Freshly fallen snow had settled on the mountains or in this case Volcano craters and a good portion of the resort tracked was out.   It was time to branch out from the resort and into the backcountry.  These next few days would consist of, Cat skiing to the crater above the resort, Hiking to the crater with some friends and then checking out the surrounding backcountry valleys nearby. Wrapping up my time on the snow would be a snowmobile recon mission to a zone far from the resort to look at some new lines that I've only seen from a distance.  This all intertwined with nightly missions to town to hang out at the Snowpub and even a visit to the local disco.  I was getting sentimental about leaving so I treated the final 4 nights like they were all my last night of the season in Las Trancas... It's just that kind of place.

Snowboarding in South America still has alot of stereotypes, like the ones snowboarders went through in the 90's in North America. This is a good example... Snowboarders can't ride T-bars..but in reality we can... without any problems.. Dude!!.. just let go, your making us all look bad!!   Nevados de Chillan,Chile, South America.

Proper T-bar riding near the top of the resort.  Check out the snowpack!!  Late in the season and plenty of snow.  Nevados de Chillan, CHILE

Leaving the resort and looking back at an ocean of windlips,hips and cornices. This place was made for snowboarding. Nevados de Chillan, Chile

Looking deep into the next valley.  The spanish word for FRESH is  "Fresco". Chilean backcountry.

Awesome views from the top of the valley. 

Maylis from MI LODGE... kicking up some late season powder in the backcountry near Nevados de Chillan resort. Chile, South America.

Seriously.  How good does this look!?  Which way do I go... Too many choices of "AWESOME".  Chilean backcountry. South America.

All the way to the valley floor.  Maylis from MI LODGE points it for the bottom. Chilean backcountry, South America

Bertrand from MI LODGE knows this place well... Airtime action near the bottom of the run. Chilean backcountry, South America

After riding I took a hike in the surrounding local forest... an really amazing place.  There is talk of this all being developed into condos and high rise buildings.  A real shame.  I hope the locals voices are heard on this issue.  No one that lives in this valley wants this place spoiled. The real issue is that this place attracts tourists because of the natural landscape and of course all the snow. High rise condos would be a quick way to ruin all this fast.  Las Trancas, Chile, South America.

Completely untouched. Unspoiled and filled with wildlife.

The centre piece of Las Trancas, Chile.  An amazing waterfall that you can see from the towns main road. Chile, South America.

Back at the MI LODGE... Bertrand mixes up some Pisco Sours for Apres time.  The Pisco is Chile's national drink and is in a league of its own for potency. CAREFUL is the word.

Pisco Sours lead to the Snowpub and also lead to dancing on tables. Las Trancas, Chile.

Alejandro Gattica.  The un-offcial mayor of Las Trancas.  I can't say anything but amazing things about this guy.  He's the god father of the town and has been here since I first stepped in the SnowPub more then 12 years ago.  He's been greeting gringo shredders here forever. Las Trancas, Chile, South America.

Waiting for a ride up to the resort.  The tree above me was filled with these really cool parakeet type birds that are common here.  They make a ton of noise too!  Las Trancas, Chile

Si.. this is definitely South America. Chilean Green Parrots and Summer Powder.

Loading up the CAT for a ride to the crater, Nevados de Chillan, Chile, South America

These ladies from Brazil were in the CAT next to me.  Another thing that makes Chilean CAT skiing different is that these ladies were only coming up for the ride in the CAT.  I was relieved because they looked pretty fierce and probably would have shown me up on the ride down.  Nevados de Chillan, Chile

Once reaching the crater you can look out towards Argentina.  This crater is called the Nuevo Crater.  There are three main craters with more then 13 smaller craters that pepper the surrounding area.  All semi-dormant.  Nevados de Chillan, Chile, South America.

The local guide from the resort points out some really cool reference points you can see from the summit of the volcano.  Nevados de Chillan, Chile, South America.

Lead guide for the resort Nico pours out some Pisco for everyone to enjoy before riding down the volcano.... just a litttttle!  Nevados de Chillan, Chile, South America

Chilean pro Sebastian Camus(left), amigo and a snowboard flexy doll moved into my cabana in Las Trancas for a couple days.  The Chilean independence day is coming up and these guys are in town for shredding and the party.  Las Trancas, Chile, South America

Chilean politics are deep. The country is still very divided in what it thinks about past leaders and dictators.  It was really a hush-hush matter to talk about in the past.  This guy walked into the Pub with this shirt on.  I was immediately blown away at his stance on the issue.  If I wore this shirt I could most likely expect to get my &^% kicked.  If your interested... search the words on his shirt.

We ended up in the disco that night... These discos don't get going till about 1am or later.  Dear Reggaetone, I will not miss you at all when I leave Chile.

Today we planned on doing some recon sledding/hiking to check out some new lines near MI LODGE, Las Trancas, Chile, South America

We sledded as far as we could and then started to hike.  This refugio seems to need a little work.

Snowshoed the whole afternoon.... Got a really cool view of the glacier on the Nevado Volcano.  Las Trancas, Chile, South America.

That afternoon we checked out the new zipline/canopy adventure park in Las Trancas. It's called ECOPARQUE.

Packed up my bags  the following morning... A condor flew in close and did a couple loops before soaring off.  They rarely come down low so yes... I know it's far away.  Huge birds and really cool to watch. Las Trancas, Chile, South America.

This is it!  I've packed up the board bag and am hitting the road.  It's been a blast down here this season and I've had the usual South American quirks, adventures and wild times.  I'm headed to the beach to hang out for the Chilean Independence Day festivities.  I need a little sunshine and waves this summer.  I'll touch base from the beach.  Stay posted.

Resort info: www.nevadosdechillan.com

Flights to Chile: www.lan.com

Lodging in this area: www.misnowchile.com

Rolling my bags around South America with ease.  www.dakine.com

Questions?: www.chasingwintermedia.com