1990.
Contents
Getting to Las Leñas
Las Leñas is about 1,200 kilometers (750 miles) from Buenos Aires, the capital city of Argentina. You can get there by car, bus, or airplane.
If you fly, planes land at the Comodoro D. Ricardo Salomón Airport near Malargüe, which is about 95 kilometers (59 miles) from Las Leñas. Another option is the Suboficial Aytes Germano Airport near San Rafael, which has regular flights. From these airports, buses connect to Las Leñas.
The road to Las Leñas is paved. It's usually open, but sometimes bad weather or icy conditions can cause it to close temporarily. If you're driving, your car might need snow chains unless it has special tires for snow and ice.
How High is Las Leñas?
- Base (bottom): 2,240 meters (7,350 feet)
- Mid-mountain: 2,835 meters (9,301 feet)
- Top (highest point): 3,430 meters (11,250 feet)
- Vertical drop (how far you can ski down): 1,230 meters (4,040 feet)
Weather in Las Leñas
Las Leñas has a special kind of weather for South America. It's called a warm-summer continental climate. This means that four months of the year have an average temperature above 10°C (50°F). Also, at least one month (in this case, June, July, and August) has an average temperature below 0°C (32°F).
Summers in Las Leñas are mild and very dry. Winters are very snowy, which is great for skiing!
| Climate data for Valle Hermoso, elevation: 2293 m (1961–1976) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 28.5 (83.3) |
28.0 (82.4) |
27.7 (81.9) |
24.3 (75.7) |
22.0 (71.6) |
15.9 (60.6) |
17.0 (62.6) |
18.8 (65.8) |
20.1 (68.2) |
19.8 (67.6) |
28.0 (82.4) |
27.1 (80.8) |
28.5 (83.3) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 21.0 (69.8) |
20.7 (69.3) |
19.0 (66.2) |
16.0 (60.8) |
9.1 (48.4) |
3.4 (38.1) |
3.3 (37.9) |
3.5 (38.3) |
6.2 (43.2) |
8.3 (46.9) |
13.8 (56.8) |
17.5 (63.5) |
11.8 (53.3) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 14.0 (57.2) |
13.3 (55.9) |
11.1 (52.0) |
8.3 (46.9) |
3.2 (37.8) |
−1.4 (29.5) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
0.4 (32.7) |
3.0 (37.4) |
7.9 (46.2) |
11.2 (52.2) |
5.6 (42.0) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 6.6 (43.9) |
5.9 (42.6) |
3.7 (38.7) |
1.6 (34.9) |
−1.7 (28.9) |
−5.3 (22.5) |
−6.7 (19.9) |
−6.6 (20.1) |
−4.7 (23.5) |
−2.2 (28.0) |
1.8 (35.2) |
4.4 (39.9) |
−0.3 (31.5) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −1.0 (30.2) |
−2.9 (26.8) |
−9.6 (14.7) |
−9.0 (15.8) |
−17.8 (0.0) |
−17.0 (1.4) |
−22.0 (−7.6) |
−21.6 (−6.9) |
−19.5 (−3.1) |
−16.6 (2.1) |
−8.2 (17.2) |
−9.1 (15.6) |
−22.0 (−7.6) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 6.6 (0.26) |
10.1 (0.40) |
13.5 (0.53) |
27.3 (1.07) |
162.9 (6.41) |
249.6 (9.83) |
185.3 (7.30) |
93.1 (3.67) |
65.1 (2.56) |
55.4 (2.18) |
14.6 (0.57) |
5.7 (0.22) |
889.2 (35) |
| Source: Servicio Meteorológico Nacional | |||||||||||||
Big Ski Competitions
Winter Pan American Games
In 1987, sports groups decided that the first Winter Pan American Games would be held in Las Leñas in 1989. These games were supposed to happen every four years. But, there wasn't enough snow in 1989, so the games were moved to 1990.
The first Winter Pan American Games took place from September 16 to 22, 1990. There were 97 athletes from eight countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and the United States. The games only had one sport, Alpine Skiing, with three types of races: Slalom, Giant slalom, and Super-G.
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States (USA) |
4 | 2 | 5 | 11 |
| 2 |  Canada (CAN) |
2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
| 3 |  Argentina (ARG) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 Bolivia (BOL) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
 Brazil (BRA) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
 Chile (CHI) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
 Colombia (COL) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
 Mexico (MEX) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Totals (8 entries) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | |
Alpine Skiing World Cup
On August 16 and 18, 1985, Las Leñas became the first ski resort in Argentina to host an event for the International Ski Federation's Alpine Skiing World Cup. These were the first two men's Downhill races of the 1985-86 season.
The next year, Las Leñas hosted the first two men's Downhill races again for the 1986-87 season, on August 15 and 16, 1986.
The Alpine Skiing World Cup returned to Las Leñas for the 1989-90 season. This time, it was the women's Downhill race on August 8, and the women's Super G race on August 9. Both races kicked off the season.
See also
In Spanish: Las Leñas para niños
- Cerro Catedral
- Cerro Castor
- Chapelco
- List of ski areas and resorts in South America
