Las Lenas, Argentina

Talk of skiing Argentina almost always quickly turns to Las Leñas. This small, purpose built village at the base of the lifts mightn’t be the most eye-catching thing you’ve ever seen, but the surrounding peaks of the Andes will make you’re your jaw drop.

In southern Mendoza, the village has a compact, far away feel. Most of it’s made up of hotels, joined by a gaggle of apartments and shops at the Centro Comercial La Piramide. The bars and clubs here form some of the best nightlife in the continent. Nearly everything is within a short stroll of the ski lifts – named after Greek and Roman Gods (maybe to mark the otherworldly nature of the terrain here…).

Leñas doesn’t have the slick operation of Swiss resorts, nor the charming architecture of Austria or state-of-the-art lift and grooming systems you get in North America. But if you don’t attempt to compare it and embrace the unpolished, impulsive way of life here, it's wonderful.

You’ll struggle to find someone that’s spent a season here who doesn’t rave about it, but speak to those who’ve visited for a week and you’ll get mixed reviews… The reason being that conditions on the mountain aren’t the most reliable. When there’s been heavy snow and the lifts are open, it’s heaven – but there are also times when winds and low-vis stop the lifts from working. This, plus the fact that it takes quite a long time to get here, means most people tend to opt for an extended stay, bettering their chances for catching good snowfall and lift openings and giving enough time to explore the whole region.

Extreme skiing rules the roost here, with serious steeps and seemingly unending lift-accessed terrain. But that’s not to say less experienced skiers and snowboarders can’t have a whale of a time… You’ll find a learning area and Kid’s Zone at the bottom of the green Venus runs, which are perfect to progress onto with the help of the TK Venus lift. Moving up a level, the Minerva and Eros blues are lovely and wide.

Generally, the nature of pistes is wide but short, however you can link runs to build up momentum. The longest decent here connects the blue Apollo and Neptuno II with green Venus I for a 7km top to bottom run – and you can divert to the red Jupiter I to up the ante. This wide, scenic red is one of our favourite intermediate runs in the area, with others including the snowsure Volcano I, II and Vulcanito.

Experts can really pick up the pace on the black Pluton run, but the real reason you come here’s for the terrain beyond the markers. When the Marte chairlift is running, you can access a set of phenomenal off piste runs – ones that you can soar straight down and others you’ll have to hike a little to get to. Each are as exhilarating as the next, and often likened to the kind of terrain you get heliskiing. If the Marte’s closed (which is a common grumble here), the Caris and Vulcano lifts also provide access to some wonderful powder and cat skiing and hiking options are available – bring your skins just in case.

The Snowpark near the TK Minerva has jumps, rails, boxes and other modules of different difficulties.

When the bulk of the ski area gets shut off on a bad weather day, all that’s left to do is begin après early – and the bars are ready and waiting. Likewise, after experiencing such awesome terrain on a good snow day, nothing beats joining the locals and tourists for a big glass of celebratory Malbec. Brasero bar is popular for loud music and drinks deals, and later in the evening, you can drink and dance at UFO point.

The resort has 18 restaurants at base and 3 on the mountain. Innsbruck at the foot of the slopes is a good place to meet for lunch and dinner, serving simple pasta and meat dishes. SushiClub does Japanese favourites and El Paso tasty Tex Mex, while Restaurante El Refugio serves ski classics like fondue and raclette.

Other activities include shopping at Centro Comercial La Pirámide, spa facilities at the Piscis and learning local history in the museum.