The weather was sub-optimal, very foggy and cloudy in the morning, but got better later in the day and the snow was amazing. The rumors of abundant, dry, powder are indeed true. We spent most of the morning on the groomed runs, but in the afternoon I ran into Eric, a Canadian from BC, who had already located some of the best powder spots and was looking for company.
The afternoon was awesome! Most impressive was that we were still getting first tracks at 4PM in the afternoon - probably unthinkable everywhere else, but maybe not quite so surprising in a location where the national minimal wage per month is $90, while the price of a lift ticket is $55 (US dollars), food for thought.
If time allows we might try to get in a day or two at Portillo (the supposedly "bigger and better" resort while we are here) - the snow is certainly worth it, but in all honesty the getting to the mountain part itself was a bit of an ordeal: Imagine a complete chaos of a gazillion mini buses, screaming people selling stuff everywhere - pulling your hair, sleeves, clothes to do so, endless waits for everything -- in the end the 25 mile journey took from 7AM to 11AM! So, for my part I might prefer more classic Chilean sights during the rest of my time here, but I am very glad we went and I would very much recommend the Chilean snow for anyone needing a summer ski fix!
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