Blue Skys and Soft Snow in La Parva, Chile

I Didn't Know My Line Would Be This Much Fun

I have to admit I was bummed not to ski the second day of the La Parva Freeskiing Competition. The second day of competition was cancelled due to weather; the wind was nuking and there was no visibility. The storm lasted three days and we were all trapped due to avalanches closing down the only road up to the mountain. After three days of skiing in white out conditions, the skies turned blue and it was well worth the wait.

Hoping for a Ride

Once the competition was over, all of the athletes were forced to move to a smaller more affordable town. The only problem was trying to get to La Parva in the morning. There are a couple of options hitching or hiking. I was lucky enough to catch a ride after 15 minutes, just in time for opening.

The Last Freeskiers in La Parva

La Parva had turned into a ghost town. There were only a few freeskiers who waited around to shred the day 2 venue. We all hooked up and had a sick pow day. I’ll let the photos tell the story!

Edward Dujardin

William Dujardin

Cliff Bennett

Cliff Bennett

Clare Burns

William Dujardin

La Parva was Good!

William Dujardin

“Why Do We Go Looking for Trouble?”

As we are dropping into the Parrot’s Shell, Imar says to himself, “Why do we go looking for trouble?” The top of the couloir is steep and narrow. We all know there is a double drop somewhere at the bottom. We have looked at it everytime we ride up the Neptuno chairlift and now we are dropping in. Why do we go looking for trouble, because what would life be without a little trouble.

Las Lenas is full of trouble. Thefirst line I skied in Las Lenas is called Sin Solida, No Exit. I remember riding up the Neptuno and looking at the super steep, rocky terrain. Eric and I thought we had picked out a perfect couloir, or at least one that went through. We were wrong. Half way down our ski, the couloir stopped short at a 80 foot huck. And that is the beauty of Las Lenas.

A short ski off the Marte chairlift will take you to some of the steepest and most challenging terrain anywhere in the world. What is interesting, most of this terrain is considered “out-of-bounds.” So while Marte Bowl (the bowl directly under the chairlift) is closed due to hard “duro” conditions, all of the super gnarley stuff right next to it is open. This is also the beauty of Las Lenas.

With only one week of skiing left, Las Lenas is a ghost town. There are no lift lines and most of the gringos have left. The skiing is amazing. Days are filled with early morning corn runs until 1:00 and then chalky/powder runs in the afternoon. Not a bad way to spend your day.

Clare loaded the bus today and said goodbye to another season in Lenas. She’ll be back!

Just One More Week

Las Lenas is still going off. It is the third time our departure date has arrived and the third time we have extended our stay. We keep talking about heading South to check out Bariloche and other mountains, but can’t quite seem to be able to leave Las Lenas. Today was a prime example of why.

Our last big storm was ten days ago and we are still finding powder within the resort. Today was really fun. We tried to ski a line we had never skied every run. And we found some really good snow.

A lot of corn skiing and some great powder turns.

It is hard to believe that with so much snow, Lenas will be closing on Monday, Sept 29th. It is sad to think that we will be leaving Las Lenas soon, Wednesday, but I can’t wait to checkout Bariloche.

Cerro Negro

Cerro Negro stands at 10,547 feet and is known to be the steepest of all the tall peaks surrounding Las Lenas.

Las Lenas received about 3cm of snow last night and we were hoping there would be a fresh coat of paint on Cerro Negro. The snow looked pretty good from the top, but when I dropped in I realized it was bullet proof with 3cm of new snow on top.

The snow did soften up half way down the slope.

And turned to perfect corn near the bottom.

It was great to ski Cerro Negro. It was the last big peak I hadn’t skied in Lenas. Next time I ski it, I will wait for powder.

Exploration and New Lines

The crew was a little beat after hiking yesterday and we decided to do a little exploring without a lot of hiking. Clare was given a photo of a pretty impressive line last year and still had not skied it. We decided our mission would be to find it and ski it. Our first run, we were off by a bit, but we found some really good corn skiing.

The corn skiing was great!

The best part of the run was when we reached the bottom to see the line we were hunting for. We were so excited! It looked really cool, but I have to admit that it looked really steep. Clare decided she might want her helmet and Eric definitely wanted his camera. We headed back to the base to get prepared.

At the base we took a little break at the hospitality shack for some free gatorade and candy. After our snack, we headed back up the Marte chairlift on the hunt for Clare’s line.

We found the line. The best part about the line was the powder fields on the way down.

The zone we were in was so cool. It was full of spines and chutes.

After skiing the powder fields, it was a little difficult to get to the entrance of Clare’s line. We had to traverse over a rocky ridge with exposure on both sides. The closer we got, the steeper it looked.

We decided Clare would ski first because it was her idea. I wasn’t too upset to let her ski first. It was difficult to see the exit of the line. The light was really flat and steepness of the chute was intimidating. Yeah, I was nervous.

Clare dropped in with confidence and after two turns was out of sight. Everything seemed to go well for her, so I buckled my boots, took a deep breath, and headed towards the entrance of the line. I was so stoked when I got there. The line was sick. It was about 60 degrees with a straight-line at the bottom.

After initiating my first turn, I realized the snow was good and started to enjoy myself.

I was so stoked when I got the bottom. I skied up to Clare and gave her a huge hi-five. It was one of the steepest lines I had skied in Lenas. We had a great day and I am looking forward to our next adventure.

Another Bluebird Powder Day

We didn’t think it could get much better than yesterday, but when my alarm went off and I looked outside, I knew it was going to be another bluebird powder day. We had planned on skiing down to the river all day, but as we reached the top of the Marte chairlift, our plans changed. The sky was crystal clear, there was no wind, and Entre Rios was calling our names.

Entre Rios stands at 11, 299 feet. It is a beautiful peak and with all of the people in Lenas this year, it gets tagged super fast. No wind, powder, and blue skies; we had no choice other than to ski Entre Rios.

So we hiked.

And then we hiked a little more.

And then it was time to drop in!

And it was all worth the hike!

Clare liked it too!

It was a little sluffy.

We loved it! Our second run, we went in search for a little corn skiing.

And we found it.

And we liked it.

And so did our new friend Ben that we met on the chairlift ride up Marte.