September 1, 2007 La Parva, Chile

We spent the evening at Steven Hatcher and Wendy’s condo in a suburb NE of Santiago.  A great bed and shower – WOW.  Up early the next morning for the 55 km (30 mile) drive to La Parva which will take at least an hour.  The road to Valle Nevado, El Colorado and La Parva is definitely a memorable driving experience. The road to La Parva has 40 hairpin turns and goes from 3,000’ to 9,000’.  The road is one way going uphill from 8am until 2pm on weekends, two way from 2-4pm and one way downhill from 4-8pm. It’s a mad dash with a narrow road, tight hairpin turns and Gran Prix driving. Once at the base area we look down towards Santiago and you can see the air pollution layer – second worst city for air pollution in the Americas after Mexico City.  I can believe it based upon Jill’s sore throat and watery eyes and Silas sniffling and wheezing.  Being above tree line means snowy or flat light days are not particularly enjoyable skiing conditions.  La Parva has lots of terrain to tour up and out, but the early morning firm conditions are not appealing.  The top lift borders with Valle Nevado which is another large resort.  It has been 2 plus weeks since new snow and things were a bit ‘worn’.  We found the highest lifts accessed by pomas did not have anyone checking lift tickets which allows Silas to skin above the chairs and ride a few pomas for free. Adult lift tickets were $49 and Jill and I bought senior tickets for $35.  The skiing is a mix of gullies, open slopes and steep pitches.  A short boot track or skinning opens a world of steep terrain.  We spent the morning cruising firm groomers and then spring corn as the day warmed.  We left about 2:30pm to avoid the craziness of drivers descending and passing along the 40 hairpin turns. There are hotels and other types of accommodations on the mountain and their convenience has a price tag associated with them.  Driving on a daily basis to the areas would certainly be tiring and a shuttle would avoid the craziness. If you have ever skied at one of the purpose built ski resorts in the French Alps you have an idea of what the resorts above Santiago look like. 

Photo 1 & 2 are an overview of La Parva
Photo 3 is a view from the top of La Parva towards El Plumo