James Haffner puts his touch on the beautiful Argentine landscape

Story: Dustin Eldridge
Photos: Ben Girardi

As stoked new faces roll in, and weary, contented campers roll out, the SGT powder machine continues to please those who are along for the ride during Session 2. It’s the start of my final week here at Cerro Catedral and the taste is bittersweet; while 100 centimeters of snow are forecasted for the week, I know sooner than later I’ll be packing my board in my bag and heading back north, away from this snowy paradise. 

Your humble narrator threads the needle. Insert cliché getting high with trees innuendo here.

The past week has melted into a haze of sunny cliff drops and snowy tree riding memories.  Moments that remain fresh in my mind are from various photo shoots in the trees as well as a backcountry excursion that included 20 SGT campers. 

One photo shoot on the “Magic Rock,” dubbed so by coach Scott Kuchinski, led to many high-flying antics, including a gargantuan method by a little man and Hunter Wood high-fiving cameraman Jon Conway who was harnessed to a tree 20 ft. in the air. 

Ben, "Do you think you could go bigger next time?” 
Coulter, "Yeah, Randall, go bigger you carajo.”  Randall Stacy, getting large.

Burns, "This can be a sketchy traverse, so take each step deliberately." The SGT crew takes a record amount of campers out in the backcountry.

Guiding Intern little Randall Stacy shreds a zone called Little AK

The backcountry excursion was led by Chris Coulter into a zone called Little AK, a bowl with spines and chutes steep enough to fit into the 49th state’s epic landscape.  Perhaps most notable was the hike to and from the zone, performed on a steep slope overlooking a valley floor thousands of feet below.  However, with the ever persistent help of the coaches, all who entered the backcountry returned, maybe with a few more chest hairs. 

While it was sad to see my friends of the past two weeks go, I’m excited to meet the equally excited campers coming in.  While rain pelters the valley, the snow is falling again up high, so that means it’s time for me to get some sleep for the epic pow days ahead.   

Those who can’t take an entire summer without a dry-smoke faceshot should hit up sassglobaltravel.com/argentina – our summer is way better down here and there may still be availability in late August.