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- “The Needles” La Hoya, Argentina
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- Small Ski Areas That Rock: La Hoya: Patagonia, Argentina
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Skis, Boots, Poles - Go
Posted on July 21st, 2007 by gomez.
Categories: Recent Posts.
By Claire Dibble
It all started with a good deal on some ski boots at the thrift store. I was there looking for snowboard bindings, quite content in my knuckle-dragging existence. Tried the boots on, they fit, left with them slung awkwardly over my shoulder.
It wasn’t long before I found myself watching skiers bounce through powder under the chairlift, almost unaware of the boarders surfing by. But I continued along the same single-track path I’d been riding on, right up until yesterday.
With the thrift store boots, some beat-up touring bindings gifted to me by a supportive skier friend, and my very first pair of brand new skis (a pair of fatties made by the up-and-coming independent company, Faction), I officially began phase two of my life on two planks. Phase one was fun but unimpressive, and occurred between the ages of 6 and 16.
There is perhaps no better place to launch a romance with skis than in Chile. The Andes climb to unequaled heights mere kilometers from the hip downtown of Santiago. It was on the blanketed slopes of Valle Nevado, with its base 60 switchbacks and around 7,500 feet above the city, that I [re]cut my teeth. A storm had brought fresh snow, a high pressure system chased the storm away and left us with blue skies, a perfect combination.
Around mid-day, inspired by photographic opportunity, I followed Mike and Travis to the saddle between Valle Nevado and neighboring resort, El Colorado. We traversed to the virtually untouched lines of Santa Teresa, a terrain feature visible from the access road and full of interesting lines, some quite intimidating for those of us getting reacquainted with skis.
The snow was velvety, just enough powder to make one feel like a hero, but not so much that true powder skiing skill was needed. Perfect for someone like me. The features were visually pleasing, smoothed by snow when seen from above, rock faces tucked beneath arching slopes. We floated our way to the road, just in time to watch Gomez charge down a couloir feature, his giddiness visible even from half a mile away.
Santa Teresa welcomed me to Chile, to skis, and to a summer full of winter, and she did it with style. I can’t wait to ski her again. Or maybe I’ll take the board next time . . .
BABES IN THE BACKCOUNTRY CHILEAN SNOW DIVA TOUR
Posted on May 10th, 2007 by gomez.
Categories: Recent Posts.
Babes In The Backcountry and CASA Tours are offering a Snow Diva tour of the Chilean Andes this August 17th through August 24th. The tour begins in Santiago, Chile and visits El Colorado, Valle Nevado, and Termas de Chillan ski resorts. All lodging, breakfasts and dinners, ski tickets, transportation while on tour and guides are inclusive.
The Andes provides a mixture of terrain from mellow cruisers to endless backcountry possibilities for babes of all abilities to enjoy.
On tour we visit the Miguel Torres winery for a scrumptious 4 course wine tasitng brunch, Etniko Sushi, one of the finest sushi restaurants in Santiago, and have a typical Chilean asado prepared specially for our group.
Our accomodations range from bed and breakfasts, to plush apartments, to cozy ski cabanas.
CASA Tours began offering guided ski/snowboard adventures to Chile and Argentina 9 years ago.
For more information please contact:
sarah@casatours.com
leslie@babesinthebackcountry.com
on the web @ http://www.casatours.com/special.asp
Beat the Heat this Summer Cool Off in the Andes with the Divas!!!
Global Powder to the People
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.
Paragliding Ski Videos
Posted on April 8th, 2007 by gomez.
Categories: Recent Posts, videos, The Ski Diaries.
What a great idea, combining paragliding with skiing.
Here are a few videos I found on youtube that capture this unique sport.
Here in South West Montana there a few folks delving into speed flying and Utah is also a mecca for this activity.
In Europe paragliding is a popular sport and combining a wing with skis just seems to be a natural evolution.
Paragliding Skiing in Cooke City, Montana
Extreme Paragliding Skiing in Europe
ParaSnowKite session in France
Rowdy Ski Resort Hikes
Posted on April 7th, 2007 by gomez.
Categories: Recent Posts, The Ski Diaries.
Sometimes getting the goods involves an exhilirating approach. Access gates open the ski resort boundaries and take powder seekers out and beyond. Many of these gates require you put your skis or board on your back, march up a snow stairway, and traverse ridgelines to access your line. Some of these hikes are pleasant strolls, 10 minutes and you are there, others are more vigorous, steep cardio workouts, and then there are some burly, sketchy, don’t fall here hikes that kick in the endorphins long before the boards are strapped on.
Resorts like Bridger Bowl, Taos, Jackson Hole, Arapahoe Basin, Big Mountain, Telluride, Brighton, Crystal, and Grand Targhee all have legendary hikes that bring snowriders to all sorts of terrain possibilities. There is a certain ski culture directly associated with the locals who rally these hikes on a daily basis. Many apres ski conversations focus on these earn your turns runs.
In my opinion there a 3 resort based hikes in the lower 48 that really tickle the jewels and get the heart pumping well before dropping in. These 3 hikes bring riders to big mountain terrain, but what makes these hikes stand out is the exposure hikers experience getting to this terrain.
Fantasy Ridge, Solitude Mountain, Utah.
From the top of the Summit chairlift, Fantasy Ridge follows a knife edge ridgeline and leads riders to a number of steep, snaking couloirs through the Honeycomb cliffs as well as open bowls like Silver and Days Fork, and tree lined spines like Murphy’s. Walking up Fantasy Ridge hikers navigate the Honeycomb cliffs, one of Solitude’s most distinguished terrain features. Along the ridgeline patrol put handrails in the most gripping locations, falling off either side would not be a pleasant experience. The hike reminds me of a snow covered, mini Angel’s Landing. Utah might be a conservative state but they certainly have some of the rowdiest trails in the US.
Headwaters (Lord of the Rings) Traverse, Moonlight Basin, Big Sky, Montana.
Ok so this is my local mountain and I am biased but this hike is hands down the most exposed trail leaving from a ski area in the lower 48. Accessed from either Moonlight Basin’s Headwaters Lift or Big Sky’s Challenger Lift this hike starts as a benign 20 minute step up. Once you reach the patrol sled you are walking along the Headwaters ridgeline that divides Big Sky’s A-Z chutes and Moonlight Basin’s Headwaters couloirs. Moonlight Basin is one of North America’s newest resorts and before it opened the Headwaters terrain was open on a very limited basis. The terrain used to be named Nashville Bowl, the Gracelands, and the ELVIS couloirs, named so because each couloir resembles its respective letter. 1800 vertical feet of continuous 40 degree plus north facing dancefloors, tight squeezes, spines and cliffs make this terrain the perfect venue for big mountain riding. The A-Z chutes and Pinnacles drop off the south side of the Lord of the Rings Traverse. This side tends to be more tempermental snow wise due to sun effect, however aesthetically the A-Z’s are dreamy. With all the liability issues these days in North America it is amazing anyone can access The Lord of the Rings traverse. There are many sections of the traverse that are especially spicey, falling would entail bouncing off sharp andesite rock. There are no handrails or ropes to assist hikers besides one section that has metal chicken wire to keep rocks from tumbling out. And it is open 95% percent of the time, Moonlight Basin’s patrol has done an exceptional job of getting this avalanche terrain open on a daily basis and letting people get er done. With Lone Peak hovering above, walking along this traverse will make you feel like you are in Narnia. A plea to Lee Poole and Moonlight Basin, change the Headwaters traverse name back to the The Lord of the Rings traverse.
Dead Goat Hike, Moonlight Basin, Montana:
OK I know what you are thinking, this guy is really stuck on his mountain, but the north side of Lone Peak is one of the steepest high alpine ski areas in the world. Lone Peak is very remininscent of the Alps or Andes;grandiose, in your face big.
The Dead Goat hike leaves from the top of Moonlight’s Lone Tree Lift. It scrambles up a steep face and leads to an even steeper slot aided with a ropeline to a crumbly rock and ice ridgeline. Riders can drop into Don’t Tell Mama or Dead Goat from this 30 minute hike. Although the exposure is not as great as Solitude’s Fantasy Ridge or the Lord of the Rings Traverse, the sheer steepness and rockiness of the Dead Goat hike ranks it right up there as one of the rowdiest hikes in the US of A.
Here are some links for more information on great ski hikes throughout North America
Bridger Bowl Ridge Hike
Cold Smoke Awards
Ryan Turner Photography Big Sky Moonlight Basin ski/ snowboard photos
Cody Peak, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Crystal Mountain, Washington Silver Queen Hike
Wolverine Cirque, Wasatch Mountains, Utah
Telluride Gold Hill into Bear Basin
A-Basin, Colorado
World of Good and the Fair Trade Movement
Posted on March 19th, 2007 by abearc.
Categories: Recent Posts, Social Good.
I recently began reading about a company called World of Good located in the San Francisco Bay Area. Their mission is to create opportunities for hundreds of artisan cooperatives around the world and to serve as a bridge to the U.S. retail market. They assist artisans by providing access to fair wages, safe working conditions and long-term economic sustainability.
The mission of World of Good is threefold: (from their website)
- To make purchasing Fair Trade artisan products easy for consumers - primarily through bringing Fair Trade options to the mainstream retail market
- To help the communities and artisans that create these beautiful products by:
- paying a fair wage in the local context
- ensuring healthy and safe working conditions within the local context
- building long-term trade relationships
- encouraging environmentally sustainable practices
- providing financial and technical assistance to producers whenever possible
- To educate consumers about the benefits of purchasing fair trade products
Click here to watch an interview with Pria Haji the company’s founder.
Learn more about the principles of fair trade.
Also visit World of Good: Development Organization, a branch of World of Good focused on strengthening standards for handcrafts in the international fair trade industry and also improving the lives of thousands of artisans through community development projects.
CASA Tours introduces EXPLORE PATAGONIA Tour
Posted on March 19th, 2007 by gomez.
Categories: Recent Posts.
Our newest CASA itinerary. The 8 day Explore Patagonia Tour takes our guests into the heart of the Patagonian Andes. Our trip starts and finishes in Bariloche, where guests are treated to thousands of acres of inbounds and offpiste ski terrain and breathtaking lake vistas at Cerro Catedral. Bariloche has a plethora of superb restaurants, nightspots and boutiques making it a sophisticated, world-class adventure based community. We take a day trip and travel along the shores of Lago Nahuel Haupi to Villa Angostura and spend our day exploring the uncrowded slopes of Cerro Bayo, and its easily accessed backcountry terrain. Next we road trip south along Ruta 40, where we stop at the 42nd parallel and the town of El Bolson to visit its famous artisan market and enjoy a few micro brews and lunch at the local brewery. Following the famous narrow gauge steam train route writer Paul Theroux coined the Old Patagonian Express, we arrive in Esquel, a gaucho and Welsh influenced country town. Situated where the expansive Patagonian steppes meet the Andes and near to where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid homesteaded, Esquel is our gateway for 3 days skiing and snowboarding at La Hoya. A true Argentine gem, La Hoya offers us endless backcountry opportunities and stunning views into Parque Nacional Alerce. We spend our evenings sharing matte, wine, and mouth watering Argentine beef. We return to Bariloche for one more big night out and a final day on the slopes at Cerro Catedral. Que Bueno!!!
Alumni Bonus!! CASA is extending a 15% discount on the Explore Patagonia tour to all our alumni travelers for the 2007 season.
East Side
Posted on March 17th, 2007 by abearc.
Categories: Recent Posts, From the Guides.
This is the year. I’m going back. An against the grain and against all senses of sanity ski trip back to the east coast. I’ve had it with skier’s boasts of their trips “out west”. Why don’t we hear tales of epic “back east” journeys? Okay..I know I know. But still, skiing in the east conjures up memories of skiing at its purest and simplest in a time where the big mountain free-riding scene is sometimes just “too much”. My imagined itinerary begins with sharp edges on a pair of skis that aren’t too fat to fit in the old ski rack..aah perfect! Cold air bites the skin as I rip corduroy down the historic Wildcat trail with the majestic Mount Washington vista looming. Off to bang VW sized bumps at the Loaf on Bubblecuffer. Mad River Glenn. I’ll ski it if I can. Are there any more in-your-face trails than the front four of Stowe? Outer Limits and Devil’s Fiddle at Killington perhaps. The oxymoronic eastern powder day, cue-ball mountain, toboggan chutes, death cookies, glades and crust. An early morning hike to HoJo’s where its time to change shirts and begin the boot up the left claw of Hillman’s. The first turns drop me into Dodge’s, steep and winding. Then it’s a trek across the Highway and another boot up and into the Duchess. Feeling good. Up and over the scree to the top of the ravine. Past Left Gully. This turn always gets it pumpin’. Just before the cliff-out there’s a goat path back into the Chute. Old familiar faces at the tavern talking rope-ducking and bush whacking. It’s pure, its simple, its skiing. So, as the snow continues to pound the Tetons here in Jackson, I’ll continue to plan my return trip to the hardpack. Maybe next year.
Aaron Bilotta - CASA Guide
Environmental Sustainability
Posted on March 17th, 2007 by abearc.
Categories: Recent Posts, Sustainable Travel.
CASA Tours is dedicated to environmental sustainability throughout our North and South American operations. We recognize that in the adventure travel business, activities like air travel and car travel lead to the emission of carbon gases into the atmosphere, contributing to the influence of global warming. Widespread climate change will have long-term consequences for ecosystem form and function, greatly affecting human populations and how we live on Earth. In terms of the sports of skiing and snowboarding, global climate change may influence the amount of snowfall that accumulates in high elevations throughout the world. Thus, the ski and snowboard community has a stake in the reduction of fossil fuels and other drivers of the climate change phenomenon.
One method of reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is through “carbon offsets”, or the practice of reducing emissions through the development of alternative energy sources or increasing the absorption of greenhouse gases through tree planting / preservation. Trees sequester carbon through photosynthesis, converting carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and plant matter.
CASA Tours practices our carbon offset through the preservation of existing, mature forest lands in Chile and Argentina. The conservation of these areas also provides enormous ecosystem services, by forever placing critical Patagonian habitat into permanent protection. CASA Tours pledged $500 and will contribute 2% of our 2007 profits to The Conservation Land Trust. The Conservation Land Trust is the brainchild of Doug Tompkins (founder of The North Face) and his wife Kris Tompkins (Ex-CEO of Patagonia), who founded the largest privately owned preserve in Chile, Parque Pumalin.
We are also working on minimizing our paper use and using recycled paper products when necessary. In the future, CASA hopes to contribute to the local communities we visit by promoting alternative energy use. We acknowledge the environmental issues we face today, and are working towards a global effort - with many small entities joining forces to create sustainable change.
Jeremy Thomas, CASA Tours Director of Sustainability, was one of the two original founders of CASA Tours, and continues to work professionally as an ecosystem restoration scientist throughout North America. He strives to use CASA Tours as a small business model that demonstrates how progressive environmental sustainability efforts can be profitably integrated into a business.
New Post are located under this category
Posted on March 17th, 2007 by abearc.
Categories: Recent Posts.