For two people that get over 100 days per year on snow it might seem weird for them to choose a cold and windy spot like Las Lenas, Argentina to spend their Honeymoon.
In August 2010, Jenn and I took our third trip together to Las Lenas in hopes of finally getting good snow. Flight’s were booked in May and we patiently watched the weather, crossing our fingers that it would snow enough to have a good base before we got down there. The conditions were grim, but we decided to go for it anyway.
When we arrived the snow was thin and there were very few other skiers because of the low snow. We spent the first week, hiking as far away from the village as we could get. The snow was stable and untracked. On August 31, the resort got hammered by 3 feet of powder. For 2 days we storm skied using surface lifts because of the high winds and avalanche danger. Once the skies cleared, it was 4 days of non stop powder skiing on 4000′ runs.
Las Lenas is a difficult place to get good conditions, but when everything goes right, it’s the closest I’ve ever come to lift accessed heli skiing.

In 2010 I shot over 60,000 still photos using a Canon 40D DSLR camera. This is a “slideshow” video I put together for the 2010 Alta Community Enrichment event: Welcome to Winter. It is about 2500 still images strung together to create a video effect.

The resort of Las Lenas has 4,035 vertical feet and backcountry access to an additional 1000+ feet above that.  The runs are long and steep.  It takes two days of travel on either end, coming from the US, to get to Las Lenas.  This was our second trip down there and we got to ski some zones that we hadn’t been to before.

Aside from one small planted swath of pine trees, the valley is treeless.  When you get fresh snow in Las Lenas, the place to go is the Marte lift.  From the top of the Marte you can access tons of good terrain.  One of the more epic tours in the valley is called Adrenelina.  You can take the Disco bus to the edge of town to start the tour in pre dawn hours.

CLICK PLAY for movie.

Filmed and Edited by Pete O’Brien.  Music: Trentemoller

This portable slider dolly can hold the weight of a large camera like the RED ONE or an Arriflex 16mm with lenses.  It sets up quickly and will get a steady shot in uneven terrain.  It’s easily portable and I was able to use tripods which I already owned, to build one.  Building it takes very little time or money and it can ad extra value to a shot.  It’s become an essential tool in my support quiver.  I use a Cheetah Factory Rack, which is attached to my snowmobile, to carry my slider and tripods out into the backcountry.  Wave Products (801) 466 6061 in Salt Lake City made me a padded case for the 4 foot long slider rail.  The case protects the rail from getting dinged or scuffed during transport.  After using the slider in wet weather, I can say that once the rail and bearings get wet it’s hard to get a long consistent move.

I would like to thank zazaslider.com for the excellent information provided on his DVXUSER Forum Thread for building an inexpensive slider dolly.

Between scoping lines, finding natural take offs, and hitting huge airs into fresh landings, one of the crews’ biggest priorities is nailing a fresh pillow line.

Pillows are a unique feature because sometimes they never fill in enough, but when the pillows fill in too much they get buried, and once a skier hits them they are usually done for a while, with no rebate.

Pillows and spines are as close to the definition of a “flow” experience that I think can be had in skiing or riding.  It’s like linking critical moves in a gravitational dance.

Sage Pillow Bashing

Sage 360

Sage Cattabriga'Alosa

Sage airing some pillows

Sage skiing into last light in the Uinta Backcountry

Wiley Miller after a 360 and before a 180

Wiley 50 mph out the exit

Wiley on a run we all wish we could have

When we got to Tahoe City it looked like a gingerbread land with 15 foot walls of snow plowed up everywhere.  It snowed everyday for four days so we shot in the trees because of foggy conditions up high.  Even though we stayed in the trees, the riding was all time.

Dash Longe

Wiley Miller backflip off a pillow

Dylan Hood cork 7

Wiley Miller

Wiley

Dash Longe 360

Moments after this shot was taken...

An avalanche ripped out from above.

Digging a snowpit is one preventative technique used to see what the snow looks like in certain areas.

Here is an example of potential "Hang Fire". A term used to describe the fresh snow located between the hairline crack in the sunlight and the deep fracture crack. It can be a threat to rescuers.

Avalanches that occur in the trees like this can give the victim a cheese grater ride where they could be on top of the snow but be severely injured from the ride.

Jeremy Jones triggering a pocket on a warm up run.

Racing avalanches is usually ill advised, unless you win.

This is one of the gnarliest things I've ever filmed. The half million tons of snow that the skier releases is about to land in the fluffy snow under my PETEOBRIEN.COM logo and create a secondary, bigger avalanche.

Dale Atkins showing pro skier: Schroder Baker how to search with the RECCO.

In anticipation for next season I’ve been looking over some of last seasons most memorable moments.  Here is a timelapse of just over 1000 photos taken during the winter of 2009 shot with a Canon 40D DSLR camera.  The sequences were put together using the Quicktime->File->Open Image Sequence function.  Most of the shots were taken using a remote trigger with the 40D on a tripod while I was filming with a 16mm movie camera.

2009 Las Lenas Freeride Comp Podium

This past week the ski resort of Las Lenas in Argentina, hosted a freeride ski competition.  The event was held on Eduardo’s, a 2000’+ vertical face that over looks the entire valley.
The snow conditions were classic Las Lenas wind buff, which made the competition sort of an endurance race for the skiers.  If anyone tried any big moves at the top, their legs would most likely be jello by the bottom.
Despite an avalanche taking out the lift that accesses the venue a week earlier, the event coordinator; Manuel Uranga made sure all of the riders were able to inspect and make it down their runs safely.
Big thanks go out to everyone who volunteered their time and efforts to make this event possible.

Even though Las Lenas is the perfect place to host a freeride comp, they haven’t held one since the late 90’s. In order for this one to be successful, the organizers, judges, media and especially the riders all had to sacrifice something to make it happen. Seth Morrison, who is down here on an Oakley trip, was the forerunner.

Seth christening the Eduardo’s venue.

On the first day, I was able to post up right in the middle of the venue. My backpack and skis became an obstacle for the rider’s to avoid, and made it possible for me to get some close shots.

Third place overall: Oscar Sosa

Second place: Griffin Post

The winner: Gustavo Rossi

Mati Imbert

Las Lenas local Lukas

This comp is officially legit. Head judge: Jim Jack.