The Chilean Andes are known for big open bowls, treeless slopes, steep terrain, and the best snow in the Southern Hemisphere. This session is all about free-ride Progression. We’ll focus on developing the necessary skills to take your off-piste riding to a whole new level.
In this session you’ll lean how to…
- Ride surface lifts such as T-Bars, detachable Poma’s, and the famed Roca Jack (Portillo)
- Apply Large Radius turns to off-piste open bowls
- Apply Short Radius and hop turns to steep chutes
- Read snow load and wind patterns to find powder stashes.
- Add style to your line by actively projecting momentum from turn to turn.
- Adapt Turn Shape to match mountain contours to ride faster with more control.
We start our trip off exploring the Tres Valles region of the Andes just outside of Santiago. Here we’ll spend five days riding the resorts of Valle Nevado, El Colorado, and La Parva. Utilizing each resort’s unique terrain, we’ll embark on a progressive journey from one resort to the next and through guidance and coaching you’ll be accessing terrain you never thought possible. We’ll give your skills a final test by traveling even deeper into the Andes to Portillo. Like Chamonix in the European Alps, Portillo has a long history in freeride Progression and serves as the perfect destination to cap off the adventure. We’ll wrap up the Session by spending a day exploring Chile’s cosmopolitan capital Santiago.
The Andes is the first of two sessions we have planned for Chile this August. This session will be followed by “Volcanos”, a quest to explore two of the Chile’s more remote resorts and some of the more extreme lines in the county. Pair both sessions together for one massive freeride adventure.
This session is open to high intermediate to advanced snowboarders and skiers. After registering you will receive a follow up communication to discuss your current skill to insure your readiness to adequately enjoy all the terrain Chile has to offer.
This premier session has a minimum participation of 6 persons to operate, if minimum participation is not met within 45 days of travel you will receive a full refund, or you can elect to convert your reservation to a private or semi private session.
Register 4 or more on the same reservation and receive a $200 discount on the total of your registration
- Airport transfer on arrival and departure days, and all transportation within the scheduled Itinerary. If you require any ground transportation outside of the scheduled itinerary it will be your responsibility to pay the bill
- 6 nights Lodging, dual occupancy hotel lodging in Santiago (3 star or better) and lodge style accommodation in Farellones (If you are traveling with a friend you can request to share a room, if you prefer a private room one can be purchased at an additional fee)
- Coaching, Six days of guidance in a group setting (1 coach per 4 campers) this means small groups and more personalized instruction
- Pre-camp goal setting session with JTB via Zoom
- Lift Tickets, at all locations
- Communication, Chileans speak Spanish and so do members of our team, so rest assured we’ll make sure you are heard
- Breakfast and Group Dinners
- Off hill activities
- A Branded Gift to make your friends super jealous
- International Flight
- Lunch on the mounatin and Adult Beverages, although some beverages may be supplied in general, you’ll buy your own beers.
- Medical care, we’ll do our best to get you whatever help you need but you’ll be on your own to settle the bill.
- Snowboard gear, you’ll need to bring your own setup, there are stores and rental shops but snowboard gear is exceptionally expensive in Japan so we highly recommend you bring your own.
- Travel Insurance, a policy that covers you in case of an injury snowboarding or skiing is mandatory. We highly suggest a “World Nomads Explorer Policy”.
- Transportation outside of scheduled itinerary, If you require any ground transportation outside of the scheduled itinerary, any costs incurred will be your responsibility; however, we can aid in securing transportation and we will do everything in our power to ensure your safe travel.
Day 1, Sunday, Arrival Day
Arrive at SCL Airport by 10am, once the whole team’s together we’re off to La Parva, a village high in the Andes that we’ll be calling home for the next four nights. We’ll get moved in, get our legs warmed up with an afternoon shred, and have a nice dinner with plenty of time to discuss the week ahead.
Day 2, Monday, Ride Valle Nevado, Short turns, T-bars and Pomas
Valley Navado has some of the better lift systems in Chile, with beautiful views and friendly terrain we can use this inviting place to dial in some skills for the rest of the week, here we will focus on: creating speed control through turn shape; hop turns for tight situations; and we’ll get friendly with some surface lifts (T-bars and Pomas)
Day 3, Tuesday, Ride El Colorado, Stability off piste, recovery techniques, more T-bars and Poma Lifts
El Colorado is right in our back yard so no driving necessary! This mountain is known for its dynamic terrain, abundance of surface lifts, and a decent terrain park. This will be a great place for us to easily access the slopes while providing the right terrain for us to refine our turns on a variety of terrain and snow surfaces. Tuesday’s morning clinic will focus on maintaining stability from the feet up no matter what the terrain throws at us. We’ll explore tactics to promote stability and recover if we start getting out of balance, we’ll incorporate these tactics into your turns to get you moving smoothly with down the mountain with less hiccups. In the afternoon you’ll have the option to find less conventional lines, or get your trick on in the park.
Day 4, Wednesday, Ride La Parva, accessing advanced and expert terrain.
Here is where two days of training are tested and refined, if conditions are prime La Parva has the most challenging inbounds terrain of the 3 resorts in the Tres Valles, while still maintaining plenty of intermediate terrain for anyone who would prefer to take it easy. The Valley of Fabres (Zona de Freeskiing), and the hike to terrain has lines like the famous La Chiminiea where heroes are made, they also have a small park for those who can’t get enough of those man-made jumps. If the conditions are right, we may be able skip the shuttle ride and snowboard back to Farellones at the end of the day! We’ll follow up this day with some mandatory Après.
Day 5, Thursday, Ride ???
This day we’ll be revisiting a resort, location TBD, “whatever we decide as a group would be the most fun!” By this point you should have a head full of new knowledge and some new skills to prove it, this day you will have the opportunity to spend some less structured time with your coach, freeride with friends, or if you need a break this will be a great opportunity to rest your legs and get ready for the next adventure. After riding we’ll head down the hill to Santiago where will check into our nice hotel and get to bed early for our final shred-venture.
Day 6, Friday, Ride Portillo
We’ll wake up early, enjoy a big breakfast at our hotel and hit the road for Portillo. This day will be all about exploring the nooks and crannies of this legendary destination. Test your poma skills on the “Roca Jack”, ride down to the lake, enjoy a nice lunch at Tio Bobs, and get that final clip for the Instagram. After riding we’ll head back to Santiago, get cleaned up, and hit the town for a final dinner celebration!
Day 7, Saturday, Tour Santiago, Departure Day
We’ll spend the day as cosmopolitan Chileans do, eating good food, drinking vino, and looking fancy. We’ll start the day with a big Brunch, this will be a good chance to share stories and celebrate accomplishments. Afterwards will hit the pavement and check out the sights and sounds of downtown Santiago. Most flights back to the northern hemisphere from SCL depart in the evening so this should give us plenty of time to see the town and buy any last souvenirs.