Arriba! Arriba!: Ski Chile when the weather's hot at home (courtesy, Chile Tourism)
Valle Nevado in the Chilean Andes, about 40 miles from Santiago, is one-part resort to three-parts wide-open terrain. With something like 25,000 acres, this area has "only" 23 miles of trails. That leaves lots and lots of room for off-piste freeriding. The best month for big-mountain skiing is August, late in the antipodal winter, giving you the perfect jump on the ski season back home.
Heli-skiing outfits operate out of this area, taking powderhounds up to as high as 13,800 feet, where a whopping 8,000-foot-plus vertical run awaits. If your quads aren't quite ready to take on this type of punishment, sign up for a backcountry freeride camp. During these weeklong sessions, participants will learn how to ski and snowboard the variable conditions that you're bound to encounter when dropping from such huge elevations. For the hucksters in the crowd, Valle Nevado also offers an Andes Snowboard Camp to help hone your super pipe, big air, boardercross, and backcountry skills. The website www.powderquest.com lists more information on these camps as well as others. Visit www.vallenevado.com for more on the resort and opportunities for big-mountain skiing. As summer is rapidly approaching in Valle Nevado, best to check back early next year for rates and dates for heli-trips and camps.
