Farellones, Chile (August 21, 2009) – When traveling to a new country there are always adjustments to be made. In the case of Chile, you might call it the “C-factor”: 10 minutes means anywhere from a half hour to an hour and a half. If they say you need to wait an hour, you better have a good book.

While the C-factor might be frustrating for the type-A person who needs constant stimulation, learn to embrace it and move at a slower pace and one can appreciate the local flavor. When I arrived August 19^th to meet up with the K2 Snowboards team, that meant a day and a half to explore Santiago. It also means the mountains stay open until 5 p.m. leaving ample time to explore at a leisurely pace.

We didn’t get to the small town of Farellones and resort of La Parva until noon yesterday and found mellow gullies and untracked snow despite the fact it hadn’t snowed in a couple days. With a network of alpine pomas and rocky ridgelines, La Parva (which is neighbored by El Colorado and Valle Nevado), has ample terrain from mellow cruisers to untouched chutes in a sidecountry zone known as McConkey’s. It felt good to feel a bit of powder underfoot and get back to winter after a long, hot summer, if only for an afternoon.

Today, weather moved in and a whiteout is keeping us out of the high alpine, but Farellones is built on a hill and there are plenty of jibs to stay occupied. Tomorrow, we will board the train to Termas de Chillan down south and with storms in the forecast, pow days are imminent.

Check back for more in the coming days…

Image 1: Colin Wiseman

Images 2-3 and video: Aaron Robinson