Wednesday, July 20, 2011

The Lake Run

From the top of Lake Run
     Ski patrol, understandably, likes to pace itself. One by one, day after day, they`re pulling ropes and opening new lifts. First it was Plateau and Las Lomas, followed by Condor some days later. On Monday morning it was Juncalillo, then Cara Cara in the afternoon. Today it was the Lake Run, aptly named. Actually, it`s really not a run per se. Runs have boundaries, signage. Runs get groomed nightly. With the Lake "run," there is only space, a wide slope extending to the lake shore. From the top, it`s quite a sight: the Laguna below, Los Tres Hermanos to the right, and across the lake a stretch of equally imposing peaks. The run itself is a series of gullies and ridges scattered with boulders. It`s a large enough zone that no line has to be the same. Basically, the Lake Run is a blast to ski. Hopefully today was just one of many this season.

     What truly distinguishes the Lake Run, though, is the traverse back to the hotel. Since the lake has yet to freeze over, the dilemma is making it home without getting wet. For years, the solution has been a thin road that meanders, somewhat treacherously, along the cliff edge. It`s a ski-length wide, and the only thing separating you from the cold waters meters below is a metal fence.  In all honestly, the Lake Run cat-walk couldn`t exist in the states. But here, in the Chile, in the Andes, a dangerous traverse kind of makes sense. Yeah, it`s quite the drop. Yeah, you could die. Yet passengers understand the risks being taken - plus there`s the fence. In South America, or at least in Argentina and Chile, there isn`t the same glut of lawsuits as there is in the states. The system is too slow and too clogged to file suit. I`ve been paragliding in Mendoza without signing a release form. I`ve gone white water rafting in Peru sans helmet or any kind of safety debriefing. Similarly, Portillo has a signature traverse, by which unsupervised skiers slowly find their way home along the cliff and waters edge. It`s puro chileno and Portillo wouldn´t have any other way.

In sight of the hotel
     In other local ski news, Roca Jack is definitely opening tomorrow. The delay has been both the lack of snow and the fact that getting the va et vient operational is an intensive process. Basically heavy cables need to be dragged from the bottom of Roca to the top. Mechanics and ski patrol surrounded the base station all day. There were also 10-15 individuals on the upper slope, merely specks in the adjacent photo, literally passing the cable to the highest anchors. Roca Jack is probably the most beloved part of the mountain, as it is the access point to the Super-C and the best traverses. The only bitter part about tomorrow is that I´m working from 8 am to 4 pm. However, if I`ve learned anything here, it`s that the snow will stay until I´m skiing again on Friday. The hotel is full, but the slopes are empty. Roca`s opening and practically no one cares, apart from the employees. Plus my dad always said "Patience is a virtue." The irony is that no matter how many days I wait, I´m still skiing in July, too impatient to wait until November...
 
Patrol hoisting the cable up Roca Jack

Soon
Vicente - in his element


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