Argentina is "considering bidding for future Olympics, including offering the Patagonia region as a potential host of the Winter Games," according to the AP. With
Buenos Aires set to host the Summer Youth Olympics in 2018, "Argentine officials believe that IOC reforms could enhance the country's chances of securing the full-fledged games." The Argentine Olympic Committee (COA) said in a statement, "We are starting to consider the possibility of bidding for a future edition of the Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. The Winter Olympic Games are also an option in our beautiful Patagonia." The Patagonia region, shared by Argentina and Chile, "comprises the Andes mountains." While Rio de Janeiro will host South America's first Summer Olympics in 2016, the Winter Games have "never been held in the Southern Hemisphere." Hosting the games in Patagonia would "require a shift of the traditional Olympic calendar." The southern hemisphere winter runs from June to September. When the world Alpine ski championships were held in Portillo, Chile, in '66, the event took place in August (AP, 10/6).
