some skiing at last

after 3 days in the city i was getting pretty ready to ski. Still, the road to the mountains was closed while mudslide debris was cleared (heavy rain caused unstable steep slopes to wash over the road and into some house. tragically, a family was killed when their house was swept away; keeps things in perspective). I gathered a few days of food and what maps i could find in case the road opened up. some very good topos are available for popular hiking and climbing areas, in most places google maps terrain feature and internet cafe printers seem to be the best bet.

Tuesday morning the road opened suddenly and i was able to catch a ride to valle nevado resort. I hadn´t done any real research into the resorts and it turns out Valle Nevado is not where its at (La Parva is). i was able to stay interested skiing some flattish powder fields for awhile and then while hiking for better skiing out of bounds met JP, Nicco and Danica who were skiing the sidecountry of the nearby El Colorado resort. Nicco and Danica are young doctors who work in the clinic at colorado and were able to get me on the lifts there. we skied a few great slackcountry runs and then parted ways when the lifts closed.


Night came quickly i began to have second thoughts about my budget accomodations (bivy sack and a shovel). i neglected to get any gas before in my rush to catch the ski shuttle and was struggling to convince a maintnance guy solo ingles to let me siphon some gas from his sled by waving a msr bottle and 2000 pesos in his face. He is not buying whatever i am selling and i am steeling myself for cold dinner when a woman stops to clear some snow from her jeep. It is Danica! Soon i am eating with friends and spend the next two nights in a bunk above the clinic.

Wednesday i hike up and ski a nearby peak, cerro la parva with a french couple i met at the resort. The powder from the storm is getting pretty wind affected but very stable, time to see some real mountains.