Rumbo a Chile!

I arrived in Chile on Wednesday morning, and I plan to be here until the end of September. Coming what somewhat a leap of faith. Lots of friends told me I would have work and a place to stay but things were never concrete or guaranteed. But as I’ve learned during past trips to this amazing country, you just have to trust it will all work out.

My friend Reed and I talk a lot about our experiences living in Seattle. How hard it is to find like-minded people, how hard it is to find work, how expensive it is to live and eat. It can definitely suck sometimes but I think its worth it. The eclectic experiences that it has to offer each and every day are amazing and stimulating. But as if to prove Reed correct, I got here and found a job within about an hour and met up with so many different people who live up in the mountains just to be stoked all the time it was almost comical. And its so sunny compared to Seattle I think I’m going blind.

I should be working within a day or two but so far I’ve just been skiing a bit and meeting up with people who I had been emailing for months but needed to see face-to-face. I’ve gone on a couple ski tours to explore some areas that I’d always wondered about in my past trips here but never seen, like an abandoned refuge called el Refugio Aleman, and a valley that you can ski into off the back of La Parva, but as I found out this afternoon its way harder to get out of than it looks.

My living situation is great, I’m living in an A-Frame that is occupied by anywhere from 2-6 people depending on the day. It’s a cozy little house with an incredible view to the north. You can see La Paloma, a 16,100’ peak I skied last summer with my friend Eben. Its definitely not as tidy as Mia and I keep our apartment, which might have something to do with me being the only skier our of all the dudes that live here. Damn snowboarders. But these guys are awesome, all very passionate riders who have traveled and experienced a lot abroad and in Chile. And one of them was a sushi chef for 10 years and won a bunch of awards. I haven’t sampled the goods yet but I’ll let you know when I do.

Though I didn´t feel like I got to spend enough time on this mountain before I left Seattle, I wouldn´t have to wait long for further tempting peaks to stand out on the horizon.

Take for example Aconcagua, highest mountain in the western and southern hemishperes. As seen from the plane just before landing in Santiago.

Typical view looking north from anywhere in Farallones.

The A House! I told the Chileans its actually ¨A Frame¨ but no one seemed to care. A House it is.