# Cuesta del Viento - Ze'Pequeño — Rodeo, Argentina

Sandy beach on the west coast of the Cuesta del Viento dam, in front of the Ze'Pequeño kite house and about 600 m north of Lamaral beach. You launch on the beach and ride towards the east and north, in front of the river mouth.

The wind is the easterly thermal that comes up the Jáchal river valley: mornings are calm and from midday it blows at 20 to 30 kt, sometimes over 50 kt in the afternoon. Here it comes in almost cross-onshore. The best season is from October to March (September to May with fewer days); in winter there is almost no wind.

Caution: when the reservoir is low, the northern part of the bay becomes a dry bed and the river mouth has shallows and mud. The water level changes a lot from year to year, and the shoreline with it. The water is cold (about 1,600 m altitude). With Zonda (west-northwest) the wind is offshore: no riding. There are no services mapped on the beach; the Lamaral beach bar has a bar, camping and school, and Rodeo has accommodation and food.

Photos: "Embalse Cuesta del Viento, Iglesia, San Juan" by Enrique Guardia (CC BY-SA 4.0), via Wikimedia Commons; "San Juan-Lago Rodeo (45879485115)" by Miguel (CC BY-SA 2.0), via Wikimedia Commons.

- **Sports:** Kitesurf, Windsurf
- **Difficulty:** Intermediate
- **Location:** Rodeo, Argentina (-30.17263, -69.10223)
- **Favourable wind directions (where the wind blows from):** E (100°)
- **Wind range (knots):** 15–40
- **Best months:** October, November, December, January, February, March

## Wind by month (% of days per strength)

| Month | <7 kn | 7–13 kn | 13–20 kn | 20–35 kn | >35 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28 | 40 | 29 | 3 | 0 |
| February | 20 | 33 | 36 | 11 | 0 |
| March | 31 | 33 | 33 | 3 | 0 |
| April | 44 | 32 | 23 | 1 | 0 |
| May | 65 | 27 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| June | 75 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| July | 70 | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| August | 58 | 35 | 5 | 2 | 0 |
| September | 40 | 32 | 21 | 7 | 0 |
| October | 23 | 32 | 37 | 8 | 0 |
| November | 14 | 28 | 39 | 19 | 0 |
| December | 19 | 38 | 34 | 9 | 0 |

## Local winds

- **Térmico del este** — E (100°), 15–40 kn. The dam's wind: easterly thermal that comes up the Jáchal river valley. Calm mornings; from midday it comes in almost cross-onshore to this beach, from 20 to 30 kt and sometimes over 50 kt in the afternoon.. In the afternoon it can exceed 40 kt with strong gusts: go out with a small sail or kite and come back before it picks up.
- **Zonda** — WNW (300°), 15–50 kn. Dry and hot west-northwest wind that comes down from the mountain range, especially from August to October. On the west coast it is offshore.. With Zonda there is no riding: offshore wind, gusty and with dust.

## Zones

- **Launch** — Launch zone
- **Ze'Pequeño** — Navigation zone

## Points of interest

- **Ze'Pequeño Launch**: Sandy beach in front of the kite house.
- **Ze'Pequeño kite-beach**: Kite house next to the beach (OpenStreetMap position). Tel. +54 264 586 6758.
- **River mouth**: Shallows, mud and sediment where the river enters; with the reservoir low it is a dry bed.
- **Parador Lamaral**: Bar, camping, school and rental at Lamaral beach, 600 m south (approximate position).
- **Hostel Lamaral**: Hostel with rooms and dorms, 1 km south.
- **La Vicuñita**: Accommodation in Colola, next to route 150, 2.4 km south.
- **Camping El Arroyito**: Campsite in Rodeo, 3.4 km south.

## Hazards

- Very strong wind in the afternoon, sometimes over 50 kt, with gusts
- Wind almost cross-onshore: you have to tack to get away from the shore
- Shallows and mud at the river mouth, north of the bay
- Very variable reservoir level: the shoreline changes from year to year
- Cold water: the dam is at about 1,600 m altitude
- With Zonda the wind is offshore: no riding

## Obstacles

- Shallows and mud at the river mouth, to the north

[See it on Ventus Surf (3D map, zones and live forecast)](https://ventus.surf/spots/cuesta-del-viento-ze-pequeno-WBUPMgwHiY8i8BORJVBz?lang=en)