Portillo

[BackCountryGirl]

I just returned from Chile. Other than the fact that the snowfall closed the roads and delayed our arrival in Portillo by two days, the experience was beyond comparison. The snow was tremendous, the sunshine was plentiful, the off-piste hiking opportunities were bountiful, the food was great, and Hermann Maier was there, along with the rest of the Austrian team and the Canadians. It was great to watch them practice and chill out over ping-pong. DD enjoyed her nearly private lessons with a young instructor and I can't say enough about the quality of NASTC training. I could go on and on, but the picture in the post below says it all.

 

[BackCountryGirl]

 

[SkiNurse]

 

[BackCountryGirl]

Ski Nurse, your post captures exactly what I did when I first saw Hermann walk through the dining room at lunch on my first day there!

 

[ski&bfree]

WOW!

Great picture/angle! Any more you can share for us who can't make it to Chile???

 

[SkiNurse]

Was this group the same one Chris Anthony was with???

I've been reading his facebook posts about the trip.

Amazing!:D

 

[SkiNurse]

Ski Nurse, your post captures exactly what I did when I first saw Hermann walk through the dining room at lunch on my first day there!

I would've found it hard to stop the drool. That can be sooo embarassing in public!

 

[LilaBear]

That looks fabulous, and you sound really buzzed by your trip - a great experience. Lucky you!

 

[BackCountryGirl]

Well, the mountain is very isolated -- there's no town. The big yellow hotel is it. Everyone arrives for the start of ski weeks on Saturdays (unless the road is closed) and leaves on the following Saturday, in the afternoon. There are hardly any day skiers and no lift lines. I was attending a NASTC camp; there were about 22 of us, divided in 3 groups, with 3 great instructors -- all former or current PSIA National Demo Team members. The hotel is beautiful -- old and stately. I stayed in the adjoining lodge, along with the Canadian ski team. It was so cool -- even thought the Austrians were in the hotel, there wax room was in the lodge, so every morning, their long Head GS and downhill skis were lined up outside the door. The rooms were small, but clean. The NASTC camp started with stretching and dryland training in the a.m., then out on snow until lunch. After lunch, out on snow again, followed by video replays and tea time. The outdoor pool and hot tub face the mountains, so every afternoon there was a stunning show of alpenglow. The gym was great -- I loved my treadmill runs at altitude. Very challenging. Because of avalanche danger, most of the best terrain and traverses are accessed by sling-shot lifts -- 4 or 5 person pomas. Challenging at first, but lots of fun and very social. Fun to communicate in spanish the order of "dismounts." I did some good bootpacks and definitely got to ski into Argentina for a bit. Apres ski was fun -- live music and a disco with a DJ. I am still somewhat overwhelmed by the experience -- it is amazing to ski for 6 straight sunny days. Here's another picture

, from the top of the Plateau, after hiking up beyond the lift.

 

[BackCountryGirl]

Ski Nurse -- Chris Anthony, Chris Davenport, and Wendy Fisher were there the same week, doing a different camp, "Skiing with the Superstars." The son of one of the women in my group was doing that. Let's just say that they had a younger demographic than we had (by maybe about 20 years). But, we held our our own at the disco. Chris Davenport is a wicked fun dancer!

 

[SkiNurse]

Sounds wonderful! What an incredible opportunity.

Someday, someday......