Anything goes in Argentina
If you've ever been to Argentina you'll be familiar with the term 'A' factor - a neat little phrase for 'anything goes'.
It was the 'A' factor that enabled impressive results from a team of extreme ski and snowboarding film makers on a recent visit to the volcanic ski resort of Caviahue in the heart of the Andes Mountain Range, Northwest of the Province of Neuquén and on the Argentinean-Chilean border.
Nestled in a huge crater by a vast lake surrounded by mountains, this small, desolate Argentine town is home to a surreal ski resort, home to an active volcano Volcan Copahue. The isolated town of Caviahue pretty much sums up what the 'A' factor is all about. Consisting mostly of unfinished constructions and abandoned buildings, beaten-up roads and rusty old cars, its a desolate place where 'anything goes'.
The town's eerie environment and intense volcanic landscape - a dazzling white vista dotted with bizarre 'Monkey Puzzle' trees - creates a perfect backdrop for filming. The rising popularity of using Caviahue as a filming location means resort organisers are happy to assist projects, allowing film makers free reign on the mountain with full use of their cat machines, groomers and motor skidoos.
Throughout our stay, the locals were more than happy to let the riders perform death defying tricks on the roofs of their restaurants, build ramps in abandoned constructions and create giant kickers to jump a 30 metre gap onto an icy cornis. The resort's skidoo drivers aided the rider's with their stunts by towing them at high speed on ropes in order for them to gain enough velocity to stick their every trick.
The 'A' factor allowed all of this to happen. Without the need for permits or paperwork, artists are invited to create without limits. This kind of freedom is typically Argentinean, and with the performing team of skiers and snowboarders being natives to this land of extremities, their wild natures are proof that the 'A' factor has major benefits.
As the resulting images show, one man's dangerous construction site is an extreme Argentine's dream playground.
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