September 2, 2007, Ojos del Agua, Chile
9/2/07
South America
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This was our only touring day and it was a beauty. Jill and I were in our Chevy Corsa wagon and Steven Hatcher and Silas were in Stevens SUV. The 2 hour drive was pleasant and sane on a Sunday morning. At one point along the route, Steven pulled over and in the distance was a view of Acongagua. As we ascended the 2 lane road towards Portillo, the peaks grew larger. About 6 miles from Portillo, Steven pulled onto the shoulder of the road and pointed up a canyon and said this is it. There is a small all purpose store/hut which has ski gear and food, plus this is where you sign out for your tour. Andinista and Hartmung were already up the canyon and we told Steven and Silas to go ahead. This is the South American version of the senior stall which has been perfected by Ron and Mad Dog. As usual the testosterone gang disappeared quickly. Jill and I slowly skinned up the mouth of the canyon, past the construction crew working on the spillway. The canyon narrows briefly then opens slowly then spreads widely with steep walls on either side. A gradual climb continues and you have endless ski able pitches on both sides. You have the desire to continue to skin further up the valley to see the end but it just keeps going. After a couple of hours it dawns on us, dont pass up great corn snow for better corn snow. We wisely stop, find a steep pitch and head up as the sun warms the slope. As we go higher the views get bigger and we are alone. The boys are somewhere further up the canyon. I have included a few photos of the canyon but if you visit Telemarktips and follow the thread of The Official South American Report youll see what the canyon looks like in powder conditions.
We descended as shadows filled the valley and the cream corn firmed up and crinkled as we sped downward. Once at the car, a young heli guide from Portillo and his girlfriend descended a similar route from high above us. They had cut their trip short due to a stove malfunction. We learned from the young guide that due to mechanical problems the heli operation has not operated and the valley we were skiing is usually used by the heli operation. Finally, the boys arrive and we began our epic drive home. Its Sunday evening and the day skiers from Portillo are heading back to Santiago. Then there is the endless stream of slow moving trucks descending from the border crossing from Argentina. And then I realize the green flag is out and the Gran Prix of Portillo is on. You forget about rational driving, you are overcome by a shot of testosterone and you follow the pack. We are on a 2 lane road with no shoulders. Im following Andinistas pickup as hes passing a truck on a curve. Steven is behind me and pulls out then a double decker bus starts passing Steven. Thats 3 of us on a 2 lane road on a curve. I look in my rear view mirror and see Stevens wide eyes as he looks over and sees the bus next to him. We both drop back in the right lane as the bus passes us, the truck and another truck. Its going to be difficult to drive normally once we are back in WA. It was a great day in the mountains
We descended as shadows filled the valley and the cream corn firmed up and crinkled as we sped downward. Once at the car, a young heli guide from Portillo and his girlfriend descended a similar route from high above us. They had cut their trip short due to a stove malfunction. We learned from the young guide that due to mechanical problems the heli operation has not operated and the valley we were skiing is usually used by the heli operation. Finally, the boys arrive and we began our epic drive home. Its Sunday evening and the day skiers from Portillo are heading back to Santiago. Then there is the endless stream of slow moving trucks descending from the border crossing from Argentina. And then I realize the green flag is out and the Gran Prix of Portillo is on. You forget about rational driving, you are overcome by a shot of testosterone and you follow the pack. We are on a 2 lane road with no shoulders. Im following Andinistas pickup as hes passing a truck on a curve. Steven is behind me and pulls out then a double decker bus starts passing Steven. Thats 3 of us on a 2 lane road on a curve. I look in my rear view mirror and see Stevens wide eyes as he looks over and sees the bus next to him. We both drop back in the right lane as the bus passes us, the truck and another truck. Its going to be difficult to drive normally once we are back in WA. It was a great day in the mountains
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