HEADING FOR SOUTH AMERICA
Originally from La Grave in the Alps, Guillaume left his favourite playground for a 6-month ski trip across Latin America, from Santiago to the mythical Tierra del Fuego. Here's a look back at 6 months of adventure in the southern hemisphere.
DESTINATION : SOUTH AMERICA
June 2018: I'm taking my friend Lulu on a 6-month van trip to South America, 6 months of skiing and trekking among the peaks of the Andes and all the way to Ushuaïa. We're well prepared physically and mentally, superbly equipped and, above all, ultra-motivated!
EQUIPMENT FOR A SKI TRIP
We're leaving with just our ski gear: touring skis, skins, knives, POLARIS and GRAVITY ski masks for me, and PEARL for Lulu.
Plus warm, light clothes: softshells and down jackets for the essentials. Everything fits into two rucksacks, so we're ready to go.
RIDING SA SUMMITS
We pick up the van in Talca, then head off to Portillo. On the way, we're surrounded by mountains, the snow looks incredible and we can't wait to make our first tracks in this part of the world! The conditions are great, Lulu easily passes her first 4000, and for my part I make my first 4000 couloir! Pure joy!
INCREDIBLE SNOW CONDITIONS
We continued our skiing further south, staying for almost a month around the Lonquimay volcano. We're surrounded by national parks and abandoned resorts run by the Mapuche, native South Americans. The quality of the snow is sensational, and we're alone in the middle of the mountains: it's paradise!
Of course, we couldn't avoid the vicissitudes of a trip in such a natural setting: there was so much snow that we found ourselves stuck with the van for several days in the Conguillio National Park. Luckily we had provisions, and we took advantage of them to discover the slopes of the Llaima volcano. The panorama from the top of the 3125 m volcano is magnificent, with a superb view of the primary forest that is over 3000 years old!
At Pucón, the volcano is on green alert, so you can also climb up and see the lava bubbling away inside!
After a few fine lines at Cerro Chapelco, where a stage of the FWQ* is held every year, we now begin our descent towards Patagonia and the mythical Tierra del Fuego.
VAN TRIP ON THE CARRETERA AUSTRAL
We descend from the peaks to landscapes that are still mountainous but less snow-covered. As winter draws to a close, we discover magnificent flora and fauna: fjords, rivers, waterfalls, lush forests, untouched mountains, glaciers... we feel very small in the immensity of this wilderness.
South of the Carretera Austral, the climate is drier, and the landscapes even more unspoilt: we drink the water from the lakes and eat the fish we catch in the rivers!
RIDING SA: THE END
Tierra del Fuego gives us the feeling of having been to the ends of the earth, in an isolated and remote place where nature takes over.
Our trip will leave us with encounters and awe-inspiring landscapes that will stay with us for the rest of our lives.
It's a learning experience, not just about the mountains we cross, but also about ourselves, our desires, our limits, how to manage risk in the high mountains, in unfamiliar territory, always putting protection and safety first.