Nevados de Chillan top to bottom ski run

This was the last run of the day on a beautiful and clear August afternoon. The helmet-mounted camera used to record this video just does not do the experience justice. For one thing, everything appears to be in slow motion, which is a common shortcoming for helmet cams. As well, stabilising this thing is all but a lost cause.

This continuous, nonstop run began at the top of the highest lift (2640m) and ended at the very bottom of the ski area (1530m). Although 1110 vertical meters is rather substantial, more can be done.

The summit of Volcan Chillan Nuevo is 3186m above sea level and one can start skiing down from pretty close to that summit. As a matter of fact, I have skied all 1650 vertical meters nonstop from there to the bottom but the video ended up being too long to fit on YouTube.

Clearly the lifts at the ski area go nowhere near as high as they physically could go. I reckon there must be a good reason for that. I can think of a few as a matter of fact.

Nevados de Chillan is in the Bio Bio Region of Chile. It used to be known as the 8th region when counting from the north and progressing southward. The ski area is about 1.5 hours east of Chillan on a minibus or shuttle van and Chillan is about 5 hours south of Santiago on an inter-city bus.

The inter-city buses in Chile are VERY nice! Even the basic coach class is much more comfortable and pleasant than just about any North American bus of that kind. It is somewhat akin to riding a train in Europe.

I skied during the middle to late Chilean winter back in August 2008. I am still hoping for the day to come when I will finally return. Unfortunately, people in my country have too few holidays from work that we can use. We end up having to pick and choose where to go and where not to go each year. It's too bad, really. But I hope you enjoy the video, nonetheless.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Chile
• downhill
• alpine
• skiing
• winter sports
• snow
• winter