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CHRONOLOGY OF THE ASPEN SISTER CITIES RELATIONSHIP WITH BARILOCHE

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2022

April 2022

Matías Sanchez completed his full season ski patrol exchange on Snowmass Mountain. During the season, Matías was also able to visit and work at Buttermilk Mountain, Aspen Highlands, and Aspen Mountain. He also joined his fellow patrollers in an exchange with Steamboat Springs. At the end of the season Matias was named Ski Patroller of the Year at Snowmass Mountain. Matías will return to his ski patrol position at Cerro Catedral upon his return to Argentina.

April 2022

Adaptive ski instructor Juan Vargas from Esquel, Argentina volunteered for Challenge Aspen from mid-March to mid-April. Juan works for “Desafio Bariloche”, and this is his third time participating in the Adaptive Ski Instructor Exchange, sharing his enthusiasm for work, desire for learning and passion for adaptive sports.

July-September 2022

Aspen Highlands ski patroller, Andy Biehl, completed his ski patrol exchange at Cerro Catedral in Bariloche. Andy was the tenth Aspen ski patroller to conduct an exchange in Bariloche. For most of his exchange, Andy was joined by his wife Reina Katzenberger. While there, Reina participated in this year’s Arts and Culture Exchange in Bariloche.

September 2022

After an absence for COVID, the annual medical exchange to Bariloche was begun again. This year’s participants were: Robert Christensen, DDS, Jodi Callison, RN, Angie Hannula, PT, DPT, Tito Liotta, MD, and Daniel W. Ritschard PT, MSPT. The week’s activity culminated with a regional orthopedic conference in which Dr. Liotta made three presentations and most of the Aspen participants attended.

September 2022

Aspen and Bariloche held a Twentieth Anniversary celebration in recognition of the more than twenty years of our sister city relationship. A gala dinner was held in the Hotel Nahuel Huapi in downtown Bariloche. The dinner was attended by City of Bariloche officials, City of Aspen mayor pro tem, members of the medical exchange program, artists exchange, ski patrol exchange, and adaptive ski instructors’ exchange. In addition, members of the Bariloche community who had been instrumental in the origination and continued sustaining of the relationship between the two cities were also present and honored.

September 2022

As part of the twentieth anniversary celebration, Aspen city councilman and mayor pro tem, Ward Hauenstein, made an official visit to Bariloche. He was received by the mayor and council members of San Carlos de Bariloche. While there, Ward made visits to many local institutions, public facilities, private enterprises, governmental projects and several sister cities programs.

September 2022

John Klonowski, adaptive ski instructor from Challenge Aspen, traveled to Bariloche to work with Challenge Aspen’s sister organization, Desafío Bariloche. He participated in the annual free and voluntary adaptive ski program, which has been in existence for more than 30 years. Participating of this program are people of all ages with a wide range of disabilities including Institutions from Bariloche like Crearte, ADAM and Los Buhos. The program totals over 50 participants daily for two weeks. John was also able to bring with him a ski bike as an adaptive teaching tool, which was generously donated to Desafío by Challenge Aspen at the end of the exchange. Following the spirit of the sister cities program of making a difference in the world through the exchange of people, ideas and cultures, a clinic was organized on the ski bike for adaptive instructors from Fundación Todos Podemos from Villa La Angostura, Esqui Adaptado Esquel and Esqui Adaptado El Bolson. The gathering included the clinic, and an afternoon of practice with all kinds of adaptive skiing equipment like mono skies, bi skies, three track and ski bike. Overall, this exchange, as expected, reinforced the importance of the sister cities exchange program, that creates opportunities to learn in a caring and positive environment, while connecting people of different cultures with common aims goals, and hearts.

September 2022

Arts and Culture Exchange. Roaring Fork Valley artist Deborah Jones traveled to Bariloche with her husband John Katzenberger to participate in the annual Artist Exchange. During her visit she conducted an art class, offered an artist talk and visited artist studios and exhibitions. She also attended the inauguration of the “Casa Bachman” which is the Cultural Center for the Association of Artists Bariloche.

Reina Katzenberger, who had participated in the Artist Exchange in 2019, created a collaborative mural together with Bariloche artists to celebrate the twenty-year-old relationship between Aspen and Bariloche. This mural lives in the Hospital Ramon Carrillo. Reina expressed that the mural is a map “that is born from respect to the people of our communities, past and future. It is in process and informed by the connection, collaboration and mutual respect shared in the Sister Cities program”.

October- December 2022

Valeria Fiala, artist and educator from Bariloche, was invited by The Art Base in Basalt to teach the “Home” program. “Home” is a program that the Art Base provides to Basalt High School, consisting of working on an art project with newcomer Spanish speaking students, while they learn English. The program provides a connection to their new community of Basalt, and an opportunity for the students to reflect upon the meaning of home, past and present. This year’s project was decorating tiny libraries that will be installed around Basalt. The program culminated in a public art opening where the students’ work was on display, and where community members were invited to donate books in English and Spanish for the libraries. During her stay Valeria also offered drawing classes for adults at The Art Base and worked on an “open studio” mural at The Red Brick Center for the Arts in Aspen.

2021

August 2021

The Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program has financed the renovation of a shipping container to become an integral part of the community health program at El Frutillar Centro de Salud in Bariloche and Fundación Nutrir Patagonia. The construction/renovation of the 40-foot donated container was carried out in four phases conducted primarily during the COVID 19 pandemic. The total cost of the project was just over USD 5,000.00 and the construction was undertaken by local contractors and tradesmen. The container will be used, among other things, for a variety of training and in-services, health programs, community activities such as yoga classes and band practices and for occupational training. Currently it is being used as a COVID 19 testing and vaccination center.

November 2021

A third Rotary International donation program was completed. In this program the Rotary Clubs of Aspen and Bariloche (along with two other Rotary Clubs and the Rotary International Foundation) raised $40,800.00 to support two rural Bariloche health centers. In this project we donated equipment that digitizes radiological images along with staff training in the use of this equipment and with technical support. With this equipment, the medical staff of a rural heath center can transfer radiological images to the hospital in Bariloche (or anywhere in the world) electronically for consultations and diagnosis as opposed to the physical transfer of radiological plates or photos which had been in place until this donation.

November 2021

Bariloche ski patrolman Matias Sanchez arrived in Aspen to begin his full season ski patrol exchange. He will be working primarily at Snowmass, but will also visit all the other Aspen Skiing Company ski centers.

2020

February 2020

The Aspen Rotary Club in collaboration with Club Rotary Nahuel Huapi, Rotary International Global Grants Program and the Rotary Foundation donated hospital equipment valued at $31,000 US to Hospital Zonal Ramón Carrillo and its health centers.   The equipment will be used in the hospital’s campaign of prevention, detection and treatment of hydatid disease. Hydatid disease is a tapeworm infection that affects the liver, lungs, brain, and other organs. This is the third collaboration project between the two Rotary clubs to benefit the public hospital.

February 2020

A group of five medical professionals from Bariloche visited Aspen for the annual medical exchange program. The five spent the week in collaborative study with peers at Aspen Valley Hospital, Valley View Hospital, and local medical practitioners. This year’s participants were; Gastón Duwavran, orthopedics, Diana Gustin, denistry, Daniel Huerta, orthopedics, Belén Milleron, physical therapy, and Jesica Toledo, nursing.

March 2020

Juan Vargas, adaptive ski instructor representing “Adaptado Patagonia” (adaptive skiing program from Bariloche, Esquel and Villa la Angostura ski resorts) was in Aspen for the second time to participate in an exchange with Challenge Aspen. He worked as an intern with the local non-profit organization for two weeks, assisting adaptive skiing lessons.

March 2020

Mario Ruiz completed his ski patrol exchange at Aspen Highlands.  At the end of the season Mario was named as “Ski Patroller of the Year” for Aspen Highlands.  Mario, who is the ski patrol leader at Cerro Catedral in Bariloche, had many valuable experiences in Aspen which he will be able to share with his patrol members at home.  Not least of which was his notable improvement of his English language skills.

April, 2020

Because of the global coronavirus pandemic, three sister city programs scheduled for April were postponed.  These programs are; the annual student exchange to Aspen, the artists exchange to Bariloche, and the municipal government parks and trails collaboration called “Parque Central.”

October 2020

A virtual Student Exchange between Bariloche and Aspen was conducted in the month of October. The objective was to find a way in which students could still come together in such particular and unprecedented times and have a cultural experience that they had longed for. They had a series of Zoom meetings, coordinated by the student exchange committee, with interactive activities to facilitate the communication between the participants. This proved to be a successful experience as students established friendships and were grateful to get to know each other, hoping that one day they will be able to travel and meet in person.

October 2020

A virtual meeting between tourism officials of Bariloche and Aspen Chamber Resort Association was held to discuss tourism in the time of Covid. Present in the meeting were Sarah Reynolds and Eliza Voss from Aspen Chamber Resort Association and Mitch Osur from the City of Aspen. This exchange of ideas and information was a great opportunity to share some of our collective experiences regarding the tourist economy and to learn from each other in these unprecedented times.

November 2020

Robert Christensen, DDS PC, organized a Zoom conference with Aspen and Bariloche dentists who had participated in the annual Medical Exchange. In the conference they got to share their work experiences during this time as the in- person exchange scheduled for November 2020 had to be cancelled due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

2019

February 2019

A group of four medical professionals from Hospital Zonal Ramón Carrillo visited Aspen as part of the annual medical exchange program. They were; Gaston Duwavram, Orthopedics,

Belén Milleron, Physical Therapy, Leonardo Bonfati, Orthopedics and Cecilia Habjan, PT/respiratory therapy. This was Cecilia’s second year of participation in the program while the others came for the first time.

March/April 2019

Juan Vargas an adaptive ski instructor from La Hoya ski area and representing Adaptado Patagonico in Bariloche spent three weeks working as an intern at Challenge Aspen.

April 2019

Fifteen students from Bariloche visited Aspen for nearly two weeks as part of the annual student exchange program. The students came from Woodville School, San Patricio School, and Capraro School. These fifteen students will host the same eighth grade students that hosted them when the Aspen students travel to Bariloche in October. The two chaperones were Nora Schultz from Capraro and Maggie Villa from Woodville.

April 2019

Javier Cofian completed his season long ski patrol exchange at Aspen Mountain. He will be returning to Bariloche where the austral ski season will begin in July.

May 2019

After the successful adaptive ski instructor exchange of March, Challenge Aspen donated two “sit skis” for the adaptive ski programs at Cerro Catedral and La Hoya.

May 2019

Artist Reina Katzenberger, born and raised in the Roaring Fork Valley, visited Bariloche, as part of the annual Artist Exchange Program. Reina currently has her studio at SAW (Studio for Arts and Works, Carbondale) and is the founder of The Project Shop. During her stay in Bariloche Reina and her husband were hosted by local artist Soledad Escudero. Bariloche Sister Cities art coordinator Paula Fischer together with Valeria Fiala and Ingrid Roddick (participants of past art exchanges in Aspen) welcomed Reina and introduced her to the Bariloche artist community and the cultural life of the city. She had the opportunity to visit Ateliers, art shows, “La Llave” Art School and attend musical performances. Reina gave a talk and presented her work to members of the Bariloche Artist Association (AAPB) and also offered a printmaking workshop. She is hoping to develop artist collaborations between both communities creating channels for the art from Bariloche to be enjoyed locally in the Roaring Fork Valley.

July-September 2019

Highlands ski patrolman, Luke DeMuth, worked at Cerro Catedral for the Austral ski season. The season began with some near record snowfalls which provided a good variety of experiences including avalanche control, lift evacuations, and a wide variety of ski related injuries. Notable this year was the improvement in Luke’s Spanish language skills which should serve him well with his interactions with visitors to Aspen from Latin America.

August 2019

Renowned Aspen Highlands ski boot businessman, Jim Lindsay, gave a workshop to ski coaches and ski instructors in Bariloche. Jim’s topic of “how the foot, ankle, and ski boot affect the skier’s posture, equilibrium, and movement in alpine skiing” was well received. It is hope that interest was generated to continue with this type of technical workshops in the future.

September 2019

Bariloche artist Barbara Drausal and local artist Reina Katzenberger presented their art work at The Red Brick Center for the Arts in Aspen. The exhibition took place from September 17 to October 31. Their work was also shown and made available for sale at the Basalt Farmers Market. Barbara was going to visit Aspen for a week with the annual Artist Exchange program but was not able to travel due to a last minute injury.

October 2019

Diego Cannestraci, superintendent of Nahuel Huapi National Park (which surrounds the city of Bariloche), traveled to Aspen for an official visit. He had meetings with Torre (Mayor of Aspen), Austin Weiss and Mike Tunte (Aspen Parks & Open Space), Lisa Stoeddler (White River National Forest) and Sarah Lasser (Aspen Chamber Resort Association). This was an interesting exchange that hopefully could result in potential mutual projects.

October 2019

A delegation from Aspen Valley Hospital traveled to Bariloche for the annual Aspen Bariloche Medical exchange. This is the seventeenth year of the medical exchange. Participants were: Robert Christensen, DDS, Krista Fox, OT, Julie Jenkins, RN, Kimber Kurr, PT, Mark Purnell MD, and Julie Warren, PT. While in Bariloche, each participant worked alongside of their Bariloche colleague in what we call peer study. In addition, several presentations were given to a variety of professional meetings and conferences.

October 2019

Fourteen eighth grade students and two chaperones conducted the annual student exchange to Bariloche. These students stayed in the homes of Bariloche students who visited Aspen in April of this year. As been a recent custom, each student carried a ski helmet and a pair of ski goggles to donate to the Bariloche Esquí Escolar program. This completes a total of 150 helmets and goggles donated since 2015. This year’s chaperones were Michaela Idhammar and Sarah Lender.

November 2019

Bariloche ski patrol leader, Mario Ruiz, arrived in Aspen to begin a season long ski patrol exchange. Mario will be based at Aspen Highlands, but because of his leadership position in Bariloche he will spend considerable time at all four of the Aspen Skiing Company mountains.

2018

February 2018

A group of seven medical professionals from Bariloche visited Aspen for the annual medical exchange program. The week long exchange included peer study at Aspen Valley Hospital, Valley View Hospital, Grand River Hospital and St. Mary’s Hospital and Swedish Hospital in Denver. Participants included, Dr. Ernesto Barbeito, Dr. Tomas Trapani, Dr. Enrique Santillan, Jesica Vásquez, Dra. Noelí Tinti, Dr. German Guaresti, and Dr. Juan Lacari.

April 2018

A group of 15 eighth students from three private schools in Bariloche came to Aspen for the annual student exchange program. This program has been ongoing since 2002 and has included well over 200 students from Bariloche and over 200 students from Aspen. The chaperones this year were Bea Blanco and Corina Boge.

April 2018

Aspen Sister Cities and Aspen Sports Medicine Foundation: Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program has won the Sister Cities International 2018 AWARD FOR BEST PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL EXCHANGE for a city with a population less than 25,000. The awards competition, which is open to over 500 sister city programs nationwide, recognizes the accomplishments of outstanding individuals and community sister city programs that are promoting peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation.

The Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program is an ongoing program whose mission is to improve patient care in the communities of Bariloche and Aspen through the exchange of medical personnel, education and equipment donations. The basis of the program is the exchange of medical professionals from the communities of Aspen, Colorado and San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina. Each year a group of doctors and other medical professionals from Bariloche’s public hospital travel to Aspen for a week of peer study. This takes place at Aspen Valley Hospital and at other local health providers. Later in the year, medical professionals from Aspen travel to Bariloche to work in the public Hospital Zonal Ramón Carrillo. The program is made possible by the financial support of the Aspen Sports Medical Foundation and with the collaboration of Aspen Valley Hospital along with many other health providers in the Roaring Fork Valley. The program has been ongoing since 2003.

September 2018

Elizabeth Bergdahl completed her ski patrol exchange to Bariloche.

September 2018

Jonathan Ballou, Aspen Snowmass Ski School Director, visited Bariloche. Among other things, Jonathan explored with the Argentine Ski Instructors Association (AADIDES) methods to facilitate the employment of Bariloche ski instructors in Aspen. Many level one instructors in Bariloche are also university students who could work here during their summer vacation (our winter) using the popular student visa program (J-1).

September 2018

Six medical professionals from Aspen participated in the medical exchange program to Bariloche. This year there was an emphasis on making technical presentation to various professional organizations and medical students in Bariloche. In addition several demonstration surgeries and procedures were conducted to collective professionals from the public hospital in Bariloche. The participants this year were, Tito Liotta MD, Robert Christensen DDS, Krista Fox OTR/L, Alyssa Ruth Franklin, Pharm D, MBA, Kim Kurr, PT, DPT, PCS, Julie Warren, PT. Following the exchange Julie Warren and Kimber Kurr traveled to Cordoba, Argentina to make presentations at an international orthopedic conference.

September 2018

Visual artist Ingrid Roddick and musicians Cristina Villafañe and Marisa Di Giambatista (group “La Maroma”) from Bariloche visited Aspen for an “Art & Music Exchange” September 8-15. During their visit they got to show their work and meet with local artists and musicians. They were very well received by the community of the Roaring Fork Valley. Local artist Missy Prudden hosted Ingrid Roddick and helped arranging the activities for the exchange. Genna Moe also helped with the organization and hosted the artist’s art class, presentation and talk at “The Art Base” in Basalt, where she works as the executive manager. Ingrid also presented her work at The Red Brick Center for the Arts and visited many local galleries and art studios. The musicians stayed part of the time at the Mt Chalet and were hosted some of the days by local musicians Rachel and Mack Bailey. They performed in several schools (Wildwood, Aspen Elementary School, Waldorf School, Basalt Middle School, Carbondale Community School), the Pitkin County Library and the Aspen Farmers Market. Marisa Di Giambatista played piano at the “Noche de Tango”, an event that we organized in collaboration with “Aspen Tango” and The Aspen Chapel.

September 2018

Jonathan Bellou of the Aspen Skiing Company and PSIA (Professional Ski Instructors Association came to Bariloche to begin discussions with AADIDES (Argentine Association of Ski and Snowboard Instructors). It is hoped that with a close relationship between the two professional associations, Aspen can attract and retain more level one instructors from Bariloche and neighboring ski areas to work the winter seasons in Aspen.

October 2018

Seventeen eighth grade students conducted the annual student exchange to Bariloche. The students stayed in the homes of students from Bariloche who stayed with them in Aspen in April.

This year’s chaperones were Sarah Graber and Satya Leidner.

October 2018

The Challenge Aspen Marathon Team (22 runners and 3 companions) traveled to Bariloche to participate in the “BRUT” race- Bariloche Run Ultra Trail. The team members achieved their goals of completing the race and of raising funds and awareness for this organization that provides opportunities to people with disabilities. During their stay Jenni Petersen, CFO of Challenge Aspen, and her assistant Tamme Melenthin met with members of Desafio Bariloche (local adaptive skiing program) and discussed the possibility of re-activating the adaptive instructor exchanges. They also visited Cre-Arte (cultural center for people with disabilities) and opened the conversation about possible exchanges.

November 2018

Javier Cofian arrived in Aspen to begin his season long ski patrol exchange on Aspen Mountain. He will soon be joined by his wife and their one year old son. While being assigned to Aspen Mountain, Javier will also spend time getting to know the three other ski areas of the Aspen Skiing Company. This is the seventh consecutive ski patrol exchange with Bariloche.

2017

January 2017

Juan Ruiz Blanco and Margarita Sas Cané, both high school students from Bariloche, came to Aspen and enrolled in junior level classes at Aspen High School for the third quarter. Margarita stayed with the Justice family and the Potamkin family while Juan stayed with the Rigney and Ferguson families. All of these families have junior level high school students who will be traveling to Bariloche in June to participate in the Intensive Spanish Language Program. Two of them will be staying at the homes of Juan and Margarita.

February 2017

A group of five medical professionals visited Aspen as part of the Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program. As in the past, the participants did peer-study at Aspen Valley Hospital and Valley View Hospital. For recreational activities they skied on Aspen Mountain and Snowmass courtesy of the Aspen Skiing Company. This year’s participants were Physical Therapy: Enrique Santillan, Pharmacy: Marcela Gil, Nutrition: Lic. Mercedes Terceño, Anesthesia: Marisa Capdevila, MD, Orthopedics: Tomas Trapani, MD and Ernest Barbeito, MD.

April 2017

A group of 15 students from Bariloche visited Aspen for 10 days. The Aspen students who hosted these students in their homes will travel to Bariloche in October to stay in the homes of the same students. This year’s chaperones were Mariana Domecq and Mauro Cavagnola.

Each student brought back a helmet and a pair of goggles for “Esqui Escolar”, a ski program for low income public schools in Bariloche. These were donated by Aspen businesses, individuals and the Thrift Store.

Florencia Garaicochea concluded her exchange ski patrol experience. She worked the whole ski season at Aspen Highlands, but also visited Aspen Mountain, Snowmass Mountain, Telluride, and Utah.

May 2017

A group of medical professionals conducted the 15th annual medical exchange program to Bariloche. Participants were Alyssa Franklin, Pharm D, MBA, Krista Fox, OTR/L, Head Injury Team Coordinator, Kimberly Kurr, PT, DPT, PCS, Mark Purnell, MD, and Griff Smith. The mayor of Bariloche presented Dr. Purnell a certificate as Honorary Guest in recognition of the fifteen years of continues service to Hospital Zonal Ramón Carrillo and the community of Bariloche.

June 2017

A group of six Aspen High School students traveled to Bariloche for three week of our Intensive Language Program. While there they stayed with local families and studied Spanish language intensively. Their days were completely full with formal language classes and a wide variety of “excursions” led by their Spanish teachers. The emphasis was to always converse in Spanish. The students were also involved in a community service project of painting a mural on a hallway wall in the public hospital. Their chaperone was their high school Spanish teacher, Alex Reginelli.

July 2017

Aspen Snowmass ski patrolman, Robert “Monkey” Dasaro began working for Cerro Catedral Alta Patagonia as part of our annual ski exchange program. He was accompanied by his eleven year old son, who was enrolled in the Woodville School.

August 2017

The Aspen Rotary Club in conjunction with the Club Rotary Nahuel Huapi, through their Global Grant Program donated USD 32,000.00 worth of equipment to three rural hospitals along what is called the Linea Sur. All equipment donated was specifically requested by the directors of each rural hospital. The hospitals of of Comallo, Ingeniero Jacobacci and Pilcaniyeu received the following equipment: 1 electrocardio graph machine, 1 monitor, 1 cardio defibulator , 2 ecographs, 1 laboratory oven, 1 autoclave, 1 orthopedic saw, 1 freezer, 1 emergency telephone, and 1 microscope.

October 2017

The traditional student exchange program was conducted to Bariloche. Fifteen Aspen eighth grade students visited the Bariloche students who came to Aspen in the spring and stayed in their homes. This year, with the support of the Aspen Science Center, the students presented a “science night” at one of the public schools. At this event the student performed simple science demonstrations meant to expose young learners to some basic scientific principles. The chaperones were Anita Moose and Catarina Gibson. Each Aspen student took with them Bariloche a helmet and a pair of goggles for “Esqui Escolar”. In the past 3 years we have donated nearly 100 helmets and goggles to this community program.

September 27- October 2, 2017

Aspen artist and executive manager of “The Art Base” in Basalt, Genna Moe, visited Bariloche for an artist exchange. During her visit she offered an art class, where she also got to show her work, and gave a talk sharing her expertise on supporting cultural activity in the communities. Genna met many of the members of the Artists Association of Bariloche and got to know their work at their own studios and art shows. She also visited Cre-Arte, a non-profit organization that offers cultural activities to people with disabilities. Valeria Fiala and Paula Fisher, who had participated in the Aspen artist exchange, were in charge of arranging this interesting and active agenda. Bariloche sculptor Carlos Iriarte, generously offered accommodation to Genna and her husband during the exchange. Genna expressed interest in having Bariloche artists show their art at “The Art Base” in the near future.

November 2017

Bariloche ski patrolman Fernando Ledesma arrived in Aspen to begin working at the Snowmass Ski Area for the season. He was joined in December by his wife and two children.

This is the sixth consecutive ski patrol exchange conducted with Bariloche.

2016

April 2016

Ski patrolman, Lucas Cava, completed his one year ski patrol exchange on Aspen Mountain. He returned to Bariloche to resume his duties at Cerro Catedral.

April 2016

Fifteen eighth grade students from Bariloche visited Aspen as part of the student exchange program. These same students will host our eighth grade students in Bariloche when they visit in October of 2016. The chaperones for this trip were Pauline Cohen (her second visit) and Denys Williams.

April 2016

Dr. Mark Purnell and Dr. Tito Liotta traveled to Bariloche for the annual medical exchange program. Five other medical professionals had to postpone their trip because of cancelled flights in Aspen and Houston.

May 2016

Bariloche artist, Valeria Fiala, visited Aspen for an extended artist exchange. While in Aspen Valeria visited local galleries, met with local artists, participated in an opening showing her work, and did an installation proudly displayed in the main window of the Aspen Times building.

June 2016

Four members of the Aspen Valley Hospital professional staff traveled to Bariloche to complete the postponed medical exchange program of April. While in Bariloche they gave several presentations/lectures to the medical staff of Hospital Zonal Ramón Carrillo and other medical professionals from the Rio Negro province. The participants were Krista Fox OTR/L, Sandra Holmes RDN, Kimber Kurr PT, DPT, PCS, and Alyssa Franklin PharmD, MBA.

July 2016

David Klebes, patrolman from Aspen Highlands reported for duty at Cerro Catedral for a season of working with the Bariloche ski patrol.

September 2016

The Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program donated a sewing machine, a cloth cutter, a four burner stove, and some consumable items to the Foundation Nutrir Patagonia. These items are being used in the textile workshop, cooking workshop, and natural cream workshop of the foundation.

October 2016

Fifteen eighth grade students and two chaperones traveled to Bariloche for the annual student exchange program. Again this year, each student and chaperone carried one donated ski helmet and a pair of donated ski goggles to be given to the Bariloche Esqui Escolar program. In this manner, nearly 17 helmets have been donated to the program. This year’s chaperones were Betsy Ann Anastas and Brian Childress.

At the completion of this year’s student exchange program to Bariloche, Aspen has sent approximately 250 students (8th grade student exchange program and high school intensive language program) and 40 adult chaperones to Bariloche. We have received approximately 230 students and chaperones from Bariloche in Aspen.

The work of Bariloche artists Paula Fischer and Valeria Fiala were featured at the Toklat Gallery’s October Art Walk activity. Both artists have visited Aspen and host Aspen artists when they visit Bariloche.

November 2016

Bariloche ski patroller, Florencia Garaicochea, arrived in Aspen to work at Aspen Highlands for the 2016/17 ski season.

 

December 2016

Two anonymous contributors from Aspen donated the needed money for the Banda La Llave to purchase uniform tee shirts. The tee shirts were worn at the bands various holiday performances.

The Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program donated a complete arthroscopy set to the orthopedic surgeons of Hospital Zonal Ramón Carrillo. The set included the monitor, cables, all attachments and a wide variety of shaver heads.

2015

February 2015

Dr. Ernesto Barbeito, visited Aspen as part of our continuing Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program. Dr. Barbieto, a practicing orthopedic surgeon in Bariloche, observed many orthopedic operations in Valley View Hospital, Mid-Valley Medical Center, and Aspen Valley Hospital. Thanks to Dr. Tito Liotta and Dr. Chris George for hosting him in these surgeries.   He also attended grand rounds presentations at AVH and attended orthopedic clinic with Dr. Mark Purnell in Aspen.

March 2015  

Sofia Burgoa, physical therapist and Cecilia Habjan, respiratory therapist of the public hospital in Bariloche came to Aspen as part of the Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program. They spent a very full week of observing and participating in professional practices at Aspen Valley Hospital. They also enjoyed a busy social/cultural schedule of which the highlight was a moonlight dinner at the cabin of Tom and Carol Kurt above the ghost town of Ashcroft.

Challenge Aspen received guests from the professional ski instructors association in Argentina to discuss Challenge Aspen’s participation in the 2015 Interski conference to be held in Ushuaia, Argentina in September. The conference is to be followed by a week-long adaptive ski class for Argentine instructors to be held in Bariloche.

April 2015

Paul Wray, an adaptive ski instructor from Desafío Bariloche, spent two weeks working as an “intern” with Challenge Aspen. In addition to a full schedule of on snow training and instruction, Paul assisted with the planning for Challenge Aspen’s participation in Interski and the adaptive ski class in September.

April 2015

Fifteen students from Bariloche came for the annual student exchange program. In the past, students from Bariloche came to Aspen in October. This change improves the student to student and family to family relationships in that every Aspen student who hosted these students will travel to Bariloche in October of this same year and stay in the homes of the students who visited Aspen in April. The chaperones this year were Carolina Dartiguelongue and Estaban Alaniz.

August 2015

Mr. Bill Capps, music director of the Aspen Country Day School, donated USD 500 to La Llave Wind Band in Bariloche. The mission of La Banda La Llave is: To contribute to the sociocultural integration of children and youths in vulnerable situations by forming a youth and children’s Wind Band directed at encouraging the development of their creative capacity and thus their access to national and universal culture. The money was used to purchase replacement parts for band instruments such as reeds and mouth pieces.

September 2015

Two instructors from Challenge Aspen, Bobby Palm and Charlie Phelan, accompanied by Houston Cowen and his wife, Janis, attended the Interski Conference in Ushuaia, Argentina. The Challenge Aspen team was invited to participate in Interski as part of the Argentine delegation in order to introduce “adaptive snow sports” into the Interski program. Houston, founder of Challenge Aspen, gave the keynote speech at the opening session of Interski. His topic was, “the economics of adaptive snow sports.”

Following the Interski conference the two instructors traveled to Bariloche to teach a week long course to ski instructors on the “instruction of adaptive snow sports.” The course was attended by nine instructors from three different ski areas in Argentina. The course was certified by the Argentine professional ski instructors association (AADIDES) with the idea that these instructors would return to their home ski areas to advance the instruction of adaptive snow sports.

September 2015

Dr. Tito Liotta MD, Dr. Robert Christensen DDS and Candice Christensen RDH, traveled to Bariloche for the annual medical exchange program. All three worked tirelessly in the public hospital doing demonstration procedures and surgeries. In addition, a great deal of equipment and consumables were donated by the group to the hospital.

September 2015

Aspen ski patroller, Chris Reither, completed his ski patrol exchange to Bariloche. While there he assumed complete duties as a ski patrolman and became fully integrated into the local ski patrol. He was the third patrolman from Aspen to participate in such an exchange.

October 2015

Fifteen students for the Aspen Middle School traveled to Bariloche for the student exchange program. These are the same students who hosted students from Bariloche in Aspen. These students stayed in the homes of these same students. The chaperones were Nell Birk and Bryan Long.

October 2015

This year under the volunteer collaboration of Lala Caffarone the Aspen community and Aspen retailers are donating ski helmets to the Esqui Escolar Program in Bariloche.  Esqui Escolar is a program where Bariloche public schools fifth graders are given the opportunity to receive free ski instruction and ski passes at Cerro Catedral.  Each student group of our student exchange program (students from Bariloche and Aspen) carries with them one helmet when traveling to Bariloche.  In this manner 30 helmets have been donated to the program so far.  The program will continue next year and may expand to include ski goggles and/or other ski clothing.  Lala Caffarone is a Bariloche native who has lived and worked in Aspen for the past 15 years.

November 2015

Lucas Cava, ski patrolman from Cerro Cetedral, reported to Aspen to begin his full season working for the Aspen Skiing Company for the 2015/2016 ski season. Lucas is the fourth patrolman to do such a ski patrol exchange between Aspen and Bariloche.

2014

February 2014

Aspen was visited by five medical professionals from Bariloche. Again, this year we are expanding the exchange program into a new discipline by including emergency medicine. This year’s participants included: Nicolás Ginato MD, anesthesia, Marcela Raffaele MD, emergency medicine, María Emilia Saavedra MD, cardiology, Enrique Santillan PT, physical therapy, Tomas Trapani MD, orthopedics

For the second year, local Bariloche Artist, Paula Fischer, visited Aspen to extend and expand the idea of a cultural/artistic exchange between Aspen and Bariloche. She visited with local artists and local art galleries. She set the stage for a visit to Bariloche by a local Aspen artist; Missy Prudden.

April 2014

Thirteen eighth grade students traveled to Bariloche as part of the annual student exchange program. The chaperones this year were Mark Munger and Brett Nelson.

Bariloche ski patrolman, Samuel Cardenas, completed the second ski patrol exchange to Aspen.

April/May 2014

Four orthopedic surgeons from Aspen traveled to Argentina to participate in the annual medical exchange program. This year our doctors where invited to present at two conferences of the Argentine Orthopedic Association (AAOT). One conference was held in Cordoba, Argentina and the other in Bariloche. While in Bariloche, our doctors also worked at the public hospital. This year’s participants were: Tito Liotta, MD, Laura Pritchard, Mark Purnell, MD, Griff Smith, Lance Smith, MD, and Leelee von Stade, MD.

Dr. Purnell and Laura Pritchard did follow up work with Nutrir Patagonia which is a foundation that has received International Rotary grant monies to continue its work with local disadvantaged families. The team also visited the physical therapy department of the hospital that is distributing and managing the recent wheelchair donation. Several recipients of wheelchairs were visited and interviewed.

April/May 2014

Part time resident, Ted Wachtmeister, donated a Mountain Man bi-ski to the adaptive ski program (Desfío Bariloche).

April/May 2014

Missy Prudden visited Bariloche representing the first cultural/artist exchange. While there she gave workshops on watercolor painting, visited with local artists, and visited local art galleries.

June 2014

A second group of 12 eighth grade students visited Bariloche. The same students who hosted these students will travel to Aspen in late October of this same year. The chaperones were Maria Carbonetti and Kate Bishop.

July 2014

Lauren Wenzel, ski patrol member from Snowmass, reported to work at Alta Patagonia for the season. Lauren first traveled to Bariloche as part of the intensive language program in 2004. Lauren is the second ski patroller from Aspen to participate in the ski patrol exchange program.

Mikaela Liotta traveled to Bariloche. While there she will stay with families that have hosted her father, Dr. Tito Liotta, for many years as part of the medical exchange program. Mikaela is a gifted artist and she gave a workshop in Bariloche on ‘bookbinding.”

Diego Di Santo, MD from Bariloche attended the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons meeting in Seattle, Washington with several orthopedic surgeons from Aspen. After the conference Dr. Di Santo visited Aspen for three days of peer study.

October 2014

Aspen artist, David Durrance, visited Bariloche to further the new artistic exchange. While there he gave a PowerPoint presentation on his artistic endeavors in Aspen and visited local artists and art showings in the Bariloche area. Interestingly, his talk was translated by his son, Jessie, who recently completed medical school in Buenos Aires and who is married to an Argentine woman. His wife, Pilar Fernández, once stayed with the Durrance family many years ago as part of an exchange of skiers!

A group of 15 students and two chaperones from Bariloche visited Aspen as part of the student exchange program. These students hosted in their home the students from Aspen that visited Bariloche in June of this 2014. The chaperones were Audrey Shaw and Bea Zelaya.

2013

January 2013

Three students from Bariloche enrolled for the third quarter at Aspen High School. They were Pedro Trapani, Agostina Francolino, and Camilla Arismindi. Our thanks to these families for hosting the students in their homes: the Purnell family, the Sandbach family, and the Padden family.

April 2013

Fourteen eighth grade students traveled to Bariloche for the annual student exchange program. The chaperones this year were Maria Carbonetti and Georgina Levey.

Mauro Urra from the Bariloche ski patrol completed the first ski patrol exchange program from Bariloche.

May 2013

This year’s medical exchange was one of the most extensive programs in our ten year history of the program.  Participants in this year’s program were Mark Purnell MD, Leelee Von Stade MD, Robert Christensen DDS, Chris George MD, Dan Lee MD, Krista Fox OT, Amanda Boxtel, Laura Pritchard and Griff Smith.  The activities included:

  1. Orthopedic activities including peer surgeries including Aspen and Bariloche orthopedic surgeons, peer clinic consultations, and presentations at a regional orthopedic conference. The donation of orthopedic equipment and supplies was also done.
  2. Peer dental procedures in the hospital and preventative care programs in local schools. Conversations with local authorities regarding the advantages of the fluoridation of the local drinking water were conducted. Dental equipment was donated.
  3. Participation in and making presentations at a regional conference of architects, public health officials, and planners on accessibility issues. Several workshops on the care of disabled patients, wheelchair use, and accessibility issues were also conducted.
  4. Over 220 wheelchairs were donated to the hospital to be distributed to patients in need. This will be an ongoing program for several years.
  5. Support of a local community education foundation called Nutrir Patagonia.
  6. Support of the upcoming International Society for Skiing Safety conference to be held in Bariloche in August.
  7. Donation of an automatic external defibrillator (AED) to the cardiology department of the hospital.

June 2013

Patrick Harris of the Aspen Highlands ski patrol reported to work at Cerro Catedral as the first ski patrol exchange participant to Bariloche.

Six Aspen High School students participated in the annual Intensive Language Program. The students lived with local families, attended daily Spanish grammar classes, and took daily fieldtrips (all conducted in Spanish) in the Bariloche area. They were accompanied by Aspen High School Spanish teacher and Aspen High alumnus, Sarah Graber. This year, the students also conducted a community service project by painting a mural in the local public hospital.

 

August 2013

A small delegation from the Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program visited Bariloche. The participants were Dra. Leelee Von Stade, Dr. Tito Liotta, Laura Pritchard, and Griff Smith. During the week the delegation:

  1. Supported and attended the International Society for Skier Safety conference which was held in Bariloche. This was the first ISSS conference to be ever held in South America. Drs. Von Stade and Liotta were presenters at the conference, while Laura Pritchard helped to coordinate planning between the Society and the local event planners, Bureau de Bariloche. All of the Aspen participants made interesting and value contacts with participants from Argentina and from around the world.
  2. Drs. Von Stade and Liotta did a mini medical exchange with the orthopaedic department of the hospital.
  3. Laura Pritchard has been working hard writing a Rotary International grant proposal to be awarded to the local Nutrir Patagonia Foundation. She announced to the Foundation that a grant has been approved in the amount of U$S 17,500 to Nutrir Patagonia to help develop their program of family education in the poorer neighborhoods of Bariloche. The grant was made possible by generous donations from the Rotary Clubs of Aspen and Carbondale along with matching monies from Rotary International. Laura is to be congratulated for her hard work on this project.
  4. Laura and Griff consulted with counterparts in the hospital, Nutrir Patagonia, the Provincial Minister of Health, and Bariloche Sister Cities to plan future projects and exchanges.

 

October 2013

A delegation of 13 eighth grade students and two chaperones from Bariloche came to Aspen for the annual student exchange program.

 

November 2013

The Aspen Rotary Club in coordination with the Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program, the Carbondale Rotary Club and Rotary International sent a U$S 7, 500 grant to Nutrir Patagonia to advance their community health/education program. The grant will be used to refurbish their instructional facility and to purchase capital supplies for their program.

Formal distribution of the wheelchair donated earlier this year has begun at the public hospital.

November 2013

Samuel Cardénas arrived in Aspen to begin the second ski patrol exchange with the Aspen Skiing Company. Samuel will be working at Snowmass.

2012

January – March 2012

Santiago Ongaro from San Patricio School was the exchange student for 2012. He stayed with the Morehead family for the third quarter. He took a challenging course of study at Aspen High School and did his fair share of skiing. He is already talking about returning to Aspen to work when he is older!

March – April 2012

Paul Wrey, an instructor for the adaptive ski program in Bariloche (Desafío Bariloche) completed a six week internship with Challenge Aspen. He was very well received and was given a good deal of responsibility while working with the disabled clients of Challenge Aspen. It is anticipated that the knowledge and experience gained through this internship will serve Paul and the program in Bariloche well. He is already talking about repeating his experience next year.

April 2012

The annual eighth grade student exchange program was composed of 15 students and two chaperones. Because of the June volcanic eruption that affected Bariloche air travel, it was decided to travel through Chile instead of through Buenos Aires. This added the necessity to travel by bus from Osorno, Chile to Bariloche. The chaperones for his year were Shawn Rios from the Aspen Middle School and Kristen Lidman from Aspen Country Day School.

May 2012

The Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program sent a small delegation to Bariloche. The participants were: Mark Purnell, MD, Ryan Pizinger MD, Robert Christensen, DDS, Laura Pritchard of the Aspen Sports Medicine Foundation, and Griff Smith of Aspen Sister Cities. Drs. Purnell and Pizinger did several demonstration orthopedic surgeries and made case studies presentations. Dr. Christensen did many demonstration dental procedures in the hospital and several health centers. He also made a strong case to local authorities about the fluoridation of the public drinking water. The group brought along two large duffle bags of donated orthopedic and general hospital supplies for the public hospital. All participants held several meetings to discuss ongoing and future medical exchange programs and donation projects. From this visit it became obvious that the medical exchange program has many challenging, but rewarding projects for the future.

June 2012

After three years absence, the Intensive Language Program sent eight Aspen High School students to Bariloche for three weeks of Spanish language training. The students stayed with local families and took five hours daily of practical and grammatical language training. Beginning with their travel to Bariloche, the students were required to conduct all of their business in Spanish. Their activities while in Bariloche included visiting local tourist attractions, visits to local businesses and a rural school, and attendance at cultural and educational activities – all conducted in Spanish. The chaperone this year was Rossina Allen from Aspen High School.

September 2012

Dr. Tomas Trapani visited Aspen along with his wife Paula Fischer. Dr. Trapani attended an orthopedic conference with Dr. Purnell on SIGN Fracture Care.  SIGN Fracture Care is a program that provides low cost surgical implants for hospitals such as the public hospital in Bariloche. After the conference, Dr. Trapani spent nearly a week dedicated to peer study with Dr. Purnell and other orthopedic surgeons in Aspen.

All the while, Paula Fischer who is a gifted Bariloche artist spent her time visiting the art community of Aspen. She discussed the possibility of sometime traveling to Aspen to take part in the “artist in residency program” in Aspen.

October 2012

Fifteen students and two chaperones from Bariloche spent nearly two weeks in Aspen as part of the student exchange program.

2011

January – March 2011

Juani Castro from the Woodville School enrolled in Aspen High School for the third quarter. Juani took the most comprehensive and challenging class load of all of our previous exchange students and did very well. Juani stayed with the Tom and Leslie DeRosa family.

April 2011

Fifteen eighth grade students visited Bariloche for the annual student exchange program. The chaperones for this year’s exchange were Tom Heald, Aspen Middle School principal, and Sara Beasley, Aspen Middle School teacher.

April/May 2011

Aspen Orthopedic Associates fellow, Dr. Bryan Mitchell, traveled to Bariloche for a week of surgical and clinical practice.   It has now become an annual tradition for the Orthopedic Associates to send its fellows to Bariloche for peer training and experience. He was accompanied by Laura Pritchard (Director of the Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program) and Griff Smith of Aspen Sister Cities. The trio carried with them nearly $100,000 worth of orthopedic surgical supplies for Ramón Carrillo Hospital.

May 2011

The Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program, Aspen Sports Medicine Foundation, and the sister cities committees of Bariloche and Aspen secured the 2013 conference of the International Skier Safety Society for Bariloche.

June 2011

Just one week before departure, the Aspen High School Intensive Language Program had to cancel its trip to Bariloche because of the eruption of the Puyehue Volcano in Chile. The volcano sent ash into Patagonia Argentina causing the Bariloche airport to be closed for several months and caused nearly complete disruption of the Bariloche ski season. This is the second time the Intensive Language Program has been cancelled. The first time was because of the swine flu outbreak in 2009.

September 2011

The Aspen Volunteer Fire Department donated a small amount of SCABA masks to the Bariloche Volunteer Fire Department. The Aspen Bariloche Medical Program donated two much needed ACL surgical guides to the orthopedic department of the public hospital in Bariloche.

October 2011

A group of 15 students from Bariloche visited Aspen for the annual student exchange program. The chaperones were Eve Stieger and Robert Mitchell. Eve is the principal of the Capraro School in Bariloche and Robert “Mex” is one of the Spanish language teachers who works with our Intensive Language Program in Bariloche.

October 2011

Dr. Sandra Velásquez, a dentist from Bariloche, visited Aspen as part of our medical exchange program. She was the guest of Dr. Robert Christensen in Aspen and also visited the offices of Marcus J. Blue, DDS, Roger J. Brown, DMD, PC, Eugene A. Covello, DDS, and Stephen S. Kelly, DMD. We thank the Hotel Durant and Mountain Chalet for housing Dr. Velásquez during her visit.

Dr. Maria Emilia Saavedra, cardiologist from Bariloche, visited Aspen as part of our medical exchange program. She conducted a week of peer study with valley cardiologists from Aspen Valley Hospital and Valley View Hospital. Our thanks to Drs. Gerson, George, Heilbrunn, Laird, Laws, and Rubinstein for hosting Dr. Saavedra. Also thanks to the Aspen Square for housing Dr. Saavedra. The Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program is working on donating a new echocardiograph machine to be used by Dr. Saavedra in Bariloche.  Dra, Saavedra recently coauthored a paper entitled Survey of Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Bariloche. She was assisted in the research for this paper by the Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program

November 2011

The Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program sent two physical therapists, Carrie Fox and Glen Mcloed, to Bariloche to be the principal speakers at a conference for regional physical therapists. The conference dealt with treatment of sports shoulder injuries. The proceeds from the registration fees for this conference were donated to the physical therapy department of Ramón Carrillo. In addition, Carrie Lamb collected nearly U$S 600 to also be donated to the physical therapy department of the hospital.

2010

January – March 2010

A high school student from Bariloche, Martin Bonzi, enrolled in Aspen High School for the third quarter. He stayed with the family of Aspen student Carson Campbell.

March 2010

A group of nine medical professionals from Bariloche visited Aspen for two weeks. Each visiting practitioner from Bariloche was paired with medical professionals in Aspen for peer study. The participants this year were: Dr. Tomas Trapani, Orthopaedic Surgeon mentored by Mark Purnell, MD, Lindsay Harris, MD, Leelee von Stade, MD, and Tito Liotta, MD.   Dr. Mariano Flores Velazco and Dr. Cecilia Campora, Physiatrists mentored by Jan Alling, PT, Krista Fox, OT, Eric Willsky, MD, Giora Hahn, MD and staff at Craig & Children’s Hospital in Denver. Dr. Orlando Garcia Cerocchi mentored by Mike Goralka, MD. Dr. Marta Santos mentored by Mindy Nagle, MD and her staff at All Valley Women’s Care. Claudia Chiguay, Cardiac Rehabilitation mentored by Jan Alling, PT and Melody Durham, RN, BSN. Juan Jose Garay, Nurse mentored by Kathryn Chamberlin, RN and her staff at Aspen Valley Hospital.

March and April 2010

An instructor, Lucas Corallo, from the Bariloche’s adaptive ski program (Desafío Bariloche) worked as an intern with Challenge Aspen for six weeks.

April 2010

A group of 15 eighth grade students and two chaperones traveled to Bariloche for the annual student exchange program. This was the largest exchange group (to date) to travel to Bariloche. The chaperones for this year’s trip were Maria Carbonetti and Michele Berkowitz.

September 2010

An instructor, Angie White, from Aspen’s adaptive ski program (Challenge Aspen) worked as an intern for Desafío Bariloche for two weeks. She also spent time visiting and working with the students of Bariloche special school for the disabled, Cre-arte.

September 2010

Aspen and Bariloche celebrated the ten year anniversary of the beginnings of our sister relationship by hosting a dinner in Bariloche for all the participants of the very first official delegation to visit Aspen in September of 2000. All but three of the original 15 participants were present!

October 2010

Fifteen students and two chaperones from Bariloche visited Aspen for the annual student exchange program. This was the largest student group to visit Aspen from Bariloche. The chaperones for this year’s exchange were Andy Schwartz and Ana Suarez.

November 2010

Krista Fox, occupational therapist, from Aspen Valley Hospital traveled to Bariloche for a week of peer study and work with her colleagues at Ramón Carillo Hospital. Krista has now traveled to Bariloche on five different occasions and has hosted visitors from Bariloche on several occasions. With this trip, Krista is beginning what we hope will be a new and improved method of delivering mutual assistance between our two medical communities. That is: rather than sending large delegations to each other’s cities, we are now sending small or individual delegations for more focused and concentrated work.

November 2010

Dr. Ernesto Barbieto, Orthopaedic Surgeon, from Bariloche visited Aspen for a week of peer study and work. He worked primarily with Dr. Tito Liotta and Dr. Leelee VanStade with emphasis on shoulder surgery. He also was able to work on the medical staff for the Aspen Women’s World Cup competition.

2009

January 2009

Three students from Bariloche enrolled at Aspen High School for the third quarter. They took classes ranging from biology to ceramics to weather and astronomy. The three girls who had excellent English language skills were Florencia Gattas, Morena Fernandez, and Clara Antolin.

April 2009

Our largest eighth grade student exchange delegation of thirteen students traveled to Bariloche for the annual student exchange program. They were accompanied by teachers Kamala Marsh and Zeke Tiernan (both of which are alumni of the Aspen School District.)

April 2009

The fifth annual medical exchange program sent twelve medical professionals to Bariloche. The program which is headed by Mark Purnell MD and financed by donations through the Aspen Sports Medicine Foundation conducted demonstration surgeries, gave a series of lectures and talks, and discussed future donation programs. This year the delegation consisted of orthopedic surgeons, an occupational therapist, an athletic therapist, and a dentist. The Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program is working collectively with Project C.U.R.E. of Centennial, Colorado to provide a series of large medical supply and equipment donations. The major hurdle to be met is that of satisfying the extremely complex and strict Argentine importation laws. It is hoped that we will eventually be able to send up to three 40 ft. containers of supplies to the Bariloche hospital. The Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program is completely supported by private donations to the Aspen Sports Medicine Foundation.

May 2009

Five volunteer firemen from Bariloche visited Aspen for a week. While in Aspen the firemen participated in joint training exercises with the Aspen Volunteer Fire Department, visited all the Aspen fire stations along with other facilities in the valley, received orientations in the use of equipment to be donated by Aspen to Bariloche, and visited the many tourist attractions of the Roaring Fork Valley. This new exchange program is sponsored by the Aspen Volunteer Fire Department, Aspen Sister Cities, the City of Aspen, and by many generous “in kind” donations by the Aspen and Roaring Fork Valley communities.

June 2009

We were unable to conduct the high school Intensive Language Program to Bariloche this year because of swine flu concerns in Bariloche.

October 2009

Eleven eighth grade students form Bariloche came to Aspen as part of the annual student exchange program. They were accompanied by two teachers.

2008

January 2008

Three students from Bariloche (Sol Maña, Danila Mazzei, and Mercedes Borau) came to Aspen to study at Aspen High School for the third quarter.

February 2008

Two volunteer firemen from Aspen, Willard Clapper and Blair Elliot, traveled to Bariloche to investigate the possibility of establishing a continuing relationship with the fire department of Bariloche. While there, the two visited all the substations, discussed training protocols and techniques, discussed future exchange possibilities, attended joint training exercises, and participated in local fire suppression activities.

March 2008

Two landscape architects/planners, Bill Kane and Carolina Segura, from Design Workshop in Aspen traveled to Bariloche to participate in a two day discussion regarding city planning in mountain communities. The conference was sponsored by FASTA University of Bariloche.

March 2008

Twelve medical professionals traveled to Aspen as part of the fourth annual Aspen Bariloche Medical Exchange Program. Their stay lasted a week and included peer observations, surgical observations, workshops and lectures. At the same time, ground work was laid for the future of the program which includes the donation of newer technology equipment to the hospital in Bariloche and the continuing education of the Bariloche staff in the use of that equipment.

April 2008

Nine eighth grade students and two chaperones conducted the annual middle level student exchange program to Bariloche. This was the reciprocal visit to the one in October by Bariloche.

April 2008

Fifteen medical professionals from Aspen traveled to Bariloche to complete this year’s medical exchange program. While there the orthopedic surgeons did demonstration surgeries and presented a two day workshop on orthopedic practices. This year’s exchange also included professionals in fields including occupational therapy, physical therapy, nursing, cardiac care, and woman’s care. In several of these fields, strong professional and personal relationships have been formed which will insure positive advancements in the exchange program.

Summer 2008

Five Aspen High School students and one chaperone spent three weeks in June participating in the Intensive Language Program in Bariloche. Four of the students extended their stay by staying from one week to one month longer.

September 2008

Hannah Christian spent three weeks teaching adaptive skiing lessons with Desafío Bariloche. This was the second year of volunteer work in Bariloche for Hannah.

October 2008

Project C.U.R.E. of Centennial, Colorado made a three day inspection tour of Hospital Zonal Ramón Carrillo in Bariloche to determine the hospital’s eligibility to receive donated medical supplies and equipment. After an exhaustive study of the hospital, Project C.U.R.E. determined that Ramón Carrillo is eligible to receive an initial donation of three 40 foot containers of supplies and equipment. It is hoped that the first container can be sent in 2009.

October 2008

Eleven eighth grades students and two chaperones from Bariloche visited Aspen for nearly two weeks as part of the annual “student exchange program.”

2007

January/February 2007

For the seventh consecutive year, Club Andino Bariloche sent a group of seven young skiers for a month of ski training.

At the same time, a representative from the municipality of Bariloche came to learn about the operations of the Aspen ski areas. He works for a department of the city of Bariloche that oversees the ski area of Cerro Catedral.

January 2007

Nine medical professionals came to Aspen for the third annual Physicians Exchange Program. This year’s participants represented orthopedics, anesthesiology, physical and occupational therapy, general surgery, and cardiac rehabilitation. One member also studied how the Aspen Valley Medical Foundation functions with the hope of forming a similar foundation in Bariloche.

April 2007

Eleven eighth grade students for the Aspen Middle School and Aspen Country Day School visited Bariloche for the annual student exchange program. The chaperones for this trip were Donna McFlynn and Mari Carbonetti.

April/May 2007

Fifteen medical professionals from Aspen traveled to Bariloche. While there, they conducted demonstration surgeries, conducted instructional clinics, and presented a two day conference on modern medical practices.

Summer 2007

Aspen High School student, Jenny Elose McCaslin, spent the majority of her summer taking intensive language instruction and attending classes in Bariloche. We understand that she also took good advantage of the near record snow year in Bariloche and did some great skiing.

September 2007

Adaptive ski instructor, Hannah Christian, from Challenge Aspen spent the month in Bariloche working with the local adaptive ski program – Desafío Bariloche.

October 2007

Nine eighth grade students and two chaperones came to Aspen as part of the annual student exchange program.

2006

January 2006

Three high school students from Bariloche attended the third quarter of school at Aspen High School. These students were Gastón Mary, Mariana Carluccio, and Joaquin Ruiz. They took junior level academic classes for the quarter. We were all impressed by their English language skills. This is the fourth year of the extended exchange program involving a total of 14 students from Bariloche.

January 2006

The Club Andino Bariloche conducted its sixth annual month long ski experience in Aspen. This year there were nine young skiers and two coaches/chaperones. We are always grateful to the Aspen families who provide housing for the group, the Aspen Skiing Company for providing passes, and the Aspen Valley Ski Club for providing clubhouse space. Over the six years of this program nearly 80 young skiers from Bariloche have visited Aspen.

April/May 2006

Ten Aspen eighth grade students and two chaperones traveled to Bariloche for the annual student exchange. This is the fourth year of this exchange program with a total of over 50 eighth grade students and eleven teachers from Aspen traveling to Bariloche.

April/May 2006

Fourteen medical professionals from Aspen traveled to Bariloche to present the second annual International Sports and Orthopedic Conference. The conference was sponsored by Hospital Ramón Carrillo in Bariloche and presented by the professionals from both communities. The Aspen doctors also conducted four demonstrations surgeries for the Bariloche doctors. This year’s contingent from Aspen included orthopedic surgeons, anesthesiologists, physical therapists, and medical supply company representatives.

At the same time, the fifth shipment of donated medical supplies was sent to Bariloche. This shipment of 34 large boxes included surgical equipment and supplies, an ultrasound machine, and orthopedic implants, plates, screws, and fixators. Shipping was again provided completely free of charge by Federal Express. Aspen Moving and Storage provided all the packing labor and materials.

May 2006

A small group from the Aspen area representing the United Jewish Appeal visited the Jewish community in Bariloche.

June 2006

Sebastian Di Nardo, the marketing director for EMPROTUR (the tourism promotion agency for Bariloche), visited Aspen for the Food and Wine Festival.

June 2006

Seven Aspen High School junior Spanish students traveled to Bariloche for the third annual Intensive Language Program. They stayed for three weeks of intensive Spanish language training provided by private tutors and hosted at San Patricio School. The students took six hours of language training (two hours of grammar and four hours of “excursion Spanish”) a day, stayed in the homes of local families, and enjoyed the local tourist attractions including some early season skiing. Their chaperone was Janis Dybdahl who was their Spanish instructor at AHS. Twenty-one Aspen High students have now taken part in this program.

August 2006

Aspen Valley Ski Club sent a group of youth skiers to Bariloche for a three weeks of ski training. Much to the delight of the kids and their coach (Pat Callahan), this was a very snowy period and they spent much of their time skiing powder.

October 2006

Eleven eighth grade students from Bariloche visited Aspen for the now traditional student exchange program. On of their chaperones this year was the principal of one of the three private schools with which we have worked since the inception of this program.

2005

January 2005

Club Andino Bariloche made its fifth trip to Aspen for a month of ski training. This year there were eleven skiers and two coaches. We thank the Aspen Skiing Company for providing complementary ski passes for the group and Aspen Valley Ski Club for providing logistical assistance and use of club facilities.

Four senior students from Bariloche enrolled in Aspen High School for the third quarter. It is notable to mention that two of the students came to Aspen as part of the first student exchange program four years ago.

April 2005

The fourth consecutive eighth grade student exchange program traveled to Bariloche. This year there were ten students who were accompanied by Niki MacLean of the Aspen Middle School and Katie Tveite from Aspen Country Day School.

April 2005

The fourth shipment of medical supplies was sent to Bariloche. This shipment included nearly $300,000 worth of orthopedic surgical supplies. The arrival of the shipment coincided with the visit of five orthopedic surgeons from Aspen who presented didactic and practical workshops on orthopedic surgery to the medical community of Bariloche. The participating surgeons were Thomas Higginbotham, MD, William Clancy Jr., MD, Norman Harris, MD, Ferdinand, Liotta, MD, and Mark Purnell, MD.

June 2005

Eight Aspen High School students participated in the second Intensive Language Program in Bariloche. Chaperones were Kendall Evans and Lance Finkbeiner.

September 2005

The Mobility Project, a U.S. based foundation, traveled to Bariloche and distributed 198 wheel chairs and a number of other mobility devises to the needy of Bariloche and surrounding communities. These donated wheel chairs were custom fitted to each recipient by a team of expert volunteer fitters from Aspen and the Mobility Project. Recipients were given instruction in the use of the mobility devices and many took advantage of “sports camps” (including skiing) to learn recreational uses of the devises. The project was supported and sponsored by Aspen Sister Cities, Bariloche Sister Cities, and Challenge Aspen with the financial support of the Aspen and Bariloche communities.

Challenge Aspen continued work with its ongoing project of mutual assistance with its sister organization, Desafío Bariloche. This was the third year that Challenge Aspen has traveled to Bariloche

October 2005

Ten eighth grade students and one chaperone visited Aspen for the annual Student Exchange Program. This marks the fourth annual exchange program from Bariloche on the 8th grade level involving a total of 32 students and four adults over the four years.

2004

January/February 2004

Club Andino Bariloche, for the fourth year, sent twelve skiers and two coaches for a month of ski training. One racer, Tomas Gonzales, was invited by Aspen Valley Ski Club to stay an additional three weeks to train with coach Casey Puckett.

January – April 2004

Three high school students from Bariloche attended junior level classes at Aspen High School for the third quarter. The three Aspen families who hosted these students have a child of the same age and will be sending these Aspen High students to Bariloche for a similar experience there.

March 2004

Ten members of the Aspen Group of the Colorado Mountain Club traveled to Bariloche for a week of hiking, tourist excursions, and meeting the Bariloche community. Plans are being made for a similar group to come from Bariloche in the fall.

April 2004

The third annual middle level student exchange went to Bariloche. There were two teachers and 11 students in attendance.

 

Luke Farrell, Aspen High School graduate and recent graduate from Middlebury College, is in Bariloche on an extended stay. He is volunteering in some of the schools teaching English and ecology classes. In addition, he is taking some Spanish classes for his own self-improvement.

June 2004

A group of six Aspen High School juniors traveled to Bariloche for three weeks of intensive Spanish language training. This is a pilot project conceived by principal Kendall Evans that may be expanded to include all juniors who are involved in the International Baccalaureate program in Spanish at AHS. While in Bariloche, the students live with families, attend one daily class at one of the local schools, and take up to 6 hours per day of intensive language classes offered by local teachers exclusively to this small group. Kendall Evans and Linda Lafferty were the trip chaperones.

September 2004

Challenge Aspen made its second visit to Bariloche to conduct workshops on the instruction of skiing to handicapped skiers. This year three handicapped skiers from Aspen also were present to give ski demonstrations. At the same time, the Aspen visitors conducted talks with leaders of Bariloche to determine the feasibility of implementing a wheel chair donation program.

 

Two doctors from the Bariloche hospital, Dr. Norberto Delfino and Dr. Ernesto Barbieto, visited Aspen. While in Aspen they attended the Aspen Fall Orthopedic Conference, toured Aspen Valley Hospital, and meet with the hospital staff and administration.

A shipment of eight large boxes, including arthroscopic surgical supplies was sent to Hospital Ramon Carrillo.

October 2004

Six eighth grade students and one teacher from Bariloche visited Aspen. Aspen is preparing ten students and two teachers to return the visit in April 05.

2000 -2003

At their November 12, 2002 meeting the Aspen City Council unanimously voted to proclaim San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina as a sister city of Aspen. This followed a two-year trial relationship. The mayor of Bariloche and other officials attended a formal signing ceremony in Aspen in April of 2003 and officials from Aspen attended a similar signing ceremony in Bariloche in November 2003. Below is a brief history of our relationship with our newest sister city.

September 2000

Delegation from Bariloche, including tourism officials and local businessmen, visited Aspen. The concept of becoming sister cities was born.

November 2000

Official delegation from Aspen, including representation from the City of Aspen, Aspen Sister Cities committee, and the Aspen School District, visited Bariloche to further explore the potentials of a sister city relationship.

January/February 2001

Student members of the Club Andino Bariloche and three ski coaches stayed in Aspen for one month of ski training. The Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club sponsored this exchange.

April 2001

Rachel Richards and the Aspen City Council signed proclamation designating Bariloche as a “trial sister city” for a period of two years.

June 2001

Atilio Feudal, intendente de Bariloche, and Gustavo Ezquerra, president of Bariloche Sister Cities Committee, signed proclamation designating Aspen as a sister city “en prueba” for a period of two years.

January/February 2000

Club Andino made a second ski-training visit to Aspen.

April 2002

Twelve eighth grade students and two teachers from the Aspen Middle School visited Bariloche for two weeks as a student exchange.

 

Summer of 2002

Official delegation from City of Aspen, Aspen Skiing Company, and Aspen Sister Cities visited Bariloche. This delegation helped to celebrate Bariloche’s centenary anniversary.

July/August 2002

Members from the Aspen Valley Ski and Snowboard Club trained in Bariloche for three weeks.

October 2002

Seven students from three private schools in Bariloche and a headmaster spent two weeks as a student exchange in Aspen.

October 2002

Aspen Valley Hospital sent a shipment of donated hospital supplies to the public hospital in Bariloche. Federal Express provided the shipping.

January 2003

Reni Ezquerra from the Bariloche Adaptive Ski Program attended a weeklong monoski camp at Challenge Aspen. The president of Sister Cities, Bariloche (Gustavo Ezquerra) made a semi-official visit to Aspen.

January/February 2003

Ten skiers and two coaches from Club Andino Bariloche trained in Aspen for one month. The skiers stayed in family homes, trained six days a week, and competed in some local races.

January – March 2003

Two senior girls (Angie Pena and Luli Estevez) from Bariloche enrolled in Aspen High School for the third quarter. They stayed with local families and took a normal junior level class load. This was our first experience with an extended student exchange program.

January – May 2003

Jonathan King from Aspen High School traveled to Bariloche to take language classes and attend a local school. Jonathan stayed with the family of Angie Pena, who was attending classes in Aspen at the same time.

April 2003

A delegation from Bariloche including the mayor, Alberto Icare, came to Aspen to sign the official documents of sister city status.

A group of 15 eighth grade students from Aspen visited Bariloche for a two-week exchange.

April 2003

Two private donors gave $800 to two of our private school partners in Bariloche. This money will be used to the benefit of the music programs of the two schools.

June 2003

A second shipment of medical supplies was sent from Aspen Valley Hospital to the Hospital Zonal in Bariloche.

August 2003

Challenge Aspen made a week long visit to Bariloche to work with the adaptive ski program. Challenge Aspen has entered into a multiyear agreement with the adaptive ski program in Bariloche to improve the level of their program. The agreement includes, technical assistance and instruction, joint fund raising, equipment sharing and donations, and participant exchanges.

October 2003

One teacher and three eighth grade students from Bariloche came to Aspen as a continuation of the student exchange program. Aspen is preparing 12 students to return the visit in April of 2004.

November 2003

An official delegation representing the City of Aspen, Aspen Sister Cities, Aspen Valley Hospital, Aspen Skiing Company, and the Aspen tourism industry attended a reciprocal official signing ceremony in Bariloche. With this ceremony the sister city relationship between Aspen and Bariloche is now official.

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