TravelStream™ news feed for member gomezmdj on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/gomezmdj en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Sat, 28 Jul 2007 20:31:05 -0400 http://www.travelpod.com http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/ski_chile/1185124380/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/ski_chile/1185124380/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/ski_chile/1185124380/tpod.html Sat, 28 Jul 2007 20:31:05 -0400 Fun Ski/Snowboard Lines in the Andes: Bonsai Run, Santa Teracita, CHILE

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Valle Arpa, Chile

July 22nd: Valle El Arpa: SKI CHILE 2007: CASA TOURS
By M. David Johnson
All I can say is WOW!
We skied Arpa last year around the same time and there was no snow until the parking lot. How things have changed in 2007. I just got off guiding the first CASA Endless Winter tour of the 2007 South America ski season and took my guides out for a day of cat skiing at Valle Arpa. The road to Arpa could be one of the craziest roads accessing a ski hill on the planet. Talk about a wild experience!
We all could not believe the snow line. The access road to Arpa climbs out of the Aconcagua Valley starting around 2800 feet above sea level. The road winds through cacti and boulder hillsides and almost immediately snow was plastered onto the surrounding terrain. It is so surreal to see cacti caked with snow. This place is out there. Junctions to Arpa are marked with bullet riddled signs and Arpa written in a sharpie pen.
Our adventure revved up significantly as we negotiated the hairy switchbacks leading to the snow cat operation base, which consists solely of 2 stone bunkers built into the hillside. This road is a total mission. I cannot believe Anton Sponar drives this road on a daily basis from San Estaban, Chile. With 20cm of fresh coating the twisting dirt road and shoveled out wind drifts forming a luge like track with serious consequence. A couple of the turns were probably the most intense turns of the entire ski day.
OK, lets talk about Anton Sponar. This guy is 74 years old. Ski Arpa is his field of dreams. 5000 acres of high alpine Andean vastness. Anton is one of my biggest ski idols. He still rips and his passion for Arpa is undeniable.
We arrived in the parking lot accompanied by only 2 staff trucks, blue skies and 30cm of extremely light Andean POW blanketing Arpa's immense terrain.
Mike Taylor, Travis Toelkes, Francisco Vasquez, Claire Dibble, Aaron Bilotta, Matt Klene, and myself came up for the day. Hooting and hollering excited to have survived the drive up and the fresh snow awaiting us, we all knew we were in for a real treat.
We got our gear ready and had a coffee in the stone bunker while Anton and the Nestor, the cat driver, got the Piston Bully fired up.
What a day!! As we motored up the cat track, Arpa's terrain began to unveil itself to us. North facing slopes were incredibly smooth while the South facing slopes were rippled with powder drifts. Game On!!
Standing on the cat's platform riding close to 3000 vertical feet up the valley to an 11,700foot knob, we all were giddy with excitement and the turns to come.
For our first line of the day we center punched Avalanchas, one of Arpa's marquee runs. Oh My!!!! We bounced down the mountain, blasting into the powder drifts. It was like skiing through the dunes of the Sahara. Shouting with joy our team was juiced with powderiffic vibes. The sun glistening on our freshly cut tracks our group relished in our ski glory and waited for the cat to pick us up for another trip to Punta Guanaco.
Once dropped off on the 3740-meter point, Francisco, Travis and myself slapped on the skins and went for a tour. As I mentioned the North Face of the Valley had incredibly smooth looking snow. We were drooling over this terrain on the cat rides up. I consulted with the master, Tony, and he said the snow was good to go in these 1000-meter couloirs. We traversed a long ridgeline with sweeping views into several other valleys. This terrain is so immense. With a little billygoating, reminding me of my home mountain Lone Peak (Moonlight Basin/Big Sky, let's call it what it is) I found myself staring down a 3000-foot couloir filled with virgin powder. I was ahead of my partners and on a mission to climb up the cat road for one last run. Mike and Claire spotted me from across the valley. I put in a ski cut, felt the snow out, and dropped in. Without stopping I stamped the couloir with my signature. The consistency of the snow was incredible. 3000 feet of cream cheese Andean powder. This was one of my most memorable runs of my life. Travis and Francisco sent it as well and while Aaron Bilotta and Matt Klene rode up in the cat and watched us, they were enticed to do the same. We all agreed this was one of the most special lines we all had ever skied/snowboarded.
I put back on my skins and started huffing it up to Punta Guanaco and in 1 hour 15 minutes reached the top again. I think the people in the cat who passed me were a little befuddled why this longhaired, bearded gringo was doing such a thing. Well I needed one more run for the day and the last cat was filled, so......... up I went. I stood on the peak at 4:20; solo, staring at the Aconcagua Valley lit up in the afternoon sun and the Pacific Ocean spreading out in the far horizon. I radioed down to my group that I was having a special moment and was preparing to descend. I traversed past Avalanchas and made my way into Ultimo Peso and another 3000 feet of glorious powder turns. This time I took the time to stop and pick out some variations in my line.
With a huge sh*T-eating grin I arrived at the stone bunkers to meet my group and say thank you to Toni. We were treated to one of the most spectacular days of skiing at the Valley of the Harp. Our adventure was not quite over though. I waited for Aaron and Matt Klene who were still skiing the north face and swapped out into their 4x4 for the drive down. Once again we were gripped for the luge like switchbacks. Toni followed us down in his Suzuki Samari, just another day at the office, the alpen glow illuminating the entire Valley and cacti silhouetted along the hillsides.
For more information on Valle Arpa check out their website:
http://www.skiarpa.com/
For more information on CASA Tours go to:
http://www.casatours.com
CASA Tours has also posted its videos on You Tube @:
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=CASATOURS
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/ski_chile/1184457420/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/ski_chile/1184457420/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/ski_chile/1184457420/tpod.html Sat, 14 Jul 2007 20:06:11 -0400 Fun Ski/Snowboard Lines in the Andes: Bonsai Run, Santa Teracita, CHILE

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Santiago, Chile

Saludos from Chile,
Well once again Independence Day marked my departure from the United States and summertime and my arrival to the Southern Hemisphere and winter. Each time it amazes me how I can wake up to an Andean sunrise and in 1 night travel from summer to winter.
Going from 100 degree plus temperatures in Montana to 40 degree temperatures in Santiago is a welcome change and as I fly above the Andes looking down on its snow covered mountains I become giddy with excitement and another ski season beginning.
Unlike last season the Andes have received excellent early snowfall and another storm left 6 inches of dry Andean powder at the resorts outside Santiago.
CASA picked up its first guests on the 7th of July for our first Endless Winter tour. When we arrived at La Parva on the 8th the clouds had us socked in. That afternoon though the clouds broke and the Andes unveiled themselves to us. The sight of these familiar mountains poking out of the clouds sent tingles throughout my body.
The temperatures have been consistently cold and the snow quality I would describe as velvety powder on top of a chalky, carvy base.
As the sun powered through the clouds my guests got their first glimpses of these magnificent mountains and were inspired by their beauty and grandness.
Our afternoon was glorious and a high pressure was awaiting us for the next 2 days of skiing and snowboarding.
The following day we ventured to Valle Nevado where we were treated to a powder day and bright sunshine. The early season coverage is excellent this year and we rode the Los Andes Express, Valle Olympico and had 2 runs down Santa Terasita, one of my favorite off piste areas in all of South America.
Santa Terasita is an 1800 vertical foot face with a mile long ridgeline that drops into a variety of chutes, banana couloirs, cliff drops, and natural half pipes. It is accessed from either a short hike from Valle Nevado or by ducking a rope at El Colorado and descends to the road leading to Valle Nevado. One of the great things about CASA Tours is we have a driver who shuttles us from the road back to the resort after each run. This is our version of heli-skiing and this entire face had less than a handful of tracks before our arrival. Our smiles were ear to ear as we looked down at 1800 feet of untouched powder. I would best describe the skiing as silky smooth and we were able to lay out huge turns and the snow quality was consistent throughout the entire run allowing us to open it up.
We spent the following day at El Colorado, my favorite resort in the Tres Valles.
El Colorado offers the easiest access to Santa Teracita and has some superb inbounds terrain accessed from the Conde Este and Cornisa t-bars. Steep slopes and prominent red rock features distinguish El Colorado's backside.
After playing around at the resort it was time to return to Santa Terasita.
Even a day later there were hardly any tracks on this face other than our own from the day before. We took one of our quests who spends his winters in France snowboarding. He was thoroughly impressed and hearing the words "That was one of the best runs of my life" gave me an incredible sense of joy. Seeing my guests have an epic run in terrain that is bigger than they've ever ridden before makes me feel like a proud papa. Needless to say he wanted more and we were happy to oblige, 2 more times, each one better.
It is on down here and we are stoked with how everything is setting up snow-wise. From Santiago to Barilcohe the Andes are covered
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/ski_chile/1178648760/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/ski_chile/1178648760/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/ski_chile/1178648760/tpod.html Tue, 08 May 2007 14:52:57 -0400 Fun Ski/Snowboard Lines in the Andes: Bonsai Run, Santa Teracita, CHILE

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El Colorado/ Valle Nevado, Chile

by Sarah Weinberg - CASA TOURS North America Manager and Lead Guide

It is hard to choose a favorite in Chile, as there are so many classic lines around. I suppose one of my great favorites is what's called the Santa Teresita. 'ita' put onto the end of a word in Spanish means something like, 'little one'. That is the great sarcastic humor kicking in with the Teresita as it's anything but little! I remember the first time I found my way out there with some local friends I couldn't believe what was in front of me. I felt like I had just been dropped off at a heli LZ and was staring at some of the vastest terrain I had ever skied. I was no spring chicken, even at that time, but the immense possibility of line variation that lay before my eyes send a twitter in my stomach and a hunger in my soul for Chile.
I head for the lifts at the little known resort of El Colorado. This is a family mountain squished in-between the more visited resorts of Valle Nevado and La Parva. As I head up first the poma and then a t-bar I am amazed at the shape of this place. A classic volcanic sputter cone nestled amongst huge peaks. I can see a 20,000 Ft. peak just above the ski area that looks like you could take a little stroll over there in a couple of hours, in reality the peak of El Plomo is at least two days away and another upon return.
I ski down the un-descript blue groomer towards a little brown shack. It's an outhouse really and I love to refer to the adjacent line as shitter chute. I duct under the ropes and ignore the out-of-bounds signs, the avalanche danger signs and the cliff markings. As a diligent backcountry skier I have already drooled at these lines from the Valle Nevado access road and chosen my land marks to look for. I check my beacon and that of my partner. All good. We edge towards the ridgeline, peeking over the other side and what appears before my eyes is a whole new world. It's a world of wide-open spaces, untracked powder, cliffs, funnels and benches. I look directly below the outhouse at shitter chute and even though I can't see how it goes through to the road, I know it does from previous experience. There is so much to choose from though we decide to glide down the ridge a little and see what else there is available. We pass the sharks' fin, a knife-edge fin of rock that rises from the smooth treeless slope and offers some gnarly and rocky goat pickings through into the lower powder fields. I want to keep going though as I have a little something in mind.
We drop onto the far side of the sharks' fin and ski side hill a little ways down. The snow is fantastic and I have my eyes narrowed, looking for a little something of local legend. There I see it, a small bonsai tree. It is the only tree within a 2000' vertical decent and many miles around. An anomaly that marks the entrance to, what the locals call, bonsai run. I am so excited as I had heard of this place, this tree for a few seasons but hadn't had the chance to come and seek it out.
I have a look and make a plan. The chute is narrow in the choke but still wide enough to make turns, it dog legs around a corner so that I cannot fully see to the bottom, adding just a little angst in my throat. I see the left flank looks loaded with snow and drains steeply into the choke. I decide on a risky ski cut up the left flank and then a shot for the main guts. As I gather speed and try to glide lightly across the loaded slope I look for my escape route just in case. All my luck though as nothing moves and the snow feels good underfoot. I snap in a couple of turns, shoot into the guts, carve a big one through the narrows and out into the lower fan I go. Once into the lower open fan I drop into a rhythm of glee and dance out some powder turns to leave my glorious mark all the way to the road.
Of course its over way too fast and as I look back up the lower half of the chute I am happy to have skied another challenging line and feel the glory of the ride. I look up and down the ridge line and sense endless possibility with this 'little one'.
The best part comes as we hop down onto the road, have our CASA driver shuttle us up the hill and lap some Santa Terasita freshies over and over again.
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/sawtooths/1177629360/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/sawtooths/1177629360/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/sawtooths/1177629360/tpod.html Fri, 27 Apr 2007 01:44:41 -0400 14 Montuckeans descend on the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho. What a way to celebrate # 35, Steep Couloirs, Powder, Good friends and Pisco. Thompson and Williams Peaks our playground for 4 glorious days

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Stanley, Idaho, United States

Montucky Represent!
Our tribe of 14 South West Montanans charged into Ketchum, Idaho on 4-20. For the next 4 days we would be based out of the Williams Yurt in the Sawtooth Mountain Range, just south of Stanley, Idaho.
This was the last day of my 34th year and we rallied hard at Whiskey Jacques, celebrating our arrival and the anticipation of what the Sawtooths had in store for us.
Our group was made up of Moonlight Basin and Big Sky patrollers as well as Big Sky and Bozeman locals. I celebrated my 32nd birthday with a number of the same people climbing and skiing Mt. Whitney. The entire group are ambitious, wide eyed skiers who really enjoy getting into the nooks and cranies of the mountains.
Nursing a tequilla hangover and 3 hours of sleep we gathered at the Alpine Way Trailhead just north of Red Fish Lake. The 6 mile approach to the yurt is gradual, but a high snowline meant lugging the skis on the back for a longer period of time. The trail curves along a high bench offering fantastic views of the peaks we would be skiing and eventually winds through a narnia forest and to the base of skiers summit and our home for the next 3 nights.
We all branched off and got after our own lines, scoping out the terrain for the following days and becoming orientated with approaches and exits.
The fourteen of us celebrated my 35th that evening, passing around the Easter Island statue bottle of Pisco, chowing gumbo, and hooting and hollering under the Idaho moon.
The next morning after plenty of bacon we branched off into our pods and began to assault the North Wall of Thompson Peak. Lined with numerous finger couloirs the North Wall begged to be skied. Its north facing aspect preserved the recent powder and sluff management was a welcome obstacle.
The gem on the wall is the Cleaver Couloir. This 2000 vertical foot couloir is a continuous 48 degree pitch, snaking through granite walls and exiting into a large fan and finishing through a short chute to the lake. The boot up the couloir takes approximately an hour and 15 minutes. Luckily for us the snow was soft enough to punch in hand holds and we did not need axes or crampons, although had the snow been firm without this equipment it would be very, very scary.
Watching all my friends climb up into different couloirs while my group was making its way to our own destination was incredible. I was able to capture some magnificent angles of Chelan, Luke and Taylor skiing the Cleaver Couloir and put in perspective how small they were and how steep the couloir was.
My pod of Jacobi, Catarina,Ellie, Starr and Piper skinned further up the cirque and into another series of couloirs on this north facing wall. Thompson towers above the ridgeline and these couloirs were the ones closest to the peak. Jacobi and Catarina branched off into a splicer of a chute while myself and the others grabbed the less technical mainline. The pitch was consistently in the high 40s and the sluff was enough to pile you down as I found out later. I dropped into this couloir first and half way down my sluff knocked me down and pushed me down the hill. I was able to self arrest before anything dramatic happened like plunging off a large cliffband. It was definately surprising and good to know that managing your sluff would be necessary.
Jacobi and Catarina scooted through a pinner of a pinch and into another delicious finger couloir and apron.
Our day continued climbing up the South face of Williams, where some billygoated to the summit. The South Face of Williams offers long wide open chutes pierced with granite spires. Well over 2000 feet of vertical was easily accessed via bootpack in these spring conditions. Snow was continuously falling throughout the day and covered the frozen corn with some cream. Although a little chattering, we were able to link smooth turns throughout.
Our pods would interchange with skiers and throughout the day we were skiing new and exciting lines with different partners. You would think a group of 14 would be a clusterf!ck but we managed well to keep in small parties and ski whereever we individually desired.
Ellie and I met up with Simon and Mark and booted up the NorthWestern most couloir in the Thompson Peak cirque for a 7:45pm ski. Gotta love the light of spring!!!!
Snow continued to fall throughout our exit and kept the snow very creamy. We arrived at the yurt howling joy and ready for another fiesta to celebrate the buena onda we all experienced. Watching all your friends get after it, be stoked for themselves and the people around them is such an infectious energy. Laughing, smiling, sharing the power the mountains gave us all we partied the night away, praising the snow gods throughout.
The following morning we staggered out of our bunks and fueled up. Again we divided into groups and split out from the yurt when ready. My group's intention was to go back to the Thompson Peak cirque, summit Thompson Peak, check out Goat Lake, and get back into some of the couloirs we did not explore the day before.
We skinned to the top of skiers summit, a 1500 foot skin from the yurt and dropped into the lower south face of the Williams Peak ridgeline. We received about 5 inches overnight which blanketed our tracks from the day before nicely. We traveled up the basin between Williams and Thompson and snuck around the East side of Thompson Peak. Dropping our skis at the saddle, a group ascended the peak via a mini couloir and some scrambling. After bagging the peak, the group rejoined on the adjacent peak and skied a beautiful face in the mid day sun.
We curled around and split again. One group bootpacked up the South Face of Williams and were treated to a beautiful 2000+ foot corn descent where one could totally let it out. I got to make my 500 foot Gomi Nobis turns down the apron.
Meanwhile Jacobi and Taylor were tackling the "Bad Idea Couloir" An 1800 foot couloir consistently above 55 degrees and a rockline running down the middle of the line makes it festive to say the least. But then again this is Jacobi and Taylor, 2 very determined skiers who like the gripping exploratory missions. We watched them pick their way down the couloir, cringing at times with anxiety. We did not suffer from chute envy watching them and both agreed it was one of the more sketchy lines they've ever skied.
The 6 pm sun glowed on the South Face of Williams lighting up our tracks and beamed onto the North West wall of Thompson tempting us for yet another run. Jacobi and I really wanted to get into the Cleaver Couloir. We definately experienced chute envy the day before watching the boys ski that line. Its aesthetics could not be passed up, so at 6:10 we put the skis on our back and trucked up the 1800 feet of high 40's low 50's degree pitch and arrived at the notch at 7:15. The early evening springtime sun lit the jagged Sawtooth peaks with a radiant glow. Although my mind was definately occupied with how I would descend this couloir, loosing myself in this light and place calmed any anxieties. It really capped how fortunate we all were, to be following our passion with good friends in beautiful places.
The descent was technical and more of a don't tumble mindset. We leap frogged throughout the couloir, hiding from each others sluff behind rock walls. The couloir turned and dropped away in various sections, had dramatic doglegs and a fun exit into a large fan before dropping into the final chute to the lake. Although the conditions down low had glazed over the apron was still soft and the snow throughout the couloir was a heavy powder. Just to be in that place was an experience in itself and will last with me for a long time.
Jacobi and I reuntied with the group at the yurt at 9 ish, a heap of pasta waiting and smiling faces enticed by our escapades. Another great day had by all and a night spent recounting our adventures and enjoying the warmth of the yurt.
Our final morning we climbed up to Skiers Summit and skied it Canadian style (all at once) slopping up the morning corn before heading out the trail. The exit was a reasonable 2 hours and much lighter without the full bottle of Pisco and grubbings.
We all send much appreciation to the Sawtooth Mountain Guides especially Sarah and Chris for getting us situated.
A big thanks goes out to mis amigos: Alex Jacobi, Chelan BabinoeauZ, Luke Rice, Ellie Thompson, Chris Catarina, Clarkie, Benji, Starr, Piper Platte, Mark Schaffer, Simon Troutman, Matt K, and Taylor for making my 35th Birthday Kick Ass.
Global Powder To The People!!!
Dave Johnson AKA Gomez

Dave Johnson is the owner and president of CASA Tours. CASA Tours runs 8-15 day guided ski and snowboard adventures throughout Chile and Argentina.
http://www.casatours.com
]]> http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/colombia-2006/1177032540/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/colombia-2006/1177032540/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/gomezmdj/colombia-2006/1177032540/tpod.html Thu, 19 Apr 2007 22:24:53 -0400 Viva Colombia: Ancient Cultures, Lost Cities, Rumbas, and Paragliding Adventures

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Cuidad Perdida and La Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia

These pictures are from my trek into the Colombian jungle to visit Cuidad Perdida. Along the trail I ventured into the Kogui village of Mutamyi, where a majority of these photos came from. Cuidad Perdida was discovered in 1975 by a father and son in search for ancient treasures. Buried deep in the jungle, Cuidad Perdida was a thriving city in Pre-Colombian times. Now it has quite the folklore. A duel between the son and another treasure hunter took place on the terraces of the city and the son was killed there in the shootout. Also in 2003 a group of trekkers, led by my quide, was taken captive by the paramilitary group FARC, for 3 months. The jungle is dotted with Kogui villages, where the people still live very semi-nomadic lives and maintain their distance from modern culture. I feel very fortunate to capture as many images as I did of the people. The jungle also supported numerous cocaine laboratories. The picture where I am holding a machete and the guy has a jar with white paste is taken at one. The stories Adan, the man I´m standing with, were very interesting. He showed us how they processed cocaine up until the paste stage, which would serve as an excellent drug rehab class, and told us crazy stories of how the paramilitary groups are paid off and how the cocaine leaves the jungle. I´m glad I never got into doing blow, the chemical process he showed us was just plain dirty and very dangerous. Now this area is doing well thanks to the tourism business and the campesinos are planting food instead of drugs. For the people of the country who work the lands the money is the same, minimal. The military groups I passed along the trail were mountain patrol divisions there to keep the area secure. They really enjoyed me showing them pictures of snow covered mountains and skiing down chutes. All along the way people took great care of me, I wound up spending the night at a family´s home where the father was celebrating his 50th birthday with his 7 children. We whoooped it up good and my inclusion was another example of how friendly so many of the Colombian people I´ve met along this journey are. I hope you are able to open these photos and can see a little bit of what my eyes are experiencing. mdj
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