Let’s get back to the skiing! This is the second round of our amazing trip to South America this past Summer. All the pics are from the point and shoot camera’s of Dede O’mara, Andy Jacobsen and Dan Grolley. 

We flew into El Calafate after our week in Ushuaia. A winding bus ride took us through the classic Patagonia desert landscape to the town of El Chalten.

The town had just been plastered with a 12” coat of new snow. Weather report for the next day was for blue skies! 

We woke up early and hiked in the dark until the light started revealing Fitzroy and friends. Andy Jacobsen’s face pretty much explains the disbelief we all had. We were about to get faceshots under blue skies and one of the most notorious peaks in the world. Not to mention it was all going down in a region of the world known for it’s relentless wind and poor weather.

I won’t be surprised if I never see anything as beautiful as this sunrise on Fitzroy. Photographer Jay Beyer and I sat in the cold shooting video and stills for 45 minutes. We were giggling like little girls and giving lots of hi-5’s. 

Our goal was to ski the foothill slopes in the foreground. We still had a long ways to go.

It was hard to stay focused on moving along. We would find ourselves just sitting and staring.

Jay Beyer with another ‘you’ve got to be kidding’ look that stuck to all of our faces throughout the day. 

Dede O’Mara tracking up some of the ‘best snow she can ever remember’. 

The wizard guide Paul Turecki skinning up for more. For powder and adventure, follow this man.

Dede with that smile you can’t wipe off, no matter how many faceshots she gets. Dan Grolley looking almost as cool as when he stuck his backflip over Fitzroy in the background. No pics, you’ll have to wait for the video. 

Another stunning shot of our playground for the day!

I made my mark in some Patagonia pow as Dede and Andy’s shadows look on. We captured some amazing video and I can’t wait to put it together. Including, Andy Jacobsen stomping a front flip over Fitzroy. However, we don’t have many good skiing pics to show. They were all shot by Jay Beyer and he’s selling them for the big bucks, not giving them away for blog fodder. Look for them in a ski catalog or magazine next year.

Paul Turecki milking the last bit of daylight, as we finished the day with a 2,000ft descent down to the climbers hut.

Home sweet home for the night! 

Chillin’, left to right; Andy Jacobsen, Dan Grolley, Paul Turecki, Noah Howell.

It’s tough going to sleep after a day like this. We didn’t want the dream to end. And it did, the wind came on strong through the night. Thanks to wind and warm temps, the snow didn’t even resemble what we had known from the day before. 

The only logical thing to do was head back to town…..

for a steak dinner…..

some bouldering…..(Andy Jacobsen)

and tatoos! Pretty handy for down days when your expert guide is also an artist of ink.

Dan Grolley with his first tatoo.

Next up Jay Beyer.

Jay is clearly more excited about it than Andy.

The artwork for mine. Can you tell I wasn’t too sure about this? We didn’t get any pics of the final flesh rendition, but it came out nice.

What other way would you finish the trip of ‘all time’ than with a fiery farewell sunset.

It’s fitting this post is coming to light during the national time of thanks. All of us on this trip knows and appreciates just how blessed we were to be there for such a rare single afternoon of perfection.

Posted by NH