CASA Tours Switchboard

Do Yourself a Favor, Ride a Volcano

Posted on April 18th, 2007 by gomez.
Categories: Recent Posts, Best Lines in South America, From the Guides.

By Aaron Bilotta

Couloirs, chutes, trees, bowls and…volcanoes?

I was initiated early to the tight and wondrous world of tree skiing. Above tree line chutes were a two hour hike above the valley floor. I was educated by a Jackson Hole legend as to why, “Bowls are for smokin’ and couloirs are for skiing”. Couloirs, chutes and bowls were the topography that made up my ski world. The geographical playground that is Chile contains over 2000 volcanoes, 55 of which are still active.
An eerie red glow looms from a crater above a peaceful Chilean town as we pack the car in anticipation of the next mornings’ tour. A short trip on Ruta 5 finds a small and winding dirt road that snakes under groves of Araucaria trees. The “monkey puzzles” bend, twist and arch giving an other-worldly sense, from the pages of Dr. Suess perhaps. The araucarias’ limbs spread way to a perfectly framed view of the most symmetrically conical peak and it’s begging for ski tracks. The cone dwarfs the small scattering of lifts at the base of the volcano. The hike up inspires and awes. Araucarias fan the valleys for miles as the next snow-laden volcano erupts from the earth. The summit is an open crater, venting thermal fumorals that heat the outside air. A 360 degree view displays lush green with piercing white cones in all directions.
Strapped in and giddy. The cone rolls out 5000 feet from your skis like plush white carpet to the valley below. Couloirs, chutes, trees and bowls. Do yourself a favor and add a volcano to the list.

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