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Today was my first time skiing outside of Colorado, and I was not disappointed. A few friends and I decided to go up to the Andes with a group called Santiago Exchange Network (SEN), which was a good decision because they helped take care of everything, from transportation to lunch at the ski resort, all for a price that wouldn’t even buy you a day ticket in Colorado. Another bonus was meeting foreign students who are also spending a semester in Chile.
I woke up at 5 am—a time when Chileans are only beginning to wind down their parties—in order to ensure that I made it to the meeting point in time. The van ride up was slightly longer than I expected, and it didn’t help that the steep, narrow, windy road made me a bit car sick. I was relieved once I could see the ski lifts of Valle Nevado come into view. We took some time to rent skis (or snowboards) and boots before hitting the slopes.
The sky was a cloudless blue, and we were lucky that there was only a slight breeze to remind us of how cold it was at 1200 ft. The elevation also meant that we were far above the tree line, and I could see by the vast white around me that there wouldn’t be any fun tree runs at this resort. I could also tell by the hard, compact snow that the resort hadn’t had fresh powder in a while; regardless, there were many splendid paths to take. I am used to skiing blues and blacks, but here there are also red routes, which are in between the two in terms of difficulty. After a few runs, I took my friend, who had only skied once before today, down a red slope. The snow was predictable and not icy, but the steepness was the biggest challenge she had to overcome. The first time around took a while, we slowed and stopped at nearly every turn, but by the time we got down she was ready for another run!
Another difference I encountered was the amount of T-bar ski lifts in the resort. These were tricky lifts that I had to carefully grab onto and tightly hold until the top. While I had no issues with the lifts towards the base of the mountain, which were gondolas or had regular seats, it took me a couple of tries to remember how to use the T-bar lift. Every time I slipped, the entire lift would be stopped and everyone had to wait, so I tried my hardest to avoid keeping everyone waiting.
By the time we headed back to the city, my cheeks were red from wind-burn (luckily I had brought plenty of sunscreen), and my legs were sore from skiing. The day had been very fulfilling, especially since all of my friends back home still have to wait a few more months before ski season starts.