BLOG

The first week here in Portillo was awesome.  It’s good to be back in this breathtaking venue in the Andes.  It doesn’t take long to disconnect from the world and submit to the gentle pace and routine of Portillo.  The snow is pretty thin, there is very limited off-piste skiing but the snow quality is good.  In fact it is excellent training snow.  Every morning we were greeted with crisp Andean air, warming into a sunny and balmy afternoon.  The corduroy lasted for hours, but in Portillo the runs really never get skied out – so it’s not like we can really complain. 

The week was marked by two major events.  One of the new ski instructors sliced his butt cheek open.  Yes, you read correctly – sliced his butt cheek open.  What we suspect happened is that the ski pre-released and when he fell he landed on the edge of the ski.  The probability of something like this happening, is relatively low and since this took place on a groomed run without a pebble in sight, it is the only conclusion we could draw.  No worries, the instructor is doing fine after 25 stitches and is back teaching again.  The other event was the first ski school party of the year – dedicated to the rookies of which there are 15 of this year.  We celebrated the start of the season with an Asado in La Posada that was followed by the newbies being introduced to Chilly-Willys.  As the night progressed more “fun and games” emerged like limbo, “put the bottle cap in the can” – this one is kinda hard to explain and might have been invented on the spot.

Despite a full week I was able to get in some focused ski time, and now we are all hoping that the forecast for snow later this week comes true.