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Headline RSS FeedVail Resorts adds Argentine ski area Las Leņas to Epic Pass
April 28, 2010 —
Vail Resorts’ revolutionary Epic Pass has gone global, offering free skiing in Las Leņas, Argentina, this summer and next for anyone buying or renewing for next ski season.
The $599 pass – chided by some as the death of skiing as we know it and lauded by most as the salvation of the sport – was already an interstate deal offering unlimited, unrestricted skiing at Heavenly (Calif.) and Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Arapahoe Basin in Colorado.
Now Epic Pass holders can head to the Southern Hemisphere and ski free in the Andes at the legendary Las Leņas resort, although they have to stay in certain properties as part of the partnership deal. For the geographically challenged, June through October is the dead of winter in that part of the world, so diehards can literally enjoy endless winter.
And to sweeten the deal, VR is giving away a trip to Las Leņas, including airfare, to some lucky new Epic Pass buyer or someone re-upping for next season. Check out www.EpicIsEndless.com for more details.
Personally, I’m somewhat over ski season – a feeling cemented by my drive back from Denver last Sunday after attending a Colorado Rockies game at Coors Field. I had six 9 and 10-year-old boys in the car and was greeted by a total whiteout on Vail Pass, reducing speeds to 20 mph and tightening my death grip on the steering wheel even more than it already was.
I did look a little longingly at the powder coating the slopes of Loveland Ski Area as we went through the Eisenhower Tunnel, but only for a moment. Seriously, I want to start doing to some hiking, biking, camping and kayaking.
That being said, Las Leņas has always been high on my list of places to ski. I’ve had heard amazing things about the terrain, the snow and the Argentine beef for dinner.
Needless to say, the best deal in skiing just got a lot better. I have met people from the Bay Area on the slopes in Vail who bought Epic Passes to ski Heavenly and then jetted out to Colorado to use their four days here (to ski some real snow). I could see people actually taking advantage of the Argentine angle. And no, I wouldn’t cry for them.
3 Comments on "Vail Resorts adds Argentine ski area Las Leņas to Epic Pass"
Reid — April 28, 2010
Dave, great story, I skied with a guy who teaches skiing in Argentina last season. He was featured in one of my blogs. Good to hear that the true diehards can ski year round.
P.S. Nice cheeseball comment to end the blog...."crying for Argentina"...classic.
Bob Berwyn — April 29, 2010
The "end of skiing?" The "salvation of the sport?" Come on, Dave, that's a bit hyperbolic. There are millions of people who ski in the U.S. and around the world who don't care if they ever ski Vail, who will never buy an Epic Pass and who will never be able to afford to fly to Argentina, or jet from the Bay Area to Colorado. Let's keep it a little more "Real."
Dave O — April 29, 2010
I was actually referring to the hyperbole of others. If you remember, there were critics who claimed the Epic Pass would destroy ski country, overrunning mountain towns with unmanageable traffic and hordes of brown-baggers. Others claimed it was the best thing since the invention of the shaped ski. The reality is somewhere in between, but the fact is it's the best pass product on the market (which just got a little better) and is the envy of ski towns like Jackson and Whistler, where one company calls all the shots on pricing. However, you're right, I can't afford to jet off to Las Lenas this year. Maybe next season.
