11 Days and Counting!

I have become addicted to looking at the webcam on the Valle Nevado website...is it snowing, is it snowing?? After finding out they had 6 feet of fresh snow as of last week the idea of skiing in the Andes finally started to sink in. As I have been planning this vacation over the past month I guess it never really was a reality...even after buying the plane ticket. Now as the days move by and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel I have gone from being excited to literally bouncing off the walls. I am so excited, but have some fears as I have never truely traveled out of the country...I don't count Canada, Mexico or the Caribbean. I know I will be fine since I have turned the Rough Guide to Chile into my new bible. I have been teaching myself Spanish as well as local customs and the general lay of the land. I need to go into this adventure armed with as much knowledge as possible, although I'm always up for something new. I am looking forward to meeting the great folks at CTS Turismo and the Valle Nevado office in Santiago. I wouldn't have been able to plan my trip or my client's without the help of Ximena, Marta and Victor....THANK YOU ALL!

As this trip progresses we will do our best to update the blog with some pictures and tales of our adventures is the amazing country. Stay tuned...it's not that far off!!

BTW, here is the latest shot from the Valle Nevado webcam...blue skies and fresh snow, it doesn't get much better :)

South American Summer Ski Trip Coming Up Soon!

The Ripley's crew including Justin, Julie, Tench, and Brian will soon depart for South America (I leave June 23rd) to Ski Chile on what is shaping up to be an epic ski adventure that also includes a wine tour, lodging in Santiago, and for a few of us, namely Justin and Julie, an extended adventure exploring a Chilean nature preserve on the beach and other portions of Chile & South America at large on an extended vacation. The atmosphere in the office is one of relatively contained excitement!

For my part I leave for Chile on June 23rd. I will arrive in Santiago and visit with a few of our wholesale suppliers including CTS Turismo and the Valle Nevado Resort corporate office located in Santiago. The next day the crew and I will be whisked up to Valle Nevado Ski Resort high in the Andes where we will be staying in the Hotel Puerta del Sol for 2 nights for an extensive site tour and a couple of days on the slopes. This is the single largest ski resort in Chile when considering one has skiable access to both El Colorado and La Parva resorts that neighbor Valle Nevado. The additional terrain is accessible by a marginal lift ticket upgrade fee from the price of the standard Valle Nevado ticket so you can access more terrain at will on a daily basis. I also hear interesting things about the mountain pass leading up to the resort so this may be a little bit of a white knuckle drive! Incidentally I will post a few pictures of the most recent snow conditions for Chile, whose ski season generally starts up in a week or two from today and it looks like the snow conditions are starting off on the right foot! Valle Nevado also offers a heli skiing service that we are considering indulging in if time and schedule permits! Imagine the bragging rights! "I heli skied Chile" etc., etc. You get the idea!

After a couple of days staying on the slopes in Valle Nevado we return to Santiago to soak in some of the local culture and take a wine tour. We will be staying in Santiago for 3 nights and then departing for Portillo Resort, the oldest and most well established of the Chile ski resorts, for 2 nights and 2 days of skiing. We will be staying at the Octagon Lodge steps away from the slopes! Not too shabby! Portillo is also well known for its pretty serious access to off piste extreme terrain so we are pretty excited about that!

After returning from Portillo I will be departing Chile and heading back to Denver! Between the crew and me, we will attempt to post as many blog entries as possible while on the trip. Incidentally, thank you to Julie Waters for meticulously organizing this tremendously exciting South American ski vacation for the rest of us!

Any clients busy imagining your own South American dream ski vacation that would like to make it a reality please contact Ripley's Mountain Adventures at (877) 752-6754 or browse on line at http://www.ripleysadventures.com/. We provide the best rates in the industry, professional service, and expert coordination for any ski adventure you are interested in. Much more on this trip and some of the individual South American Adventures that some of our staff have planned in the future!

Brian Ripley