Cordon del Plata: Day 1

Day 1:

“We arrived today at Vallecitos after an uneventful ride up from Mendoza.  However, we were mistaken as to how far the “transfer”, mini bus, would take us.  I thought it would go all the way to the end of the road where Vallecitos, a small ski resort at the base of the Cordon, sits.  Instead, the bus stopped at a Refugio San Antonio, a small hostel a few kilometers below the ski resort.  For 50 pesos more we were able to get the driver to go to the end of the road to the ski hill.  (Note: the ski resort hasn’t had a season in three years due to insufficient snowfall.)

After hanging out for a few hours at Vallecitos, we started our short hike up to las Veguitas, a beautiful little meadow littered with cow patties where we set up our first camp at around 10,470ft.  While pitching my tent a gust of wind ripped it from my hands and into the air.  It flew and bounced some 200+ meters over a moraine and down into the next drainage.  I ran after it, but then realized it was probably lost or destroyed.  A 500 dollar investment gone on day 1.  Damn.

With luck, I scrambled down the moraine and found my green tent in some scrub, flopping around in the remnant breezes looking injured and pathetic.   I recovered it and it has some scratches, but should be ok.  I decided to name the tent “Rafa” for rafaga, Spanish for wind gust.”

Here are some pics from day 1 in the Cordon.

The team hanging out at Vallecitos ski area.

Camp at las Veguitas

Camp chore number one: seam seal the new tent.

High winds blast the south ridge of Cerro Vallecitos

One of the many beautiful springs at las Veguitas near our camp.

Final light in the Cordon on day one.

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