Those shots were taken with my friends Canon S2 I think? Maybe it was an A1? It 'was' one of their nicer none SLR options. It's only 3.5 megapixel, but has a lot of powerful tid-bits like a 10x optical zoom, options for complete manual control, and the automatic exposure mode is pretty smart especially when it comes to some challenging mountain lighting. It held up fine in cold weather. Took a fair bit of abuse while we were there too. Plenty of pro photographers down there with thousands of dollars worth of equip. Always a good idea to pick up some travelers insurance when going down there in case you get hurt or get something stolen. Make sure your camera is covered just in case.
Las Lenas in Argentina has some of the most amazing lift accessed terrain and snow in North or South America. We were down there for quite a while. We ended up staying in an apartment with a whistler local who runs a sort of vacation package / guiding / whatever you want company for skiing in S.America. Whether you're planning an extravagent one week vacation or 3 months of dirtbag traveling, it's definitely worth just checking out his site
www.southamericaski.com or just emailing him with any questions. He's pretty much the North American ski ambassador when it comes to getting by down there.