Win a Free Trip to Snowboard at Valle Nevado

Win a Free Trip to Snowboard at Valle Nevado for the 2011 season. LAN Airlines and Valle Nevado Ski Resort are linking up to offer you the chance to have a free Chilean ski vacation on them. Win free airfare, hotel stay at Valle Nevado and Lift tickets for you and three of your friends and family. This is an amazing chance to stay at one of the best places in the world to ski or snowboard. Valle Nevado is located in the mountains just outside of Santiago, Chile. People from all over the world come to enjoy the breathtaking views atop the Andes Mountains. The best thing about all of this is that the Chilean winter is between June-September, so its a great chance to ski or board during the Northern Hemisphere summer. Chileloco has spent some serious time at Valle Nevado riding the inbounds terrain, the backcountry, and the Snowpark. The staff at Valle Nevado is always striving to make the experience better for their guests and they are serious about providing a world-class experience. One of our favorite spots is the pool on the deck, where you can watch the public riding down the slopes while enjoying it from a hot soak in the tub. Valle offers excellent dining options and some crazy nightlife parties. As of June 2011, Valle Nevado was already receiving significant snowfall, so it looks to be a good season.

Spiro Razis Heli Los Andes Centrales de Chile. from spiro Razis on Vimeo.

Get Stoked with this Heli footage from the Andes shot by Marcelo Flores and Starring Snowboarder Spiro Razis.

Hope you win this contest. !Vamos a la montaña!

Trip to the South of Chile

We just got back from a snowboard trip all over Chile's Ski resorts to check out the conditions hitting up El Colorado, Valle Nevado, Portillo, Pucon, Corralco, Los Arenales, and Nevados de Chillan. Here's a quick rundown of the resorts as of mid to late August:

Portillo Ski Resort: August 12, 2008 Snow Conditions: Good Snowpack, lots of powder. It was a kind of far day trip from Santiago, taking around 2 hours to get there but the lift lines were practically empty and it was powder for the taking. They even added another 5 person rastre. which provides access into the trademark steep lines and chutes of Portillos resort. We hit up all the runs and ended the day with a couple backcountry hikes for pure dry pow slashes.

El Colorado Backcountry: August 13, 2008 It can be a bit hard to see on a greybird day at El Colorado ski resort because there is a lack of trees for depth perception. So you end up getting dizzy and unable to tell which direction you are heading. Luckily we found a run through the rocks into Farellones that we could see alright. So we dropped the chute into the slushy pow and pointed it for a fast double rock drop. After that we called it a day.

Pucon: August 16 & 17, 2008 There was some fresh powder coming in for us in Pucon and we arrived to the resort with great conditions, bluebird and pow. Unfortunately the lifts weren't open so we hiked some runs through the trees and slid some logs. On the second day it had warmed up in most places and the resort was filled with ice. That didn't stop us from finding pow in the trees, but it resulted in some fresh board chips from negotiating the woods and a bit of hiking around.

Corralco: August 18, 2008: The resort is only open from Friday to Sunday and since we showed up on a Monday we had to find our own means to ride once again. After the amazingly scenic drive to the resort, with some very rare sun for the area we were stoked to have driven this far. You have to drive through a one car road which is carved out of snow taller than the roof and arrive at the volcano. From the parking lot we shredded along the side of the road above the drivers as they followed us down. Then we built a road gap and hit it up a few times.

Los Arenales: August 19, 2008 As we arrived it started snowing and the road to the lodge was covered with snow from the parking lot. We realized that we were spending another day hiking around. The only other people in the parking lot were some military skiers out on a mission into the snowy abyss. We hiked around in some trees and snapped some photos.

City of Chillan: August 19, 2008 Nightime: Sidenote for first time travelers to Chile: Our friend fell asleep while he was watching a truck full of snowboard gear in the Chillan jumbo parking lot. he forgot to lock any of the doors and he was parked in a dark corner of the supermarket. Apparently this parking lot is crawling with thieves who proceeded to steal 3 backpacks out of the inside of the truck while he was sleeping! Amazingly they couldn't get the snowboards in time.

Nevados de Chillan: August 20, 2008 It snowed a little overnight and the drive up to the mountain was beautiful. Some of the key chairlifts weren't working, so you were forced to take t-bars most of the way up. We had some girl beginners to circle-bar lifts and they had a tough time making it up on the things. The chair operators were of little help to these innocent girls and he would yank the handle and send them flying whether the were ready or not. Definately bad customer service by the lifties at Nevados de Chillan. There is a ski and snowboard contest going doing there the 21st and 22nd of August and they were building the park up with a boardercross, jumps, rails, and boxes. The park was in a cool spot in the steeps and I enjoyed this addition to Chillan's snowpark features. We headed all the way to the top of the mountain and checked out the volcanoes Old Chillan and New Chillan which were sending off volcanic steam. There was a cool mound of snow and we popped some ollies in front of the volcanoes for the camera. Then we shredded some fun pow mixed with icy patches. There were definately some goods out there, but it was hard to avoid bumping around on ice. It was really surprising to see the lack of base Nevados de Chillan has this year. We attempted to do some familiar tree runs, but there wasn't enough space in between the trees like usual and it was harder to negotiate the deep valleys on your shredstick without having to hike or one-foot a bit. It was fun to shred but not as good as years past.

Pink Sessions 1st All Girl Ski & Snowboard Contest at Valle Nevado, Chile

1st Place / Lugar Carola Davila slides the Graffitti Box with some smooth style.

The Pink Sessions 1st All-Girls ski & snowboard contest was held at Valle Nevado Saturday August 9th. Around 30 ladies showed up to slide the boxes, jump the booters, and flaunt their styliest snow gear. Some good riding went down and it was impressive to see how many women are starting to get into the sport here in Chile. Everyone showed up with a smile and positive vibes. It was a nice progression session for the chicas who charged hard and rode better than some of their guy friends do. Props out to Felipe Erlandsen who organized the event. Sponsors included Mallsport, Burton, Rusty, DC, Carefree, Cosmopolitan, Funner Films, and more.

Pink Sessions es el primer concurso de snowboard solo para mujeres en Valle Nevado que tuvo lugar el dia sabado 9 de agosto. Alrededor de 30 chicas demostraron su habilidad en las cajas, barandas y saltos, todo con su mejores tenidas de ski. Buen riding y fue impresionante ver lo buenas que se estan volviendo las mujeres snowboardistas aca en Chile. Todas se presentaron con una gran sonrisa y muy buenas vibras. Fue una buena sesion progresiva para las chicas que anduvieron duro y mejor que algunos de mis amigos hombres. Felicitaciones a Felipe Erlandsen que organizo el evento. Evento auspiciado por Mallsport, Burton, Rusty, DC, Carefree, Cosmopolitan, Funner Films, y mas.


Pro Women
1st Place $600 - Carola Davila (Chile)
2nd Place $250 - Sabrina Kusar, (France)
3rd Place $100 - Roberta Irarrazaval, (Chile)

Am Women
1st Place - Belen Berrios, (Chile)
2nd Place - Jeime Liebonitz, (Chile)
3rd Place - Maria Canterini, (Brazil)


Roberta gets some big air on her way to third place.


Sabrina Kusar throws down a diirtty method over the big tabletop jump.


The awards at the first ever Pink Sessions.


Pink Sessions Ladies.

Chile Snowboard 2008 Snow Conditions Video

Farellones, Chile June 2008
Thanks for backing our stuff and watching our videos! Right now the season is off to a good start down south of the equator. A few early snow storms have swept in and the sun has came out for some Chilean sunsets. So while it might be summer where you're at, just remember that the shred rips on somewhere on the globe.

We also just finished a new 2 minute video from the June 2008, the first month of summer snowboarding in wintery Chile. EXPN picked it up, so check it out now.

Gracias por el apoyo y por ver nuestros videos! La temporada empezo bastante bien aca en el hemisferio sur. Unas pocas tempranas nevadas ya han caido y el sol salio para los clasicos atardeceres chilenos. Por lo que, aunque puede que sea verano en el lugar donde estes ahora, solo recuerda que en algun lugar del globo hay powder y riding.

Tambien acabamos de terminar este nuevo video de dos minutos de Junio 2008. El primer mes de snowboarding en verano en el invierno de Chile. EXPN nos puso en su pagina. No te lo pierdas!


Jeremy Dubs
Director
Funner Films

El Colorado, Chile & Farellones - Snowboarding & Skiing

El Colorado, Chile & Farellones - Snowboarding & Skiing from the pro riders at Funner Films. This is from 2005, the first year we went to Chile to Snowboard. We moved to Farellones with plane tickets for 3 months later and got ready to ride. Little did we know what amazing adventures awaited us after we flew into South America on a summer ski trip. (Check out the afterparty at Happy Hour)

El Colorado, Chile & Farellones - Snowboarding & Esquí de los Pro-Riders de Funner Films. Esto es del año 2005, el primer año que fuimos a Chile a andar en snowboard. Nos mudamos a Farellones con boleta de regreso para 3 meses después y nos dispusimos a andar la montaña. Grandes aventuras nos esperaban cuando viajamos a América del sur en un viaje de ski de verano.

Backcountry Snowboarding and Skiing in Valle Nevado & El Colorado, Chile

This backcountry run is called Los Moais. Amazingly it is accessible from a chairlift from either El Colorado or Valle Nevado Ski Resorts. You do have to hitchhike a ride back up the mountain, which has been known to take anywhere from 30 seconds to hours.
Esta bajada fuera de pista se llama Los Moais. Lo increíble es que puedes llegar a ella por medio del andarivel de El Colorado y Valle Nevado. Eso si tienes que hacer dedo de vuelta al centro de ski, lo que puede tardar entre 30 segundos a horas.

Backcountry Snowboarding and Skiing in Valle Nevado & El Colorado, Chile is super fun. The locals call one of the best zones to ride Santa Terecita, Santa Tere, or Santa Teresa in honor of the Chilean Saint Teresa. The powder is so dry it blows into the air as you ride through it.

Snowboarding y Esqui Fuera de Pista en Valle Nevado y El Colorado. Chile es super entretenido! Los lugareños llaman a esta zona, una de las mejores, Santa Teresa, Santa Tere, Santa Teresita, en honor a la Santa Chilena. La nieve en polvo es tan seca que vuela mientras andas sobre ella.

Timelapse Road from Santiago to Valle Nevado Chile - 40 curves

This is a video timelapse of driving down the mountain in our Jeep from Farellones, Chile (which has the ski areas Valle Nevado, La Parva, and El Colorado) to the city of Santiago. There are animals to dodge, dangerous curves and crazy drivers. The road has numerous curves, around 40 in rapid sucession. With the Andes mountains descent from 11000ft (3000+ Meters) to 6000ft (2000 Meters) its an adventure every time you drive it. Watch it all in fast motion timelapse mode and enjoy the sights and sounds.
If you travel to Chile to ski, snowboard, or just party then you will most likely be driving up this road to hit up the closest ski resorts from Santiago, CL airport. When we stay up there we'll stay in the town of Farellones, where you can shred straight back to your home after the world famous Happy Hour in El Parador.
Este es un video timelapse manejando montaña abajo en nuestro Jeep de Farellones, Chile (donde están los centros de ski de el Colorado, La parva, Valle Nevado) con camino a Santiago. Hay animales que esquivar, curvas peligrosas y automovilistas fuera de control. El camino tiene numerosas curvas, 40 curvas una tras otra. Velo en fast motion (en cámara rápida) y disfruta del paisaje y los sonidos. Si viajas a Chile a hacer Ski o Snowboard, o solo a carretear, entonces seguramente manejaras este camino donde se encuentras los resorts mas cercanos a Santiago, la capital de Chile y del aeropuerto Internacional. La mejor opción es quedarse en Farellones, donde puedes volver del famoso Happy Hour en el Parador del Colorado en tu tabla/skis al final del día.

Snowboard Webisode #18: Sebastian Camus - Pro Snowboard de Chile

Sebastian Camus is a pro snowboarder from Chile. This part chronicles his International travels with us through Chile and Argentina. He's one of the funniest and funnest guys I know. He's founder of Herba clothing and splits his year between Chile and Davos, Suiza (Switzerland). Once you know Camus you never forget him and he's one of those guys who is always down for an adventure and some snowboarding.
The shots of the girls was at Valle Nevado's famous swimming pool, and supposedly one of them was a Miss Chile candidate, but we have no facts to back this one up, so believe what you want.

Sebastian Camus, Pen Camus, en un snowboarder profesional de Chile. Esta parte sigue sus viajes internacionales con nosotros a traves de Chile y Argentina. Es una de las personas mas divertidas y entretenidas que conocemos. Es el fundador de Herba Clothing y divide su año entre Chile y Davos, Suiza. Una vez que conoces a Pen nunca lo olvidaras. Es una persona que esta siempre dispuesta a seguir una aventura y un poco de snowboard.

El video con las chicas es de la famosa piscina de Valle Nevado, y supuestamente una de ellas fue candidata a Miss Chile, pero no tenemos pruebas para respaldar esto, por lo que cree lo que quieras. El otro pobrecito en la piscina es Manuel Diaz, pro-snowboarder de Chile también. Pobre los cabros siempre sufriendo.