Skiing in Valle Nevado ---------------------- A few pictures from skiing in Valle Nevado, Sept 6th, 2007. Most pictures just show that we had wonderful weather - blue skies, lots of sunshine - and that we had lots of snow. It is a bit tricky in that hemisphere though, the sun is to the north, not to the south, and it is moving the "opposite way". So, when you are trying to find the good snow, and to avoid the icy slopes, you have to think the opposite way of what you usually do. It can be learned though :) Check the "Mapa de Pistas" on http://www.vallenevado.com (or use the link from my skiing page). The site is very high (and has its own ozon hole) so prepare for loads of UV light ... Nice black slopes ----------------- Best run on our day was the "Adrenalina" which starts at Valle del Inca at 3.521 meters. It was unprepared and had fairly good snow even though it did have chunks of ice mixed into it, which would push you off course just to keep you alert and awake. "Cascada" next to it was groomed and also very nice; a good place to escape to from Adrenalina once the work in the deep snow at 3.5 km above sea-level had pumped you for oxygen. Icy black slopes ---------------- Shake, La Momia and Eclipse were very icy and not much fun. At least not my type of fun, but most people there seemed to prefer ice for nice soft snow. The US influence I guess: Has to be fast and dangerous. Red slopes ---------- Tango 1, Tango 2, Samba, Charleston and Milonga were all nice friendly red slopes, and they had good stretches of unprepared terrain between them with nice snow to explore. Very pleasant and a good place to get some first "off piste" experience. Somewhere between the Samba, Slalom and La Luna there are some nice little stretches of moguls and a very nice and deep gully that works as a natural half-pipe. The area is generally very friendly, not very big (but there are connections to neighbour areas "Al Colorado" and "La Parva" which I have not tried) and mostly not very steep. Aside from the icy bits there are no slopes that are "truly black". The neighbour sites are a bit lower, and as I understand it they are even less steep. The pictures of Masayuki, Michelle and myself were taken on top of "Tres Puntas" (3.670 meters). One was taken with a view to the north-east (El Plomo at 5.430 meters towards the left, I think it is Bismark at 4.7 km in the background). The others were taken with a view to south-west in the direction of Santiago de Chile. Santiago itself is never visible from anywhere (unless you are in it) due to the perpetual cloud of smog covering it. The other pictures (all taken by Masa) just show various bits of Andes, snow, sky. Mostly they just are there to convince you that the weather was truly great, and that we found lots of great snow. Saturday Sept 8, 2007: Portillo ------------------------------- On this day I went alone to "Portillo". Unfortunately I did not bring a camera along, but there is again a link to Portillo from my ski-page (http://www.skiportillo.com). This area is about the same size as Valle Nevado, but it is by a huge factor more challenging and more interesting. Slopes are steeper, the official slopes go through places where a normal resort in the Alps would put up two layers of red ropes with warning signs and "Do Not Enter". The lifts themselves are a challenge, and you even get to run across a frozen lake :) I can highly recommend Portillo if you are ready to take the challenges offered. If not, then don't bother to go there, you will be confined to the blue slope down the west side of valley, and a single red on the other side of the valley, for a whole long day - and you have to walk to come from one to the other.