I had lived in Mendoza for three years and a half, so I had an idea of what I could expect, but I had never been at Vallecitos. There had been a very heavy snowfall that week that had blocked the road to Chile, so I decided to go up to the Vallecitos ski center. I hired a taxi at the bus station for 30 Dollars (always bargain the price before and you will get a better deal).
We passed by beautiful vineyards in the Carrodilla area, then passed the Lujan de Cuyo Oil Refinery (Mendoza is an important petroleum producing province), and continued along the international highway that goes to Chile, up to Potrerillos. We stopped to have a look at this new lake quite near Mendoza, where you can practise water sports and fish very nice rainbow trout, turned off onto the earth road that goes from Potrerillos to Vallecitos, crossed the arroyo Blanco and started seeing snow here, there and everywhere. It seemed just like a Christmas scene, with the pine trees covered with snow... We finally came to a point where there was a notice prohibiting traffic. There was ice on the road...
If any time plan to cross over the Chile by Mendoza, check the weather forecast first. The road climbs up to 3500 meters (10,200 feet) at the Los Libertadores tunnel and up to 4800 meters (16,000 feet) at the Cristo Redentor international limit. Three or four times in the year the road is blocked by the snow for two, three or four days. You would not like to get trapped in the midst of the Andes, with freezing temperatures and completely isolated... maybe without food and heating...
Quick Tips:
I am not aware of any bus service to the Vallecitos ski center, but you might want to check this out at the Mendoza bus station. In any case, the cost of the taxi drive was quite affordable. If you want to go to the Penitentes ski center then you can go on the regular bus services that cross over to Chile. I am not aware of any other alternative. There are, of course, local bus services up to Uspallata.Best Way To Get Around:
As far as I know, a taxi drive is the only way to get there. I lived in Mendoza for three years and a half (1967 to 1970) and am not aware of any other alternative. There are local buses from Mendoza to Uspallata, but if you want to go further, the best alternative is the Alta Montaña tour, that does not include Vallecitos, but that reaches the Aconcagua and Las Cuevas, two spots that are really worthwhile visiting.