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Volcanic ash threatens Southern ski season
The Puyehue Volcano, located close to the Patagonian Lake District in Argentina which is a well-known skiing area, erupted on 4th June 2011. Due to Pacific winds that usually blow in the area, the plume of ash, which rose up to 10 km in height, was seen from the Argentinean side of the Andes. Vast amounts of volcanic ashes then drifted by air from Chile to Argentina and settled on the ground up to 30 cm deep causing severe disruption and financial losses, including to the area's ski business.
The still ongoing but weakened eruption of the Puyehue Volcano in Southern Chile has especially affected the ski resorts including Cerro Catedral (Bariloche, ARG), Cerro Chapelco (San Martin de los Andes, ARG) and Cerro Bayo (Villa la Angostura, ARG) since they are all located next to the border with Chile, 200-300km away from the Puyehue-Cordon Caulle volcanic chain.
The lack of snow, combined with the cancellation of flights due to volcanic ash in the atmosphere as well as on the ground have not helped the opening of the winter season 2011 in the region. The area is currently recovering, most visitors are arriving by bus and everybody is looking forward to the re-opening of the airports and the arrival of tourists that will enjoy a new winter season that hopefully comes with lots of snow.
The air travel to and from New Zealand was also interrupted as were flights to and from Australia due to travel of the ashes by air across the ocean.
Contributed by FASA