A few kilometers from Mount Aconcagua and the route of the Andes mountain range that connects Mendoza with Santiago de Chile is The penitentswhich knew how to be one of the most important ski centers of Argentina.
Bad ski seasons due to a lack of snow forced the lifts to close in 2016. Then came court battles, failed tenders and two years of pandemicwhich prevented its reactivation.
At that time, the winter center functioned as accommodation, snow games and gastronomy in the high mountain range of Mendoza. Last season it didn’t open at all.
The Los Penitentes complex is located on National Route 7, 25 kilometers from the border between Argentina and Chile and 160 kilometers from the city of Mendoza. It is a slow route with sharp curves, heavily traveled by trucks and shopping tourism to the trans-Andean capital.
After several failed attempts to reactivate the ski center, the Mendoza Government granted it to the Mapsa Group company, made up of three adventure tourism operators with experience in other ventures, such as Villavicencio Park, Potrerillos Park and Costa Norte Park.
Thus, starting on the weekend of June 20, if snow conditions permit, snow games will be enabled. There will be sledding, culipatín, snowshoe trekking, mountain biking and rides in 4X4 vehicles.
However, throughout the season You will not be able to ski, because the lifts will not work. Yes, there will be activities for recreation in the snow and practicing adventure sports.
Among other attractions, there will be an ice skating rink at 2,400 meters above sea level. Photo Mapsa GroupIce skating
One of the biggest attractions of the new stage of Los Penitentes will be a outdoor ice skating rinkin the middle of a stunning environment of peaks that exceed 6,000 meters high.
The track is mobile, it was installed by a company from San Juan and will be enabled until the end of the yearwhen the Los Penitentes concession expires.
“It has capacity for 130 people, in shifts of 45 minutes each. It will be the first time that a ice rink at 2,500 meters high in the Mendoza mountain range,” Roby Riedel, one of the managers of the snow park, tells Clarín.
Los Penitentes was once one of the main ski centers in the 80s and 90s. Photo Mapsa Group.There will also be a Bike Park with trail tours in the hills and a rental service for snow clothing and accessories: skates, boots, gloves, jackets and waterproof onesies.
The proposal includes food trucks and domes that will function as mountain cafe and restaurant. “We hope to have a season with enough snow. In any case, we guarantee that until the end of the year we will have safe services and entertainment for the whole family,” says Riedel.
The concessionaire company has closed agreements with local providers, among which is the offer of Andes truck to travel in 4×4 vehicles on dirt and rock trails between the hills.
About 4,000 people visit the Mendoza mountains every day during the winter. Photo Mapsa GroupThe permit that the Mendoza government delivered to the Mapsa group is valid until December 31, 2024. It enables it to provide basic tourist services and support for sports activities for the Mountain Park to function, but not to use the lift system.
In high season, the high mountain corridor in Mendoza is visited by about 4,000 tourists every day, who hire different high mountain tours. “We hope to attract a good part of those people who visit the mountain range and want to enjoy the snow and adventure,” says the manager of this new stage of Los Penitentes.