For at få et klart indtryk af, hvad der venter dig, kan du læse anmeldelser, vurderinger og kommentarer om Chapelco. Har du allerede været der, kan du også selv bidrage ved at give din egen vurdering af skisportsstedet.
Anmeldelser af skisportsstedet Chapelco
I alt (3.4)
Skisportsstedets samlede stjernevurdering her er ikke et simpelt gennemsnit, men tager højde for flere faktorer – herunder hvor gammel anmeldelsen er.
Tidligere i år besluttede jeg mig for at planlægge en skitur til Argentina for at tage en pause fra den varme amerikanske sommer. Jeg ankom i midten af juli, hvilket er begyndelsen på midtsæsonen. Denne anmeldelse er fra perspektivet af en person, der har stået på ski i forskellige skisportssteder både på øst- og vestkysten af USA og i større skisportssteder i Canada. Chapelco ligger cirka 30 minutters kørsel fra San Martin, som er en hyggelig lille skisportsby fyldt med hyggelige barer, restauranter og et udvalg af skibutikker, typisk for andre skisportssteder i USA. Priserne på mad og drikke var meget rimelige. Folkene var meget venlige.
Mit førstehåndsindtryk af Chapelco var den forfærdelige vej, der førte de sidste 5 km af skisportsstedet. Vejen var uforbedret og fyldt med huller, hvilket gjorde kørslen til tider forræderisk, hvis man ikke holdt nøje øje med vejen. Parkeringsforholdene er fuldstændig utilstrækkelige. Hvis man ikke ankommer tidligt, er skillepladsen fyldt, og man er nødt til at køre ned ad vejkanten. Jeg så folk gå tæt på en kilometer for at gå tilbage til skisportsstedet.
Parkeringspladsen, ligesom indkørselsvejen, var uforbedret, fyldt med mudder, is og store huller i jorden. Jeg var meget skuffet over, at de ikke bruger penge på at løse denne situation. Det giver folk et dårligt førstehåndsindtryk. Jeg så en kvinde glide og falde i mudderet på vej ind i skiområdet, og de var fuldstændig dækket af vådt mudder. Jeg kunne ikke forestille mig at have forsøgt at stå på ski på den måde i dag. Jeg er sikker på, at det ødelagde hendes dag.
Med hensyn til bjerget syntes jeg, at bjergets layout var fint. Der var en god fordeling af pister for alle skiniveauer. Den første tur op ad bakken var en 6-personers gondol, der lod dig komme til andre transferpunkter for at stå på ski på bjerget. Et stort problem, jeg havde med lifterne, var, at der ikke var nogen organisering. De havde ikke køer til sikkert og effektivt at flytte folk gennem køerne til lifterne. Det var en masseforsamling af skiløbere, der kæmpede mod hinanden, ofte skar foran andre og gled over folks ski. Et par gange var jeg næsten i et slagsmål med folk i kø på grund af dette. Hvorfor vil ledelsen ikke løse dette?
De dage jeg var der, fik vi ingen ny sne, bjerget var dårligt præpareret, sneen var hårdpakket og til tider umulig at stå på ski på nogle pister. Man skulle tro, at de ville præparere pisterne for at gøre det mere behageligt, men det gør de ikke.
Jeg ville nok have en anden mening, hvis der var frisk puddersne, men måden at bedømme et resort på er ud fra, hvordan de vedligeholder pisterne i ellers mindre end ideelle vejrforhold. I dette tilfælde giver jeg dette resort et "F". For meget is og for meget hårdpakket sne. Hvis du er fra USA, så spar dine penge og tag til Europa eller de canadiske Rocky Mountains (Banff), hvis du vil prøve fint internationalt skiløb. Skiløbene er billigere og det er bekvemt at flytte, og hotellerne koster omtrent det samme. Det er svært at komme hertil, og det er ikke rigtig turen værd, udover at krydse det af en bucketliste.
Flávio Carvalho
I got a massive snow!!
Powder powder
Best trip in South America and one of the best ever.
I’ve been to USA, France and Italy, Chapelco it was very GOOD!!
Alberto Constain
In my recent trip to Chapelco, I found the ski resort to be poorly run. Its management was misleading, even dishonest, when it came to describing the amount of snow and conditions at the mountain.
I decided to go to Chapelco to ski with my family (after visiting its website daily from June 29th to July 1st to check the amount of snow available, as it was the early season). The website spoke of a "GRAND OPENING" and posted pictures of a mountain full of snow, and only in much finer print did it mention that only 2 lifts were open, without being too specific about which runs were open. Once we arrived at the moutain, we immediately noticed that the pictures posted on the website were completely misleading and most likely taken during a previous season, as the amount of snow on the mountain was not even close to what the website showed and described. The mountain had little to no snow at all.
You could argue that the website has webcams, and that it has no obligation to post recent pictures. However the webcams are placed in such a way that they don't show the runs with patches of dirt on them. Yes, we were naive to assume that the pictures were recent, but if they wanted to be completely honest with its visitors, they would have put a disclaimer on the pictures stating that they were not recent.
They place pictures and state conditions in a way that is misleading. In my opinion it's just false advertising.
On our last day (June 6th), management decided to keep the mountain open, even under dangerous conditions, as there was little to no snow left (above freezing temperatures weren't helping), with huge patches of dirt every few feet. When we asked if we could be somehow compensated (eg: a discount on tickets for another season, or just something small...), they bluntly told us their policies don't allow for any re-imbursement or small little token of appreciation (not even a cup of hot chocolate), under any circumstance at all.
My opinion is that management's only goal is to have people go and pay, without any regard for their possible disapointment later, or even safety.
I heard from locals that the mountain is run by an Asian group that couldn't care less about good service or customer satisfaction / loyalty. Locals are extremely nice and warm, and they are supposedly very upset with the resort's management (apparently I'm not the only unhappy customer).
San Martin de los Andes is beautiful and I would love to come back. However, needless to say, I won't be going back to Cerro Chapelco to ski.
Chapelco es un centro de tamaño intermedio en comparación a Cerro Catedral o Las Leñas. Tiene una vista panorámica de los alrededores que es sencillamente maravillosa: el volcán Lanin, el lago Lacar, la cordillera argentina y chilena, etc. Salvo Cerro Bayo en Villa La Angostura, no he visto un complejo de esquí con un panorama tan bello. Tiene pistas variadas en cuanto a dificultad y algunas zonas fuera de pista son realmente complejas. Al final del invierno la calidad de la nieve no es como en Las Leñas o Cerro Castor pero aún así, es atractivo dado que el cuidado de las pistas es realmente bueno. No es un centro caro y en temporada baja es muy accesible. Tiene abundancia de oferta gastronómica, desde cocina con cierta sofisticación a comida barata como en el Club Lacar.
Ofrece una muy buena escuela de ski y, para los niños, es muy divertido y terminan la semana aprendiendo a esquiar. Para mí, es importante teniendo en cuenta que es de las pocas cosas que uno puede hacer con niños de edades variadas y que resulte divertido para todos.
San Martín de Los Andes es una maravilla. Aunque se ha vuelto un tanto sofisticado, mantiene el espíritu de villa de montaña pequeña. El lugar es muy amistoso y en todas partes, la atención es esmerada y, al mismo tiempo, algo informal. La oferta hotelera y gastronónica es muy variada y dá para todos los gustos.
CASATOURS
Chapelco is a family orientated mountain with some of the best tree skiing in South America. Its lengue forests provide a unique opportunity to ski non-alpine terrain in a continent where most of its slopes are above tree line. Chapelco also accesses some fantastic wide-open off-piste terrain from the top of its lifts. The resort has a very homey feel with some great restaurants tucked away on its slopes. Spectacular views of the massive Volcan Lanin and Lascar Lake make for a stunning backdrop. The resort and town are quaint and laid-back and small enough to be charming, but big enough to appease a wide variety of interests and abilities
Randy Rogers
Wow, what a view...
My trip to Chapelco was thanks to my affiliation with the Federation Internationale du Ski. As one of their technical delegates I was sent to Chapelco for Argentina National Championship (FIS) races and South American Cup events. Thank you Tom Winters and Stefano Pirola for the opportunity. My transport from Bariloche was thanks to one of the father's of a racer frim Chapelco. We loaded up into his 4X4 and headed north with a caveat...is it ok that I don't haved a driving license? What did I care...it was his country. We took the "shortcut" up the Valle Encantado and over Paso Cordoba. CRAZY? No, just call it adventurous. Worth every time my head hit the window as we bounced up the heavily rutted snow covered road. There is an easier way. Glad we didn't take it. The views were STUNNING.
So, you arrive to San Martin de los Andes by desending past the access road to Chapelo and see this beautiful village settled into the mountains at the end of Lago Lacar. Aspen is not more beautiful. The Chateau Lake Louise is more grandiose but not more inviting. I am thinking somewhere along the lines of one of the Swiss resorts with a lake nearby...anyway absolutely beautiful. The town is very inviting. Plan to stroll the streets, dive into the shops, eat at as many different restaurants as possible during your stay.
Now for the resort review:
Chapelco sits deep in the Andes, a dirt and gravel access road leads to a smallish resort at the base of a huge escarpment. The base area is unpretentious. Just the way I like it. I was being hosted by Club Lacar, one of the ski clubs. My new friend Anibal took me to the top of the mountain right away. More stunning views. We skied a nice pitch about 35-40 degrees off the top and then pulled up at the start of the GS for recording elevations. Then we skied the narrow tree lined runs back to the quad. After a few more runs gathering a sense of the place we stopped at a mid-mountain restaurant. It was JAMMED, and smokey. Oh, I forgot I was in another country. In Oregon we have come to the admission that smoking while skiing just seems sinful...why mess up the effect of clear mountain air. I had to get over it.
Anway, the resort would be a great place to ski if you live nearby. I would be sure to have randonee or AT gear and plan to hike the Escarpment often to increase the variety of lines. When I was there it was bluebird each day but I can only imagine the grins you would get if it was knee deep powder.
Each day since I have been home I have gone back to view my photos. The Chilean volcano Lanin captures my imagination. Anibal hiked and skied it from about 3000 meters. The whole experience just reinforced my motive to develop my expatriot scheme and consider adding San Martin de los Andes as a potential hideout.
Give this place a lick, you will dream of going back.
RR
We just came back from Chapelco last week and it was fantastic. We stayed in San Martin and all of the shuttle services to get to and from the mountain were very punctual. We took our kids with us and met another family of four there. Their kids took lessons and said the instructors were great. One of the kids didn't want to ski then they put him in school and he could not wait for the school the next day. Great place to take the family and enjoy some of the best skiing we have experienced.
I used to visit Chapelco to ski because a good friend of mine was in charge of running the resort’s mountain restaurants. When he quit, I kept visiting Chapelco anyway because it offered a magical, intimate experience that I didn’t find at other Argentine resorts. It still does. The resort has expanded over the past decade, and our favorite refugio Pradera del Puma has sadly been expanded into a large restaurant, but the intimate quality of this resort remains, and the resort staff and local population are friendly and enthusiastic in spite of a boom in tourism and vacation homes around the area.
Chapelco is located just outside San Martín de los Andes in Argentina’s Lake District in the Neuquen Province. San Martin is a fairytale village with charming Swiss-style architecture and a zoning law that keeps buildings limited to three stories, unlike its urban-sprawl-in-the-forest neighbor Bariloche. The town sits on the shore of Lake Lácar in a truly picturesque setting, and the welcoming attitude and spirit of San Martín makes it a great destination for foreign skiers. Towering above the town is Mount Chapelco, where the ski resort is located. There is no lodging at the resort, so you must shuttle up and down the hill every day, by car, bus, taxi or thumb.
The ski resort sits in a thick virgen forest of lenga trees, a deciduous beech tree dripping with a curious yellow-green lichen called barba de viejo, or “old-man’s beard.” There are 35 runs and a modern lift system including a gondola, and a new high speed quad, plus a base center and a variety of restaurants serving surprisingly good food. Try the restaurants Rancho Manolo, the La Casa del Bosque, or the aforementioned Pradera (which has truly spectacular views).
In terms of snow, Chapelco receives solid coverage usually all the way to the base, and when it dumps Argentines head indoors and leave the mountain open to people like me who don’t mind horrible visibility for the chance to make turns in powder. Chapelco is smaller than Catedral in Bariloche, so you’ll learn the mountain within two days, but with half the terrain suitable for advanced skiers you won’t get bored if you spend 4 or 5 days here. There’s a lot of open-field terrain above the treeline, and my snowboarder friends like the resort’s natural gulleys.
The last time I visited Chapelco my friends brought their kids and they went nuts over Chapelco’s dog-sledding races. There was a sort of “mountain fair” happening that week, and on our last day we descended on skis on our last run into an outdoor party at the base where they were blasting music, and the resort staff was handing out cups of mulled wine from huge vats to skiers passing by. In addition to the fact that it was a powder day, it was seriously the best end-of-a-ski-trip day I’ve ever had.
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