Outlands Music Festival

I got back to SF Friday morning just in time for the first Outlands Music Festival. Radiohead was AMAZING Friday night although the crowds were incredible. The next two days mellowed out and we saw some great music. Tons of fun with great friends! Hopefully this becomes an annual event, it was well put together, the crowds seemed manageable (although Friday with it's shortened day was pretty crazy), and the line-up was amazing (please don't pull a Vegoose and skimp on the music in year two).

ALO pulling a great crowd for the opening set on Sunday.

The side stages provided some the highlights

Drew with my beer

Eric, Christine, and Drew

Daryl and Eric

Yuni and Anne

La Parva >>>> and on to Radiohead

Flights back to the US from Santiago leave in the evening, allowing a full day of skiing at any of the 3 Valley resorts above Santiago on your departure day. After a great sushi dinner at Etniko and leaving our bags at the Crown Plaza hotel we headed up to La Parva. They had gotten a ton of snow during our stay but it had been a few days since it stopped falling. I was still amazed at how many fresh lines we were able to find just with a little traversing (did I mention I love Chilean skiing). Snow was transitioning but we were able to find places where the crust wasn't really forming yet and made some great turns. Back at the hotel to get our bags they told us we could use the showers in the health club, so nice a clean we headed back to the States, plenty of time to get into SF, get my stuff together, and off to Radiohead at the Outlands Music Festival tomorrow!!!

Thanks for the company Fernando, it was a great, action packed week. Climbed a volcano I haven't been on before, skied a bunch of freshies, made some new friends, what could be better??

Nevados de Chillan Bluebird Powder Day

It kept snowing all night and we did our part, drinking wine with Canadian Owen and his family until early in the AM. Made it to the upper parking lot around 9:15, we were the 8th car! I love skiing in Chile! Could have climbed, but instead lap after lap looking for the deeper pow in the Piragallo valley.

Nevados de Chillan looking tempting, but too much powder to ski to spend the time climbing today.

Freshies in the Piragallo, the wind had exposed some of the ice, but skiing the "guts" of things was where the goods were.

Nevados de Chillan Storm Skiing

Classic storm day skiing, windy but just kept getting better and better every run! No point in climbing today, very low vis and great skiiing right off the lifts (although I think my ass still hurts from that high speed Poma lift)

Las Trancas and Nevados de Chillan

Ah, home sweet home, even in the same cabana and bedroom as last year at Cabanas Los Andes (which sadly has been sold by Dean, a true character, but is now owned by a Brit and his lovely Brazilean wife who I trust will keep the traditions alive). It was still very windy and you could see the glare of all the ice as we drove up to the resort. However, all the snow that fell last weekend had to go somewhere and we were able to find nice lines heading into the Piragallo valley. We hoped to climb Volcan Nevado de Chillan but the ice was looking kinda scary and the weather report had snow coming in.

Fernando finding some soft snow.

Lonquimay Summit Day

As promised, Sunday dawned clear but still windy. We rode the lifts up the little bump of the ski area and climbed the 3300 feet from there to the summit. The ski down was on surprisingly nice wind pack, no signs of wind slabs on the steep slopes from the summit. Great day, made a new friend, Chilean snowboarder Chris. Our plan had been to head to Antuco next but we heard from Chris there was a lack of snow on the lower slopes of the Volcano and with all the wind and more snow in the forecast, we decided to head for my Chilean home away from home, Las Trancas and the Nevados de Chillan (formerly Termas de Chillan) ski resort.

Beautiful AM, clear and cold, goal in sight.

The road to the resort still wasn't fully cleared so we got a ride up in this little "snowcat"

Fernando on the way up, amazing scenery!

Cramponing up the summit ridge

Summit self portrait. Llaimas is just in the left of the pic. It's been erupting on and off the last year and half or so. 2 years ago we took a crazy snow cat ride ~2/3rds of the way up Llaimas. Climbing it will have to be a goal for another year.

Fernando and Chris make the summit.

Back in Chile - Corralco

Back again, overnight flight into Santiago followed by a ~750km drive down to the little ski resort of Corralco on the south slopes of Volcan Lonquimay. It was raining hard on the way down and continued to snow as we got to the resort and into our first day. Fernando and I decided to do a little skinning on day one from the lodge up to the closed resort and up along the Poma lift. We did it twice, making for a good warm up day. The winds were howling and the Araucaria looked very cool.

Fernando getting ready to go.

The Lodge at Corralco

Things starting to clear at the end of the day, summit in view. Tomorrow is supposed to be clear!