Finding deep rewards in the sea of Andes summits.
Recounting the (mis)adventures of a South American ski trip
Some of the best in the world can be found in South America right now. While northern Chile has reported meager snow and a rough start to the season, the southern Andes have been getting pummeled. For those of us not enjoying the South American powderfest, here’s a collection of coverage from the snowy reaches of our far-south neighbor. First, a double dose of stoke from the Totally Deep Podcast archives. And tune back in later this week for a real time report from Bariloche.
In 2017, Gary Smith, Doug Stenclick and Brian Zigulich embarked on a three week Chile and Argentina road trip of “alternating stoke and despair.” Over the course of the trip, the trio encountered a South American Snowpocolypse, a Jimmy Chin sighting in Santiago, lost (and very important) paperwork on the Chile/Argentine border and so much snow, the guys couldn’t even go skiing. Over two episodes, they recount adventures of questionable hut hygiene, not-quite-hot-enough hot springs, and a bald-tired rental car–dubbed Lion Car–about which Doug concludes: “the thought of snow would stop this car in this tracks.”
Snow so deep, it buried lift lines and shut down towns and ski areas.
Approaching the billowing rim of Volcán Villarrica. Probably shouldn’t breathe too deep.
Oh, and there was skiing. Eventually, lots and lots of skiing. The crew skied several volcanos in the Lake District near Pucón, Chile, and journeyed to refugios in the backcountry near Bariloche. They found a whole range of ski conditions from endless pow to rime ice to rain soaked mashed potatoes.
Doug skis questionable “snow” off the summit of Volcán Lanín.
Jubilation on the summit of Cerro Lopez.
So if you want to laugh, cringe and get really excited to be charging on skis soon, have a listen. Also, stay tuned for a real time trip report on Friday.
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While most of the WildSnow backcountry skiing blog posts are best attributed to a single author, some work well as done by the group.