Laguna del Inca

    Below I've posted my most recent submission for Ski Club Great Britain, which I wrote for last Friday. A little over a week later and much has changed. The lake is still frozen (though by no means skiable!) and white, but the superstars have left. They'll be missed. Chins up, though! It's Wine Fest, meaning classy tastings all week, and there's nothing wrong with that. More on Wine Fest to come. The following entry is about the lake, kind of...

 
    For weeks I’ve waited for Hotel Portillo’s picturesque backdrop, the Laguna del Inca, to freeze over. On sun-drenched days the lake’s deep blue waters anchor a jaw-dropping view, which rivals that of any resort in either hemisphere. But the lake unfrozen too late in the season also means insufficient snowfall. Its mandatory disappearance is a season-marker, denoting more access to deep skiing. And by August that’s definitely the priority, vista or no vista. Following a couple of cold fronts the date seemed set; certain patches of ice, though riddled with streams, looked promising. Yet the weather, as fickle as ever, refused to cooperate long enough for complete coverage. That is until yesterday, when the Laguna became a providential crater of white. Not surprisingly, this morning was also the best skiing I’ve had all year.

     Even with the recent dump, traversing across the ice is some weeks out. My suggestion that a fully covered lake denotes “more access” stems from basic Portillo logic: when there’s enough snow to hide the lake, there’s enough snow to ski everywhere. Following that logic, which I admit isn’t spectacular, everything opened today. Have I ever mentioned Vizcachas before? What about Gargantita? The latter consists of two beautiful chutes that run parallel with Garganta, directly beneath the Plateau lift, making their frequent closures that more torturous. The former is accessed via Portillo’s signature, five-person va et vient lift and failed to even open last year. But the fated time has arrived – the lake is frozen! – and Gargantita and Vizcachas are open and skiable.

     What’s more is the timing couldn’t be better. Portillo is currently the host of Chris Davenport’s eighth consecutive Ski with the Superstars camp, and between the clinic’s handful of pros and the ambitious skiers tailing them, the more advanced terrain that’s open the better. This morning Chris Anthony, for example, boosted a cliff at the choke of Gargantita that I’d previously doubted was possible. Later in the day I saw Wendy Fisher enjoy fresh snow in a treacherous little couloir off Cara Cara, something questionable just three days ago. Although I failed to spot Mike Douglas or Ingrid Backstrom, the remaining two coaches working with Davenport, I’m certain they too were lapping Vizcachas like superstars.

     As a long-time skier, I'm stoked that so many big names have converged at Portillo, especially now with the conditions optimal. So I ask, is it mere coincidence that the lake froze yesterday? Or that everything opened this morning? Or that some of skiing’s greatest legends arrived for two weeks on Saturday? All sarcasm aside, the Laguna del Inca is truly a magnificent and stupefying body of water… and I’m glad, in superstitious way, that it’s gone.

Standing at the top of Vizcachas

The Road to Portillo

     There's no comparing Portillo to Park City, where I grew up. Here, the staff is mostly Chilean, cigarettes and speedos are socially acceptable, and tree-skiing doesn't exist. Most of you are probably familiar with Park City (Olympics, Sundance, O'Shucks), so I'll just say that it's Portillo's giltzy opposite. Yet despite such clear cultural differences between the two, do you know what strikes me as the most dissimilar? Access. Park City is rightfully advertised as being
"conveniently located," 40 minutes from Salt Lake City and an international airport. Parley's Canyon, which connects the mountains with the valley, is a well-maintained, three lane passageway that rarely closes. Parley's sick and twisted cousin is el Camino de los Libertadores... The road to Portillo from Los Andes, our closest neighbor, is a steep beast that consists of thirty plus switchbacks and hundreds of potholes. On the best of days, it takes three hours to drop into Santiago. But if you've been reading the blog, you know that with even the least bit of snow the road closes - potentially for days. Avalanches and ice and the greatest dangers, and the Chilean government won't hesitate to trap guests, up or down.

A truck, a chair, and the road

     Yet these inherent dangers, the constant perils of snow and ice, are just half the story. Rapid access to the hotel is equally impeded by an almost daily line of trucks, semis from across South America that naturally move at a snail's pace. In reality, Portillo's closest neighbor is the nearby border crossing, which, sitting just half a kilometer up the road, is the most significant interchange between Argentina and Chile. With scant amounts of snow, the road closes and Portillo is totally isolated. Without it, Portillo (or rather the Posada) is an elegant pit stop for the hundreds drivers waiting to cross into Argentina. When there's congestion, and there often is, the view Juncalillo chair, as it passes over the road, is mind blowing. Truck after truck after truck down to the valley floor. I've never seen anything like it, really. Although the juxtaposition of such bleak industry with the beauty of Andes can be unnerving for those seeking tranquility in the mountains, please don't let this entry mislead you. The hotel is a good ways from the road, and after their initial ascent most guests quickly forget about the trucks. That is, until they ride Juncalillo... But even then, the congestion is a kind of Chilean novelty, at least for me. The road to Portillo should be thought of as another fascinating part of the Portillo experience, which, for the reasons stated above, is not your minutes-from-the-tarmac, boots-on-in-the-car kind of vacation. Yet even though getting to Portillo can be a real challenge, those that make the journey rarely do it once.

Exhibit A

Snow = empty

Portillo Ice Fest

     Portillo celebrated its 6th annual Ice Fest this weekend! Patrick Moore, the event's founder and lead organizer, deserves a huge thanks. He arrived days before the competition began, setting routes and finalizing a mountain of logistics. Every year, Moore sets up a tent city behind the Octogon and near the rock field. The dome tents are definitely emblematic of the ice climbers who started pouring in on Friday. For more information on the event, check out our facebook page, and if Spanish isn't a problem, the Ice Fest has gotten a lot of national and Argentine press. There's also a lengthy write-up on Escalando.org that outlines the weekend's schedule and explains the rules.

Portillo has all levels of accomodation


  

Extremo



Sunshine Sweetgrass Morgan

     Blogging daily is hard. Of course every week is a little different, but the reality of my life hardly changes from day to day. What's more is that life at the hotel repeats itself. The guests don't mind, as they only see Saturday to Saturday. I think few realize that the bands never change, the activities never change. Everything is cyclical at Portillo. But again no notices, so it's all good. In fact we pride ourselves on staying the same year after year, and being free of the commercial distractions and expansion that one would normally associate with "ski resort." Luckily this blogger's dilemma is resolved by Mother Nature and the weekly turnover.

Always and forever

      The weather is a constant topic of discussion here. From "Will it snow?" and "How much snow?" to "When will it be sunny again?" and so on... Well this week it was sunny. In the course of the last seven days, the snow conditions have gone from powder to soft crud to nice slop to heavy slop. Sometimes "despejado" is the way we like it - hence the logo... However, too much sun and even the best conditions will start to decline. Nearer the base it was spring skiing today and yesterday. Fortunately the higher one got the more consistent the conditions. Still tomorrow looks to continue the warm weather pattern, letting guests remember Portillo the right way: with a goggle tan. Whether they'll admit it or not, people are definitely thinking about that quintessential ski souveneir, if only to brag to their co-workers that they went skiing... in July... in Chile. Hey I don't blame them. The Portillo experience is memorable, and a ski tan can say it all. Just don't let me catch you on the deck sunbathing with your goggles on...


   New groups of guests also keep things interesting (and occasionally more challenging) from week to week. The interesting ones this week, in my opinion, were the dudes from Sweetgrass Productions. They arrived last week, before the last storm, to shoot the final segments for their new film, Solitaire (trailer!). It's likely you've never heard of Sweetgrass. To date this budding Colorado film company has only done a few feature films, namely Signatures. However, their unique approach makes me think that Solitaire will be epic. The project is two years in the making and shot entirely in South America. When I say South America, I don't mean Chile and Argentina only. These guys hiked deep into the unknow cordilleras of Peru and Bolivia as well... Plus instead of just mindless snow porn, Solitaire, is a Conradian travelogue, as the various crews daringly cross into the continent's most untamed regions. Like past Sweetgrass films, I anticipate that Solitaire will be a contemplative, albeit highly entertaining, ski movie. And if you haven't already, watch Signatures, which features Japan-only sequences and loads of Zen wisdom. As for the "challenging" group, that award goes to JP Morgan's recent mini-summit. Although the event was excellently organized, as with any group their size, problems inevitably arose. Can you imagine trying to coordinate an on-mountain dinner for 70 at Tio Bob's, running Plateau lift in complete darkness? But guest complaints were keep to a minimum and everyone enjoyed their stay. That's all I'm going to say about JP Morgan.



Clear skies



Plateaued

Saturday

     "Off-piste" has entered the guest vocabulary. Times change and the Brazilians are trickling home. In their place have come are the Americans. Excuse me, the North Americans (everyone here is American). My countrymen are great, and with so many around, working in reception is a piece of cake. But if you're so anxious to ski in August that you book a trip to the Southern Hemisphere, you're probably a good skier. And good skiers, generally, play off the groomers. Oh, how things change...

     I don't know how to say this... but there was a lineup before the lifts opened! People actually gathered, mulled around the closed signs, until patrol pulled the ropes. Although it wasn't a gung-ho as the Alta base at 9 o'clock, it was totally ridiculous - according to our standards. Truth be told, this new batch of guests did wait two days before the more advanced lifts were opened. The roads were closed on Saturday, stranding hundreds in Santiago, and only the carpets were open on Sunday. So today was their day! And did they make the most of it... Las Lomas, the baby lift, opened first and we swarmed. Plateau, finally, started running and we swarmed again. Garganta was bare within an hour... "We should wait at Condor before... Damn, there's already a line!" Remember those posts, where I bragged about being the only guy out there? Well those posts, and those sacred afternoon, are gone! They went to Sao Paulo and to Rio and to the beach. Instead I've got really fun groups of powder hounds to complain about.
      

Sunday

      However, as I just implied, there's a silver lining: these gringos are fun. Portillo is host to a number of solid skiers right now, young and old, who truly enjoyed themselves today. My Chilean friends always tell me Americans are loud. Well, it's true, we love to holler - especially when we're knee deep in fresh snow. Up and down the mountain I heard "whoops" and "oh yeahs," all kinds of jolly nonsense. Moreover good, risky skiing is contagious. Waiting in line at Condor, you can see the entire run and every skier. "Oh he's fast"; "Wow, that was huge!"; "Ouch" mutters the crowd. Soon the t-bar arrives and it's your turn, our turn to ski even harder. The energy was new and good. So what if Plateau gets shredded a bit early? I must finally add that Roca Jack and Condor, the two greatest lifts, were closed all day. Three days worth of snow is getting skied tomorrow. This morning's lineup was nothing. So if you're staying at the hotel, rest up. I'm not that cutthroat, but if you're slow on the traverse this gringo will show you loud.

Monday

all good

Portillo Asleep

     It`s snowing again! Around 12 cm are predicted for tonight, followed by even more precipitation for Friday and Saturday. I forced my tired body outside only minutes ago, and was happy that I did so. The storm is indeed serene. With no wind, the flakes are easily discernible. They're also everywhere, making it difficult to focus on a single one. I manage to catch a few of these silent descenders, and am astonished, as always,  by their smallness. In a matter of hours, I'll be possessed by the cumulative effect of these tiny flakes, whooping energetically down Plateau. Yet for now, amongst the same snow that I'll be skiing much later, I feel a satisfying calm...

Lights off in the bar

Gastòn on Primavera earlier today

Un zorro acostando outside Tio Bob's

Hello, August

Gringo Storm Saturday

      Another Saturday storm. As much I appreciate the snow gods' favor, they should know better. It's the weekend. Save the blizzard for Monday, Thursday, I don't care, and spare Portillo the only day it needs the road to be open. Fortunately, drivers brought out the chains and more than enough caravans braved the curves. It's a good week to be in Portillo, and guests tried hard to get here.

   To begin with, it's Wine Week (season calendar). Connoisseurs and casual drinkers alike are going enjoy nightly tastings of Chile's finest wines, each of which will be festively capped off with trivia and giveaways. I swear that that last part is classier than it sounds. Besides the anticipated vino fest, new guests have also been humming to ski what we expect to be 20 inches by tomorrow. Now that they're here, checked-in and cozy, they're happy. Between last week's gifting and tonight's addition, August conditions are looking hopeful. Total snowfall this season is still relatively low (~220 cm), so more is always good.

   The only problem I foresee is the commencement of gringo season. This week is a nationality overlap, with a mix of Peruvians, Brazilians and North Americans all arriving this afternoon. However, even the slight uptick in gringos means more skiers on Roca Jack, Cara Cara, and everywhere else I like to ski. The logic is simple: only serious skiers will trade Hawaii for Portillo, and the beach for the mountain. Those same skiers, if they're here, will also go immediately to the traverses. At the same time, I love seeing old dudes hollering down chutes. It's nice to share sometimes. Nobody wants to be greedy, and with so much good terrain, even a few gringos won't be able to shred it all.


    Below is the Santiago skyline from Wednesday morning. My feelings regarding cities haven't changed, but the view from my friend's apartment was stunning. The second photo needs little explanation. Valle Nevado is clearly ugly, flat and crowded.

All the people living here (Santiago)...



... are building property here (Valle Nevado)



Misty Lifts

     Today was a surprise. The forecast had predicted a few centimeters, flurries no más. What we got was close to 10 cm,  which was more than enough to cover old tracks on Cara Cara and Roca Jack. Juncalillo was groomed and soft, and the two t-bars were servicing everything from fun crud to freshies off the traverses.  Rocks, affectionately known as "tiburones" here, were only a mild concern. The mountain is skiing well, and last night's storm was quite the gift.

View of Cara Cara from Juncalillo

      It's my free week, so I'll be out again tomorrow. Since it's Portillo my expectations are high. When I stumbled home around 2:30, there was plenty left unskied. As always, the only ones gunning for good snow were fellow employees and the boys from Activejunky.com. What tomorrow is unlikely to duplicate will be the ethereal blanket of clouds that hung around all morning. Juncalillo was spooky good.


Crossing over




"Yes, the road will be closed all day."



Look at the icicles

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



Ski lobby

     The precipitation has stopped, and it's your typical bluebird day in Portillo. I forgot my sunglasses in the hotel after a late night at the disco, and leaving the Siberia was truly painful. That is until my eyes adjusted.  Fresh snow covered everything. It's hard to tell where the light is coming from here, the glossy slopes or the sun beaming above them. Although there are no trees in Portillo, color is everywhere. The blue sky, the yellow hotel, the brown and hard black peaks. I savor the slow walk to the hotel on days like this... I would be skiing, but rules are rules - employees ski during the week only. But I don't complain. I'm still here, taking it in, and the truth is, skiing is just one way to enjoy these beautiful surroundings.

   Still, I've got a friend from the states visiting Portillo tonight and tomorrow, and I'm going to lobby management to make an exception. Let's be honest, it's going to be a powder day again tomorrow. I'll say it again: snow stays fresh longer than it should in Portillo (see Guests and groomers). Anyways, My friend has only one day to ski, and it's also tomorrow. The stars have clearly aligned in our favor, Morgan. I'm banking on good ol' skier's sympathy. The rule makers enjoy the sport as much as I do, so I'm hoping they understand. Here's my angle:

40 cm in the last 24 hrs.
70 cm in the last week.
Two gringo friends from Vermont (ice) have the opportunity to ski together in Chile (polvo).

     Comment furiously in my favor. Maybe it'll help. As some mild encouragement, enjoy a few pictures from yesterday's storm and the beautiful aftermath that was this morning. As always, for more info on life and skiing at Portillo, check out our facebook page. Señor misterio de facebook, who`s good friend of mine, boards almost daily, and I'm guessing he's uploaded photos already.

Yeah, dog

It's pretty here

     Trying to communicate the beauty and ambiance of Portillo is often difficult. I frequently look around in awe, thanking whatever it was that brought me here. So instead of blabbering on about my experience in the mountains, and what Portillo is all about, I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos of the past two weeks. De nada.

Keepin' the road clear

A splash of orange

The rustic old train station

Dig the contrast

El Octogono... it has eight sides

Rasca, uncharacteristically doing something...

El Inca

Smiles and smugness in the bar

...

The deck gets a dusting