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Posted on August 1st, 2007 by Travis.
Categories: Recent Posts, From the Guides, videos.
By Travis “Taco” Toelkes
Good day to all the lovers of snow out there!! This last week was an amazing one. It all started with a day of total debauchery in Santiago with my two new buddies, Aaron and matt. After picking matt up from the airport we hit up the cultural section of the tour including the subway (pretty wild experience for 3 boys from Montana and Wyoming!!), the plaza de armas (kind of like central park in new York), Bella vista (a pretty posh, eclectic, artsy barrio of Santiago), the mercado central (where you can find anything that has to do with fish, meat, veggies and fruit) and the paseo de ahumadas (an open air mall that stretches for about 10 blks). Then it was time to hit up the cafe con piernas (coffee with legs). This is a unique Chilean experience. It is a cafe where the ladies are dressed, shall we say, a bit on the provocative side???? But, man…the coffee is great!!! After that it was piscosour time. Pisco is the national liquor, made from a special type of grape. It kind of reminds me of guaro, the Costa Rican national drink, pretty nasty alone, but, mix it with some sweet and sour margarita mix and wowzers…look out! After a few you are ready to take on the world…or maybe just more of Santiago. With a six-pack of escudo (the local brew) in hand we took the funicular (a sort of tram) to the top of Cerro San Cristobal and took in the evening view of Santiago. It is pretty amazing to look over 7 million people and then gaze up to the Andes looming over the entire city…especially when you are buzzed up and chatting with the carabineros (police)!! Back in Providencia, the barrio we live in, we ate a feast of churrascos (a sandwich full of steak, avocado, cheese, mayo and tomatoes), fries, and of course, more escudos. Mix in some tequila, red bull vodkas, a couple of clubs, some taxi rides in search of fun and low and behold it was 6 in the morn! After 2 hours of sleep and with a serious hangover we loaded up and headed north to an area called Arpa. Here lies the only cat ski operation in Chile and on this day it was buried in a foot of fresh powder! Though it was a touch cloudy, the views were amazing and you could almost see the entire peak of Aconcagua (tallest peak in s. america). Not to mention, the skiing was phenomenal. We did two cat assisted runs and then me, Gomez and our friend, Francisco toured 2 hrs out to one of the most amazing runs of my life. Maybe it was the oh-my-god-I-might-die feeling I had the entire tour along the ridge (reminded me of a headwaters traverse with even more consequences and three times as long), maybe it was the 2000ft decent through virgin pow, or maybe it was the loss of the hangover…. whatever it was, the run was unreal. Next stop was Termas de Chillan and its 2 meters of new snow. Yes, that is over 6 ft of new snow!!!! For 2 days we raced around the mountain boundaries hitting every cliff, cornice, chute and open face we could find (see photo below). We went to an area called the dedos (fingers) via one of the more exposed boot packs I have ever done. But there, waiting for me, was such a rewarding couloir. I was so giddy to get an opportunity to ride a line like this. Upon the drop in I was giggling to myself, riding not only the fluffy powder but also the wave of adrenaline coursing through my veins! However, to my total dismay, half way down the run, the nose of my board decided it would be fun to see exactly how deep the snow was and with gravity leading the way my face submerged, I did a full front flip, landed on my board and kept on going. Noooooo…. a fall on a line like this…. oh but I am still going. A bit shaken by the fall, I made my way down the remaining critical section of the run only to do one more depth charge flip at the bottom in the run out. Maybe not the ideal descent, but I lived to tell the story and ride another day!! On the third day we donned skins and split boards and took off on an all day tour of the neighboring Pirigallo and Hermoso valleys plus an area called agua calientes. This tour was one for the books. The views were mind blowing, the runs were untouched and we covered close to 7500ft of vert. after taking in volcanoes, thermal pools, and acres of pristine powder we toured to the ridge between the Pirigallo and Hermoso valleys for one last run back to Termas de Chillan…I think we counted well over 70 turns each on the descent!!! Can you say leg burn??? The next morning we made our way south to a volcano called Lonquimay. The drive took us through podunk little villages and araucaria forests. Araucaria trees, also called monkey-puzzle trees, look like something out of a dr. Seuss book. Spiky trunks that bolt straight up to the sky topped with a broccoli looking foliage, all you need is some green eggs and ham and the scene is complete! Now, I have been on many a volcano, but never with the intention of riding down it! After a bartering session with the ticket attendant (three for the price of one) we rode up the lift, the one and only lift, to begin our tour up Lonquimay. With sustained, and I joke you not, 70 mph winds we made it to the summit via skinning and boot packing. We sat trying to decide the next move: which face to descend??? But after a few minutes of trying to scale the crumbly volcanic rock and being pelted by the raging winds the choice was obvious: back the way we came. Gripped with fear, cold and an intense desire to survive, I somehow managed to get my split board put back together and we rode down the chalky, carvey snow all the way back down to the parking lot. Though the beer was warm, it never tasted so good, and as we sat in the sun relishing our victory we formulated out next move. A few warm beers and 9 hours later we were back in Santiago, hunkering down for a few hours of sleep before heading up to Portillo. None of us had ever been to Portillo, but the rumors were good and plenty and we were excited to see what the hype was all about. However, little did we know just driving to Portillo is an adventure. The road leading up to the resort is also one of the major arteries across the Chile/Argentina border and it is chalk full of semis carrying goods between the two countries. Combine trains of 10 to 20 semis with 29 hairpin turns, 6000ft of vertical gain, and hundreds of impatient skiers weaving their way through it all, and you have the recipe for a tense drive. We saw passes that would make a NASCAR driver blush! Three semis, a blind corner…no worries, go for it!! Somewhere around turn 20, you realize that, yes that is a chair lift going over the road and yes, the ski run does go over the road! What a drive! Arriving white knuckled at the parking lot, you are welcomed with an amazing view of a perfect V shaped valley dropping into the frozen lake, Laguna del Inca. We started on the north facing side of the valley and hit 4 different couloirs all accessible by the 5-person pommel lift called roca jack. Once the sun hit the south facing side of the valley we headed over for a quick boot pack up to the lake run. This is so amazing. You hike for maybe 15 minutes and then you are dropping classic S turn chutes all the way down to the lake and then riding the lake all the way back to the base area! Where else can you do that??? To finish off our epic day we stopped by the mid mountain bar, tio bob’s, for 10,000 ft cerveza. Taking in the views of the mountains and the crisp, clear flavor of an escudo you can truly appreciate the spirit of the Andes. And so our week came to an end…and what a week it was. We were whipped. Cat skiing, volcanoes, and 2 resorts later and I am ready for a vacation…oh yeah, this is vacation!! Life is good. Work starts in a few days. Time to do some laundry and get my stuff together before the clients arrive. Who knows what waits on the next mission? Until later…Travis
ps. check out the videos of us sending it on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ugmUz4O_Qc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQaqM5WEGkI
Posted on July 31st, 2007 by aaron.
Categories: Recent Posts, Best Lines in South America, From the Guides.
Ski Chile: July 22nd – 26th, 2007: CASA Tours
By M. David Johnson
Another huge Andean storm has pounded Chile. The CASA team had an epic powder day at Ski Arpa on July 22nd with bluebird skies and little wind. Amazing.
July 22nd
Myself, CASA guide Aaron Bilotta, and his friend Matt Klene headed down to Los Andes that evening with the intention of skiing Portillo the following day. Exhausted after a big day at Arpa and a big night out in Santiago, we settled into our hotel room. Crashed out, I heard my phone ring. It was my good friend Hans calling from Termas de Chillan.
“Gomez get down here, it is dumping by the meter and Tuesday (the 24th) is going to be the day!!!”
July 23rd
We woke up the next morning and attempted to drive to Portillo only to be shut down at the bottom of the pass. The carabineros, Chile’s police force, had closed down the pass and told me there was at least a meter and a half of snow up at Portillo.
We decided to b-line it for Chillan. The reports coming from the South were very favorable and Termas de Chillan is our favorite resort in Chile. We stopped in Santiago, got our shiznat together and made the 6 -hour drive south.
While barreling up the road to Las Trancas at 1 in the morning, we could not believe how much snow had fallen as low as it did. The pueblo of Pinto even had snow on its streets and there were banks of snow as low as the pueblo of Recinto. When we rolled into Las Trancas, our base for skiing Termas de Chillan, we were giddy with excitement to see literally meters of snow at our cabanas Los Andes. Everyone we talked to has never seen snow like this before. Dean, who runs Cabanas Los Andes, was in shock with how much snow had fallen. Banks of snow were covering his first floor windows and curling off the roofs. It was quite a site.
July 24th
Pumped up, we got a few hours of rest and chomped down Dean’s southern style all you can eat breakfast. Dean is a real trip. He hails from Alabama, but has spent most of his adult life in South America. He started a business in Paraguay, importing the first soft serve ice cream machines into the country. The ice cream business was very good to Dean and he eventually moved to Chile to start another business. One day while traveling up to Las Trancas he decided there was not enough cabanas, bought property and built 9 cabanas and a main lodge. Dean’s breakfasts are legendary and he strolls around the eating area hounding folks to eat more pancakes and waffles. Needless to say our stomachs were taken care of and we were fueled up to head to the mountain.
It was definitely no joke. 2 meters of snow had blanketed Termas de Chillan’s terrain. We drove up in Grover, our rented ride for the week, past all the guys renting chains, and up to the main parking lot. Most people could only make it to the lower lot and we were in place to have dibs on the goods.
The Don Otto, South America’s oldest and longest chairlift, was being dug out when we arrived so we headed for the triple and then the poma, so we could hit Elephante, a stellar off piste run completely lift accessible. We skied the ramp down to the Elephante ridgeline Canadian style (all at once) singing Michael Franti’s “Oh my God” chorus in harmony.
We had picked our line and wanted to be careful the avalanche conditions were stable before dropping into this line that has a significant terrain trap.
Bilotta was first. He dropped in, made a few cautious turns to check the stability, and then proceeded to rip it through the trees poking out of the snow and into the Elephante gully. Spraying up incredibly dry Andean powder we watched in glee as Bilotta shredded his line. Next was Matt Klene, Bilotta’s longtime friend from New Hampshire and Jackson Hole. I cannot tell you how lucky Matt was to hit a day like this, his first at Termas de Chillan ever. The whole day he was speechless. A long time skier who bailed on the ski bum life to get a “real job” in Boston, Klene was blessed with seeing Termas at its absolute best, 2 meters of fresh, bluebird skies, and very stable snow. He followed Bilotta’s line into Elephante, tearing through the trees and leaving rooster tails of powder in his wake. Travis “Taco” Toelkes was next. The only boarder in the group, Taco, sprayed up some impressive clouds of Andean cold smoke. The three yeeeeeeehawing while I filmed them higher up on the ridgeline. It was so cool to see my friends having so much fun and filled with a contagious sense of pure happiness. I followed, choosing a line further up the ridgeline. The terrain in Elephante has so many variations to pick from and leads into a luge like gulley before exiting into the lower woods and bamboo forest.
With smiles ear to ear we got back on the chairlift with plans to hike over to Pirigallo before the Don Otto was dug out. Once we got to the top though plans had changed. Bilotta and Klene could not get the Elephante cliffs off their minds and it was a let’s get it done now scenario. The two wanted to send it big and could not spend any more time thinking about it. So we headed back to the Elephante ridgeline and each of us scoped out our respective lines and airs. For a desk jockey, Klene has not missed a beat on his skis. Bilotta and Klene hucked themselves off 30 foot precipices. Let us just say this stokage made Klene’s trip. I had asked him earlier if he was keen on big air, his response was very hesitant, but the bomb holes spoke for themselves and these guys went huge.
Getting that out of their systems we were free to go lap the Pirigallo Valley. The Don Otto was still being worked on but the chairs were moving. We made the short hike/traverse from the upper double lift to the top of the Don Otto and then the 5-minute hike up to drop into Pirigallo.
Again we were the first group to drop into Pirigallo. Klene and Bilotta choose to launch the massive cornice, while Travis and I choose a sweet chute to enter the Valley. We reconvened for the middle pitch, took some video, and proceeded to one of my favorite lines in the valley, a steep, Southern exposure face with about 1000 feet of vertical. The four of us all had an epic, totally untouched run in front of us. I dived in first and put my signature on the face, made my way to the northern facing part of the valley and watched as each of them picked their own lines and left their mark on this slope. Michael Franti’s “Oh my, Oh my God” became our mantra for the day and we admired our lines before exiting the valley and heading directly to the Don Otto, which was now loading skiers.
The 22-minute, archaic Don Otto is one of South America’s legendary lifts. Dopplemeyer made Termas de Chillan take its name off the lift. However for us powder seekers it is perfect. Not only do you get a bit of a rest, the slowness of the lift deters many other riders and the accessibility to the backcountry from this lift is equivalent to heli skiing. We made our way back to the enormous cornice about a 5-minute jaunt from the top of the lift station. This cornice is a classic air and you can go as big as you want off it. Taco found out just how big you could go and sent it huge off the cornice, much to his surprise. Both Bilotta and Taco launched themselves a solid 30 feet off this feature. Taco ostriched himself a bit and you could hear him exclaiming, “oh shit!!!” while in mid air. Again, the stoke was felt by all and we continued on to the next pitch in the valley. We worked on the south face before crossing the gulley and milking more turns on the North West face. Nothing but freshies!!!!
On the chair ride up, I got a call from my friend’s younger sister who is relatively new to snowboarding but wanted to follow her sister into the Pirigallo. Unfortunately she got stuck on a small patch of ice and became terrified. So our crew went to her rescue, helped her off the small patch of ice and led her down through the valley. We encountered Alejandro, a Termas de Chillan patroller, who with Mike Taylor and Aaron Bilotta saved a gentleman from an avalanche in bounds a few years earlier. The skier they saved was a Canadian who happened to be worth millions of dollars. In gratitude this Canadian brought 3 patrollers from Termas de Chillan as well as 2 CASA guides to Whistler for an all expense paid vacation. When the Chillan patrollers showed up without any ski gear, the man outfitted them with all their equipment. It goes to show, although the Andean snow pack is generally more stable than the snow we ride in the Northern Rockies, it does have the potential to slide and riders must respect the conditions and the hazards of massive avalanches.
As we rode the Don Otto up for our final run, the clouds rolled in and completely socked in the Pirigallo Valley. Just like that the mountain was enveloped in a thick cloud layer. This can be the other danger of riding in the Andes. Because 98% of the terrain is above tree line, when the clouds roll in like this there is absolutely no definition and a serious sense of vertigo is created. We choose to head north toward Tres Marias, where the clouds were not as thick. The Fresco t-bar was running. The Fresco brings skiers and snowboarders to the highest lift accessed point on the mountain and is the prime access for ascending the volcanic peaks Nevados de Chillan, Volcan Nuevo, and Volcan Viejo. It also offers the highest and best access to Tres Marias, one of the longest runs in South America. Skiing in Tres Marias’ terrain is what I would imagine skiing on the moon would be like. The lunaresque features of Tres Marias make for otherworldly skiing opportunities. Although not super steep, the terrain has endless knobs to get on top of and ski down from. We kept fairly close to the bamboo markers due to the poor visibility. It is fairly easy to get really confused in this terrain and if you are unfortunate you can drop into a number of holes with no other option than having to walk out of them.
We arrived at the bottom of the Tata lift and caught the 5 o’clock closing lift. Filled with tons of buena onda (good vibes) and sonrisas grandisimas, we took one last run through the bamboo forest. Both Bilotta and myself have had many powder days at Chillan but today was something really special. For Klene and Taco, they were introduced to a mountain that is like no other on a day like today. We piled into Grover, made our way back to Las Trancas and Dean’s cabanas and proceeded to celebrate like kings. Our conversation did not stray from how amazing our day was and we imbibed in the dirty water, Jack Daniels, and cans of Escudo, one of Chile’s most popular cervezas. We continued to celebrate through the night, visiting our good friend Hans’ restaurant Oliva’s to thank him for the heads up and share our incredible day with him.
Even though we had a big night and a huge day of skiing we were up early the next morning, cured the hangover with Dean’s breakfast and coffee, loaded up Grover and barreled up the mountain road. Our mission today was to tag the Pirigallo Fingers. To my knowledge the fingers had yet to be skied this season and they were screaming out to us to put our mark on them. The Pirigallo Fingers or los dedos de Pirigallo are the most prominent feature on the mountain. The fingers rise above the main day lodge but are accessed by a significant traverse across the north face of the Pirigallo Valley. We rode up the Don Otto, put in a longer boot pack up past the Pirigallo cornice we had hucked the day before and toward the west face of the Pirigallo Valley. We skied a nice pitch into the valley before beginning our traverse. The consistency of the snow on the west face was excellent. Because these Andean dumps have a more maritime snow characteristic the snow tends to be bouncier and one does not submerge into it as much as one does in the Northern Rockies. We then put a track across the north face of Pirigallo. Because the sun was extremely strong today it was very important we crossed this slope early in the day, otherwise the potential of a serious wet slide is ever present. As it was the north face was already seeing roller balls piling up on its terrain. Remember we are in the Southern Hemisphere so the exposure to the sun is opposite than the northern hemisphere and the north facing slopes are the ones which receive the most solar radiation.
Los Dedos de Pirigallo is a west-facing slope with 8-9 couloirs to choose from. We each choose our own line and spread out on the tips of the fingers. I dropped into my favorite finger first, a half pipe like couloirs that pops you out just above a large femoral, a giant heat vent. Termas is famous for its sulfuric fumaroles and the fingers are the main source for these heat vents. All I can say is incredible!!!!! The snow was choice and I raced ahead of the sluff I was creating and into the palm of the fingers. Cranked with adrenalin my shouts of happiness echoed throughout the valley. I then positioned myself in a safe zone and directed the other riders into their respective lines so I could video them. One at a time they proceeded to tag the face with large arching turns, riding the banks of the couloir’s walls and into the palm-like slope below. Unfreakin Believable!!! We arrived at the day lodge to many admirers and our shit eating grins could not be wiped off our faces.
Next task was more untracked lines in Elephante. However once we got to the bottom, the crowds from the Chilean holiday clogged up the lift line so I felt it was time to break from the group and head out to one of my favorite off piste destinations at Termas, a combination of Aquas Calientes and Valle Hermoso. To reach these areas it is about a 45-minute skin to Aguas Calientes and an hour skin to the Valle Hermoso summit. Again I am pretty sure no tracks had been put in either of these valleys this season, then again there were probably no more than 25 tracks put in Aguas Calientes during the entire 2006 season. These areas would be tore up if they were located at a North American resort, not here though where off piste skiing is still relatively uncommon.
I climbed up to the shark’s fin on the Aguas Calientes-Pirigallo ridgeline. This prominent feature is all rock on its north face and looks very steep from a distance. However its south face into Aguas Calientes is a perfect snow covered ramp providing and excellent entrance into Aguas Calientes. Although not a very long pitch, about 800 vertical, this line into this valley preserves snow very well and the skin out and back up to the ridge only takes a half hour. I center punched my line, laying down a sole track into the valley that I admired with great pride.
Skins on I made my way back to the ridgeline, past the sharks fin and onto the Valle Hermoso summit. I was standing on the summit at 4:20 in the afternoon, the sun lighting up the west face of Valle Hermoso and the 2800 feet of vertical I was about to ski. With stunning views of the perfectly conical Volcan Antuco to the south, the entire terrain of Termas de Chillan spread out to the north, Chillan’s 3 volcanoes to the east, and the Pacific coastal horizon to the west I was in my element. I took my time appreciating my surroundings and the feelings of returning to one of my favorite places on the planet.
Although it is against backcountry protocol to ski alone, there are sometimes when I really savor solitude like this and the opportunity to lay a sole track in an incredibly vast valley. The feeling of being so small compared to your surroundings yet feeling so big in spirit is sensational. Riding down in the waning sun, thousands of feet of powder at my disposal fills my soul with an incredible energy I cannot quite explain with words. I guess I can best express it with one of my signature howls, YEEEEEEEEEEEHAW!!!!!!
I climbed the few minutes out of Valle Hermoso to the main source of the fumaroles and skied my last pitch of the day, a beautiful slope above the hot spring pools and waterslide. Once down through the bamboo forest, over a rickety bridge and an easy hop over a fence I am back in the upper parking lot. Que Bueno!!!!! I skied down to the lower parking lot to meet up with Bilotta and Klene, who had just arrived from spending the afternoon lapping new lines in Elephante. Once again, exhausted, filled with the kind of soul only a powder day can deliver, we talked about our afternoons.
Back at Dean’s we cooked ourselves up a hamburger feast, drank a few Escudos and some Carmenere, Chile’s distinct wine that comes from a grape only found in Chile, and crashed out early.
July 26th.
Today our mission was to be more of a touring day. Again using the Don Otto for our initial access we got an early start and headed back out to the Pirigallo Valley. Today was a bit more overcast than the prior 2 and windier. This left the north face of Pirigallo with a sun baked wind crust. No worries because all the other aspects were skiing excellently and I had a line in mind I wanted to show Bilotta, Klene and Travis. We would head out to the west face of Pirigallo, ski the same short pitch from the day before and then head back up into the valley to set a high traverse on the north face of Pirigallo. The skinning across the face was a bit more challenging today but we did not encounter any treacherous ice patches. We climbed to the proper summit of the Pirigallo Fingers, but instead of dropping into the North or West slopes, we went into Valle Hermoso’s south face. After a couple of glorious pow turns we banked hard right and I led my friends to one of my favorite couloirs, a very aesthetic, snaking line, with large rock walls forming a beautiful hallway to ski. These couloirs really preserve snow well from the sun and wind and almost nobody goes to ski it. Again I got the privilege to drop in first being the one to show these guys a new line and once again I was treated to 1800 vertical feet of virgin yeahyo. We proceeded to shred the couloir and headed down to exit Valle Hermoso back to the parking lot and up the Don Otto.
22 minutes later we gained 2700 vertical feet and were out of bounds again. This time we continued further to Aguas Calientes. About 45 minutes later Bilotta and Travis were standing on top of the Shark’s fin, while I was ready to capture their turns on video lower down the ridge, in position to ski a line I had scoped the day before. More pow turns for us all and we put our skins on climbed out of valley Aguas Calientes back to the ridgeline and dropped it again. I mean how could you not, it was just begging to be tagged again and we were all happy to oblige, so we yo-yoed Aguas Calientes. We skinned up again and made our way to the summit of Valle Hermoso. Bilotta, Klene, and Travis headed for the line I skied the day before while I choose a variation further to the north. Again the afternoon Andean sun beamed on this west-facing slope. On the middle pitch, Klene must have made 60 turns in soft sun baked powder. We all left our distinct signatures on this amazing slope, relishing every moment, and admiring our work at the bottom of the valley. We just had 3 of the most perfect days a skier could imagine at any resort. I think it is going to be hard for Klene to concentrate on his work once he returns to Boston knowing the kinds of ski opportunities the Andes present. I cannot believe how fortunate he was to absolutely nail his visit with a 2-meter dump and bluebird skies. For me, the opportunity to return to these beautiful valleys and be treated with conditions like these is precious. I cannot describe in words how fortunate I feel to have experiences like these and to make my living doing so. The Andes have given me a passion that is deep in my soul and the opportunity to share it with a group of rippers like Bilotta, Klene and Travis is phenomenal.
Posted on July 28th, 2007 by gomez.
Categories: Recent Posts, From the Guides.
July 22nd: Valle El Arpa: SKI CHILE 2007: CASA TOURS
By M. David Johnson
All I can say is WOW!
We skied Arpa last year around the same time and there was no snow until the parking lot. How things have changed in 2007. I just got off guiding the first CASA Endless Winter tour of the 2007 South America ski season and took my guides out for a day of cat skiing at Valle Arpa. The road to Arpa could be one of the craziest roads accessing a ski hill on the planet. Talk about a wild experience!
We all could not believe the snow line. The access road to Arpa climbs out of the Aconcagua Valley starting around 2800 feet above sea level. The road winds through cacti and boulder hillsides and almost immediately snow was plastered onto the surrounding terrain. It is so surreal to see cacti caked with snow. This place is out there. Junctions to Arpa are marked with bullet riddled signs and Arpa written in a sharpie pen.
Our adventure revved up significantly as we negotiated the hairy switchbacks leading to the snow cat operation base, which consists solely of 2 stone bunkers built into the hillside. This road is a total mission. I cannot believe Anton Sponar drives this road on a daily basis from San Estaban, Chile. With 20cm of fresh coating the twisting dirt road and shoveled out wind drifts forming a luge like track with serious consequence. A couple of the turns were probably the most intense turns of the entire ski day.
OK, lets talk about Anton Sponar. This guy is 74 years old. Ski Arpa is his field of dreams. 5000 acres of high alpine Andean vastness. Anton is one of my biggest ski idols. He still rips and his passion for Arpa is undeniable.
We arrived in the parking lot accompanied by only 2 staff trucks, blue skies and 30cm of extremely light Andean POW blanketing Arpa’s immense terrain.
Mike Taylor, Travis Toelkes, Francisco Vasquez, Claire Dibble, Aaron Bilotta, Matt Klene, and myself came up for the day. Hooting and hollering excited to have survived the drive up and the fresh snow awaiting us, we all knew we were in for a real treat.
We got our gear ready and had a coffee in the stone bunker while Anton and the Nestor, the cat driver, got the Piston Bully fired up.
What a day!! As we motored up the cat track, Arpa’s terrain began to unveil itself to us. North facing slopes were incredibly smooth while the South facing slopes were rippled with powder drifts. Game On!!
Standing on the cat’s platform riding close to 3000 vertical feet up the valley to an 11,700foot knob, we all were giddy with excitement and the turns to come.
For our first line of the day we center punched Avalanchas, one of Arpa’s marquee runs. Oh My!!!! We bounced down the mountain, blasting into the powder drifts. It was like skiing through the dunes of the Sahara. Shouting with joy our team was juiced with powderiffic vibes. The sun glistening on our freshly cut tracks our group relished in our ski glory and waited for the cat to pick us up for another trip to Punta Guanaco.
Once dropped off on the 3740-meter point, Francisco, Travis and myself slapped on the skins and went for a tour. As I mentioned the North Face of the Valley had incredibly smooth looking snow. We were drooling over this terrain on the cat rides up. I consulted with the master, Tony, and he said the snow was good to go in these 1000-meter couloirs. We traversed a long ridgeline with sweeping views into several other valleys. This terrain is so immense. With a little billygoating, reminding me of my home mountain Lone Peak (Moonlight Basin/Big Sky, let’s call it what it is) I found myself staring down a 3000-foot couloir filled with virgin powder. I was ahead of my partners and on a mission to climb up the cat road for one last run. Mike and Claire spotted me from across the valley. I put in a ski cut, felt the snow out, and dropped in. Without stopping I stamped the couloir with my signature. The consistency of the snow was incredible. 3000 feet of cream cheese Andean powder. This was one of my most memorable runs of my life. Travis and Francisco sent it as well and while Aaron Bilotta and Matt Klene rode up in the cat and watched us, they were enticed to do the same. We all agreed this was one of the most special lines we all had ever skied/snowboarded.
I put back on my skins and started huffing it up to Punta Guanaco and in 1 hour 15 minutes reached the top again. I think the people in the cat who passed me were a little befuddled why this longhaired, bearded gringo was doing such a thing. Well I needed one more run for the day and the last cat was filled, so……… up I went. I stood on the peak at 4:20; solo, staring at the Aconcagua Valley lit up in the afternoon sun and the Pacific Ocean spreading out in the far horizon. I radioed down to my group that I was having a special moment and was preparing to descend. I traversed past Avalanchas and made my way into Ultimo Peso and another 3000 feet of glorious powder turns. This time I took the time to stop and pick out some variations in my line.
With a huge shit-eating grin I arrived at the stone bunkers to meet my group and say thank you to Toni. We were treated to one of the most spectacular days of skiing at the Valley of the Harp. Our adventure was not quite over though. I waited for Aaron and Matt Klene who were still skiing the north face and swapped out into their 4×4 for the drive down. Once again we were gripped for the luge like switchbacks. Toni followed us down in his Suzuki Samari, just another day at the office, the alpen glow illuminating the entire Valley and cacti silhouetted along the hillsides.
For more information on Valle Arpa check out their website: http://www.skiarpa.com/
Posted on July 21st, 2007 by soulskier.
Categories: Recent Posts.
By Mike Taylor
Pucon is a town in southern Chile famous for heavy precipitation year round, and therefore equally as well known for it’s beautiful old-growth forests, raging rivers, and full length rain proof panchos…
As Claire and I sit in Cafe Trawen, drawn in from the rainy main street by an intoxicating, warm waft of fresh baked bread, three old buddies of mine file into the café. Their semi-waterproof panchos are leaving puddles on the floor, as they order a round of pints after a day of ski instructing at Volcan Villarica, telling of boot-top to thigh-deep dry powder up at the ski area.
Juan Pablo I’ve know the longest. We met in ’95 at Big White ski resort in BC, my home ski area for 7 seasons. He was a visiting ski patroller from Las Lenas, Argentina. It was a stormy time, and we met at the top of the Alpine T-Bar, from where he joined me on an avalanche control route on “The Cliff”, onto which we threw a handful of charges, testing the slope for hazard, and afterwards, of course, we skied the waist deep powder bridging any cultural indifferences. I suppose it was this afternoon when I first became interested in skiing in South America. Thanks Juanpa. Since I’ve been doing S. American seasons in ’99, I’ve bumped into him at Valle Nevado, as the patrol leader, Corralco 3 years later, as outdoor operations manager, and now he’s here teaching skiing.
Underneath the second rain-soaked pancho is Carlos, the oldest of the three, whose career has mostly been in mountain rescue, based out of different regions in Chile over the years. I met him 4 years ago, at a friend’s farm who was hosting an asado, a typical Chilean barbeque party. I recall the topo map he pulled out of his car during our conversation of various volcano summits. I don’t know how many years old his map was, but it was practically unreadable, with pen marks all over it, marking ski touring trips he’d been on. This guy is salt-of-the-earth, and when he first got into skiing off of volcanoes, I’d bet he was 1 of very few. I always make sure to grab a beer with Carlos, and draw out a story or two.
And lastly, Ivan, a ripping skier, and devoted family man, who loves to hike up from the top lift of Villarica, and traverse for kilometers, to bag some un-tracked lines down to the parking lot. He calls me “Simplemente Mike”, always with a huge smile, referring to my 10-yr-old (at best) level of Spanish, which at this point is combined with raw Chilean slang, resulting in some kind of comical linguistic paradox. Ivan and I once topped Volcan Llonquimay together is a wild wind storm. I offered the use of my multi-tool to him when we put our crampons on, as he had to re-size them and affix them with bits of leather lace he found in his rucksack. At the summit, we experienced the optical phenomenon of ‘Heiligenschein’ (thanks Wikipedia), always making a mountain experience spectacular. And the deer steak/mustard sandwich he gave me couldn’t have been more delicious as we took shelter from the wind in the crater, with the views of the conical summits of Llaima, Villarica, and Lanin volcanos to the south, and Tolguaca, Callaqui, Copahue, and Antuco to the north.
The social circles within the ski industry here in Chile are small, and these characters are warm and welcoming. As I finish this story, the 3 are headed out, and Ivan’s invited myself and Claire to an asado at his home, just off shore of Lake Villarica. His says all his friends from the resort will be there, and there’ll be a independent ski film shown. We’ll definitely take that in. And tomorrow we’ll meet on up at the ski area, Volcan Villarica, maybe hike a while, perhaps traverse a kilometer or two, leading up to a summit attempt the following day when the storm breaks. The run down is absolutely riveting, one of the many classic descents in Chile.
There’s a saying in Chilean Spanish that refers to a positive connection, (or literally vibration), between people, places, times, and events; ‘buena onda’. It’s these connections that keep me coming back for South American winters, and truly enjoying showing these destinations to new guests of CASA Tours.
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 . . .
Posted on July 14th, 2007 by gomez.
Categories: From the Guides, The Ski Diaries.
We have never seen as much snow here at Villarica in all the years we have been coming down. Another huge Andean storm has pounded the mountains here in Chile. Our group is here in Pucon and skied Villarica yesterday. They have received over 60cm of snow in the last 2 days. We were able to ski most of the way down the road instead of riding in the van!!!!
The banks along the side of the road are about 10 feet tall.
Chile is going off!!! I love it: snow by the meter!
Termas de Chillan received at least 50cm of snow in this last storm and the areas around Santaigo: Valle Nevado, El Colorado and La Parva got hammered as well. Snow was falling far down the road.
The temperatures are also colder than average, meaning the snow that has fallen is incredibly dry and light.
We are set up for an excellent season, the coverage is amazing, as good as I’ve ever seen it.
Please check out our youtube site:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=CASATOURS
for up to date images
If you have been dreaming to ski the Andes, 2007 is shaping up to be an epic season.
Posted on July 14th, 2007 by gomez.
Categories: From the Guides, The Ski Diaries.
Saludos from Chile,
Well once again Independence Day marked my departure from the United States and summertime and my arrival to the Southern Hemisphere and winter. Each time it amazes me how I can wake up to an Andean sunrise and in 1 night travel from summer to winter.
Going from 100 degree plus temperatures in Montana to 40 degree temperatures in Santiago is a welcome change and as I fly above the Andes looking down on its snow covered mountains I become giddy with excitement and another ski season beginning.
Unlike last season the Andes have received excellent early snowfall and another storm left 6 inches of dry Andean powder at the resorts outside Santiago.
CASA picked up its first guests on the 7th of July for our first Endless Winter tour. When we arrived at La Parva on the 8th the clouds had us socked in. That afternoon though the clouds broke and the Andes unveiled themselves to us. The sight of these familiar mountains poking out of the clouds sent tingles throughout my body.
The temperatures have been consistently cold and the snow quality I would describe as velvety powder on top of a chalky, carvy base.
As the sun powered through the clouds my guests got their first glimpses of these magnificent mountains and were inspired by their beauty and grandness.
Our afternoon was glorious and a high pressure was awaiting us for the next 2 days of skiing and snowboarding.
The following day we ventured to Valle Nevado where we were treated to a powder day and bright sunshine. The early season coverage is excellent this year and we rode the Los Andes Express, Valle Olympico and had 2 runs down Santa Terasita, one of my favorite off piste areas in all of South America.
Santa Terasita is an 1800 vertical foot face with a mile long ridgeline that drops into a variety of chutes, banana couloirs, cliff drops, and natural half pipes. It is accessed from either a short hike from Valle Nevado or by ducking a rope at El Colorado and descends to the road leading to Valle Nevado. One of the great things about CASA Tours is we have a driver who shuttles us from the road back to the resort after each run. This is our version of heli-skiing and this entire face had less than a handful of tracks before our arrival. Our smiles were ear to ear as we looked down at 1800 feet of untouched powder. I would best describe the skiing as silky smooth and we were able to lay out huge turns and the snow quality was consistent throughout the entire run allowing us to open it up.
We spent the following day at El Colorado, my favorite resort in the Tres Valles.
El Colorado offers the easiest access to Santa Teracita and has some superb inbounds terrain accessed from the Conde Este and Cornisa t-bars. Steep slopes and prominent red rock features distinguish El Colorado’s backside.
After playing around at the resort it was time to return to Santa Terasita.
Even a day later there were hardly any tracks on this face other than our own from the day before. We took one of our quests who spends his winters in France snowboarding. He was thoroughly impressed and hearing the words “That was one of the best runs of my life” gave me an incredible sense of joy. Seeing my guests have an epic run in terrain that is bigger than they’ve ever ridden before makes me feel like a proud papa. Needless to say he wanted more and we were happy to oblige, 2 more times, each one better.
It is on down here and we are stoked with how everything is setting up snow-wise. From Santiago to Barilcohe the Andes are covered
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
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.
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