Heading to Valle Nevado in August!

[Ron]

Skiing 6 days, Aug 20-28 in Chile, totally stoked. New Icelantic Nomad SFT's will be here in time for the trip. Can't wait!

http://www.vallenevado.com/index.php

if anyone has been there and can offer suggestions on the following "Musts" it would be appreciated

MUST:
Do's-
Don'ts-
Know's-
Not Miss-

[jbotti]

Ron, I have been and all skiing in the sumer is awesome!! The main thing you need to know about skiing in the Andes is that they generally get very large but infrequent storms. Most storm days the winds are so high that the lifts are closed. Storms can last for several days. Almost all the skiing at the three resorts at Valle Nevado is above the tree line, so you can pretty much forget about tree skiing. When visibility is poor it is very hard to get your bearings. I would reccomend that you bring two sets of skis. A powder oriented ski and a carver. You can arrive when there hasn't been snow in weeks and it may not snow the whole time. The rental shop was not great as I remember it.

Valle Nevado has some awesome terrain!! In general the slopes are quite empty and the on piste and off piste experience is pretty sweet. The other two resorts have decent terrain as well and they are worth skiing over to. It's a nominal additional fee to add them to your pass for a day.

The altitude is high and as I remember you will be sleeping at close to 10,000 feet. If you have any issues with sleep at higher altitude or altitude sickness make sure you bring whatever you might need.

The food is pretty good and the room plans generally come with 3 meals included.

If you are flying into Santiago, I would get a car in advance to take you to the resort. It's a solid 2:00-2:30 hour drive and the last hour is on a sharp switchback mountain road where the elevavtion change is easily 6000-7000 feet.

The ski director at the resort is American and from killington. He is a very nice guy and I have forgotten his name. You should go out of your way to meet him. He was very helpful to us on our trip. He knows the mountain top to bottom and he understands what we as Americans are looking for. If you are lucky enough to have some fresh snow, I would have him set you up with a guide to show you some great off piste terrain and show you around the mountain. If you are skiing groomers I don't think you need to spend the money because the groomed terrain is pretty self explanatory.

Lastly, HYDRATE!!! The elevation is higher than we are used to and it is very, very dry!!! All of us got a little sick the last day solely due to hydration.

Enjoy the trip. You will have a blast!! If I can help further, send me a PM.

[Ron]

John, thanks very much for the info!? I am going with the Eagan Brothers, http://www.skiclinics.com/? the focus is really on off-piste skiing so I am really hoping to hone those skills. It's more of a how to approach the mountain, how to ski more technical lines and less of actual skiing technique. So the good news is he goes down all the time and its a very well organized trip with private coach up to the resort. I plan to bring along some diamox just in case. I always drink tons of water!?

Skis, yes taking skis actually taking 2010 Icelantic Nomad SFT's (softs) that Icelantic is cool enough to release to me a little early so I can take them on the trip!  I am also taking my Pilgrims for my groomer boards. ( Ihave new 2010 Pilgrims on order through "the Skiers shop" which is a really cool ski shop in VT.

Speaking of water, anything I should be aware of as far as water & food safety? I was going to get a "Hepatitas A" shot.

I will pm you so check your box. If you don't mind, i would really like to chat a bit. - If you don't get it, please let me know!!!

[midwif]

Ron
Diamox is taken preventively, not "as needed". It works by helping to prevent altitude sickness, not treat it.

You start taking it about 3 days prior to your trip. It works by changing the acid/base balance in your system so you handle the changes that occur when breathing so rapidly at altitude.

You take 250mg every 12 hrs. You pee a lot because it's original use was as a diuretic. It also causes tingling in your lips and fingers. Oh, and any thing with bubbles (beer) tastes AWFUL!!!

You can usually stop taking after 3rd day on the mountain, as enough physiological adaptation will have occurred by then to no longer need the diamox.

Sounds like a blast. Be interesting to hear about it when you return. I have wanted to go there for years. Or to Portillo.

Lots of details in the TR, please!

[Ron]

thanks, yes, I plan to take as directed. I appreciate it. I read up on it and there as some grat posts about it on Epic from DR.s and folks who have used it. Sounds good. I don't really drink any carbonated stuff and although I love a nice cervaza, I can live without it! I should lay off the alchohol to maintain hydration anyway (although I have a particular fondess of Mendoza region (Argentina) Malbecs....)