Me Llamo Justin!: Have Snow, Will Ski

The last Patagonian locale on my 2 week circuit was Bariloche. Bariloche is known for its ideal location, surrounded by enormous lakes and mountains in all directions. But to be entirely honest, the only reason I forced Bariloche into my trip was to go skiing in the Andes, and unfortunately, this year has been unseasonably warm. Most ski locations have remained closed due to the conditions. While I prayed for snow, I visited and was extremely impressed by the lake district and Llao lloa National Park.

Two nights before my last day, the weather was looking grim. Sheets of rain relentlessly pelted the city. Alas, it doesn’t appear that I will be able to go skiing after all. Oh well, I enjoyed my acquired home, Hostel 1004, in Bariloche. The other travelers here were extremely friendly, making for a hospitable experience. But wait, what is this? At about midnight the sheets of rain turned into enormous flakes of snow. And it didn’t stop there – the blizzard lasted through the next day. My very last day in Patagonia was spent skiing the immaculate slopes of Mt Catedral.

Embarrassingly, I took a serious spill while on my first run of the day. My knee twisted when I landed and left me in excruciating pain. Of course, I continued to ski the rest of the day on my bum knee which has since left me gimp. Since my return to the US, an MRI shows that I didn’t actually twist my knee at all, but instead it was impacted by the blunt trauma of landing on it with all my weight. My tendons and ligaments are 100%, but my tibial plateau is fractured in several places and my kneecap has a pocket of blood resting underneath it.