Paul Karchut's Adventrures in the South Continue...

Hey everyone,

Man, a couple weeks since I last wrote... time4s flying yet still every hour4s chalka-block (sp?).

When I last wrote we4d just towed a cranky old van in to Santiago after a stint of stellar cat skiing and were sorting out where to head next.

The following day, Alex and I hit the road to Las Trancas, 8 hours south of Santiago. The elevation was lower than that of the hills we4d been skiing but since we were that much further south, the snow was on-the-money. And, once again due to the lower elevation, we were below tree line and could therefore get some tree runs in- which was nice, as this is such a huge part of our at-home ski diet. But the trees were mostly deciduous and well spaced, with gorgeous powder throughout, reminding me of the turns in northern Japan.

So it was 3 days there, a night stay in Chillan where we visited Chile4s largest outdoor market, then back to the hub of Santiago to head into Argentina.

A 10 hour bus ride through the most spectacular mountain pass I4ve ever seen set us into San Rafael, Argentina. Here we would meet up with the organizers of Cajon Grande, a backcountry ski operation 10 hours away. Three Swiss snowboarders were joining us as well and we quickly hit it off. In the Argentine way, we were a day late in our departure to Marlargue but on the morning of the 20th, we were off in a van at 6am, not knowing quite what to expect. 5 hours in the van later, we were in the middle of nowhere already seeing snow and crazy line potential abound. We then left the van, loaded our gear on mules, mounted horses of our own and traveled upward into the mountains, through river crossings, deep snow drifts, loose volcanic rock... it was awesome!

It was getting dark and very cold, the horses were spent and we left them with a wrangler, hiking in about -20 temperatures for another 1.5 hours before our arrival at the hut. We were cold, the place had been boarded up and we were the first arrivals of the season. No lifts, no snowmobiles, no power, no phone, no avi control, no waivers... this was skiing in it4s most puritanical sense. Our spirits were high and under a clear sky, lit by a full moon, Alex and I laid the first tracks of the season that night... it was brilliant.

Talking to the guys who run the hut, they turn out to be a set of French brothers. Talking to them further, I start realize these guys are kinda legendary. Phillipe, a professional photographer and mountain guide. And Serge, a pro snowboarder who in his fantastic french accent non-challantly drops comments like:
(When I was testing prototype boards in Alaska with McKonky..."

We all were hitting it off... the next day we looked at some charts and started hiking. The days kinda molded into 1. My routine going something like this:
1) Wake up early to the sound of my bunkmates snoring. 7ish. Still dark and clear, every day clear, and cold, freakin cold at night (-22 was usual).
2) Hit the hot open air hot springs (45 degrees), soak, read, wait for the sun to come up.
3) Breakfast, tea.
4) Hike 5, 6 hours a day... once the sun came up, things warmed up to 10 or so degrees. And we quickly gathered which facing slopes were best at which point in the day. Lunch was packed for us, home made bread, cheese, jam... so good.
5) Wait for dinner at 9 or so... dinner was brilliant. Talk to every in the hut, read, hot spring, etc.
6) Sleep by 10.

On the second to last day, I bagged two first descents within 6 hours of one another! The first was a solo run visible from the hut. A boney, rock littered face that I slowly picked my way through. I named it (Cabra Centrale(... goat central. Because a) the area is goat farming territory in the summer and b) only a goat would be stupid enough to try and pick it4s way through there. The second was a longer tour that I did with Crispin, one of the Swiss riders. It was a steep, beautiful bowl. We named it Swiada Ridge as an ammalgamation of the two rider4s homes (Switzerland and Canada). Now, while I plan to milk the whole, "I got two South American first descents in one day" line, I4ll break even with you, when you4re that far away from anything, bagging a first descent is fairly straight forward.

Phillipe and I toured together a lot and shot a lot of film together... his 41st birthday was on the last day of our trip and we skinned 3 peaks together that day. He is a skinning machine and I learned a lot about reading snow, pacing a skin track, backcountry and other general stuff from him.

Our horse ride out yesterday was much easier as we knew what to expect. We all pigged out on pizza last night and today is a rest day. Alex and I are now heading into Northern Argentina, then Bolivia to hike a 5000 plus metre volcano, then into the Atacama desert in northern Chile, then south for a bit more skiing.

Dude, life4s good on this end! Hope you4re doing well, too. Thinking of you all. Write me.

With love,
Paul