What to do on a slow Friday night in Santiago when you have to get up before 7 the next morning? Update the Blog!
More San Pedro.........
Leaving the geysers to go swim in a hot creek. This picture was taken at the guard station just as the sun was coming up from Bolivia.
Vicuna in the brush on the way between the geysers and the hot springs. Similar to llamas/alpacas I believe. They eat the seeds of the desert brush to survive.
Just over a random rocky hill lies this creek. It is visible from the distance though because of the steam rising from its hot waters. Why is this creek awesome? Because it is moving water that is naturally heated. Also it is hidden and hard to reach, thus we were the only people in the water.
O ya, still below freezing outside, even in the sun. Ice all around the creek.
After getting out of the hot springs. This was a great time. Probably 10 of the group of 20 actually got in the water. All young people from western europe and us gringos! woo! Even after spending 20 minutes in the hot creek, my swimsuit still froze to a rock, in the direct sun, after taking it off.
More desert. And a frozen river. and salt
Then our guide led us on a hike. In the desert. This did not seem too appealing especially when considering the surroundings.....(for me the desert is beautiful in the morning and at night)
......more of the same
The suddenly,
Our guide took us into this beautiful little box canyon with a creek in the middle. Since it is fed by snowmelt, it was rushing by the time we arrived. This was a beautiful little spot. Potentially the highlight of the day.
Had to put in another shot of this creek. Way cool in the middle of the driest desert in the world.
en fin, for the adventures for that morning at least......
There you go: Flowers and Powder. A look at Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Campus San Joaquin.
.....and now for the real stoke. Last 2 days of skiing for the season. Going to have to wait till December. That should not be a problem as La Parva gave me blower powder. I am happy to say the least.
Sorry no pictures of me skiing it. I was with people that were skiing more groomers and working on technique, thus the off piste shredding was left to me. Here is one from outside the hostel. The sun is melting all the snow on the north slopes and the season is really coming to an end. Sad, but 2 more months and winter again!!
Begin long bus ride.
Mountains on the left, we are going south.
Follow the green line.
Special reading material aka best thing my sister brought from home for me. Winter is coming...
Katie photographing the gnar.
Going up the chair.
This was cool.
Unknown skier. Throwing an off axis spin with grab after hitting the jump switch. Really impressive stuff.
The jump and the surrounding wilderness. Beautiful. So much ski-able terrain all at a fairly gentle angle.
Katie, ripping.
Getting stoked. (and no I did not ski in jeans, we were taking a look at the mountains while our driver threw some chains on).
Here is a pic. K2 Apache Chiefs, the last person who used these skied more rocks than snow. No worries.
This is a picture of the false summit at Valle Nevado that is to the left of the central (lift-served) peak of the resort. I hiked this to drop in off a lil cornice and get some untouched lines. Good hike and great skiing. Nothing like a drop into high speed powder turns.
This is kinda what I did. Hard to see in the flatish light and from the perspective of where this picture was taken from. But, orange is hiking, green is skiing.
This was an early morning. Metro stop Manuel Montt at 6:30 am.
Serious lunching.....
Leaving the geysers to go swim in a hot creek. This picture was taken at the guard station just as the sun was coming up from Bolivia.
Just over a random rocky hill lies this creek. It is visible from the distance though because of the steam rising from its hot waters. Why is this creek awesome? Because it is moving water that is naturally heated. Also it is hidden and hard to reach, thus we were the only people in the water.
O ya, still below freezing outside, even in the sun. Ice all around the creek.
After getting out of the hot springs. This was a great time. Probably 10 of the group of 20 actually got in the water. All young people from western europe and us gringos! woo! Even after spending 20 minutes in the hot creek, my swimsuit still froze to a rock, in the direct sun, after taking it off.
More desert. And a frozen river. and salt
......more of the same
Our guide took us into this beautiful little box canyon with a creek in the middle. Since it is fed by snowmelt, it was rushing by the time we arrived. This was a beautiful little spot. Potentially the highlight of the day.
