Smog-iago

Skied La Parva today. Bluebird day, but no fresh snow. Just cruised on the groomers.

Both the Canadian and US "B" teams were training at La Parva today.

Check out these shots of Santiago, aka "Smog-iago", from the top of La Parva (11,000 feet). You can only see Smog-iago until about 10AM. After that, the little you can see disappears into a revolting cloud of smog.








I would estimate Santiago is only 50 miles from the Farallones / Valle Nevado / La Parva area, but of course the vertical distance is 8,000 - 9,000 feet and the road is barely passible. If this were a North American ski area, there would probably be a 4-lane highway (like I-70 from Denver to Vail) which would enable people to make the trip in 35 minutes. With the existing road, the trip takes about 2.5 hours when traffic is light, 4 hours when traffic is heavy.

Back in Santiago tonight. Briefly.

Off to Termas de Chillan tomorrow. BIG storm coming in. Supposedly. We hope.