The average age at camps is 16. Camps are meant to take care of the kids, so the parents don't have to worry about them. There is South America Snow Sessions and I think it's the best value you can get out of a camp, but it is still a lot more expensive than a glacier camp.
Traveling to South America outside of a camp is extremely cheap but there are a lot of factors:
If you want to ride pow you need to know your avalanche stuff, and you need buddies that are equally educated about avalanches. South America is like Europe: the ski resorts are not run like little disneylands, you have to look after yourself.
You need to be willing to learn Spanish
The risks involved when making the connections to the ski resorts. For example the bus terminal in Buenos Aires is one of the most unsafe places on this planet.
You need to be old enough and have enough traveling experience.
You will have to travel at least 15 hours. Count a plane connection to a hub airport, then the flight to Buenos Aires or Santiago which is at least 10 hours, and then the bus to the ski resort which can be up to 24 hours.
Especially in the case of Argentina there are a lot of medical factors: dengue fever and then there is the swine flu epidemic. All schools, universities, hospitals and public places are shut down in Argentina at this time. On top of that there is the political instability of the country: the opposition won the mid-term elections and is pushing for the president to resign, while the farmers are pushing for revolution.
I will be spending August and September in Argentina as I've done the past 2 years. It is awesome and a great deal of adventure, I wouldn't miss it for the world. But in this whole
glacier camps vs.
South America debate, those are some reasons why parents or young campers might prefer the safety and simplicity of traveling to Canada.
