The Spirit of Caviahue

We said our good-byes to the snowmobile guides and resolved to enjoy the Caviahue ski resort in its entire splendor. A bright sun peered through the scarce clouds that hovered above the resort, turning everything into a brighter kind of white. Pleased to see this phenomenon, we made haste to get our boards at the base of the mount.

If there is something to highlight, that is the quality of the rental equipment available in this ski resort. All of them are the latest alpine and Nordic carving models for all kinds of skiers. One thing to bear in mind is that if you do not have clothes suitable to be worn in the snow, you will have to rent them in the city.

Another important aspect is that as a result of the high maintenance of the lifts, there are practically no queues. This enables visitors to enjoy the snow as soon as they get to the resort. This center has six lifts: two double chairlifts, two surface lifts, one school surface lift and one T-bar which can transport a total amount of 4,200 skiers per hour.

Furthermore, visitors can take ski and snowboarding classes with experienced instructors who are in charge of enhancing techniques at very affordable prices.


Snow Time

We took the Pehuén chairlift to the coffee-shop bearing the same name and, without hesitating, we continued along the “de los pumas” run to go up in the T-bar to the highest point in the resort.
The good quality of the groomed powder snow all across the resort guaranteed fun and enjoyment without objecting to the weather conditions.
Awesome! We slid along the sunny broad run and then got into the “de la vega” run at frantic vertiginous speed. Immediately afterwards and feeling a little bit quieter, we continued our way down along the “conexión anfiteatro” to take the “ñirantal”.
Both skiers and snowboarders accompanied our descent leaving zigzagging traces.
We reached the base of the mount and, without wasting one minute, we took the “ñirantal” chairlift. We wanted to try all the runs we could, in order to tell all the details in our story.

Descendimos por la pista “del muro”, internándonos entre los pehuenes –araucarias araucanas– mientras disfrutamos los juegos de sombras y luces que hacían estos milenarios árboles con la nieve.
Pasado el mediodía nos fuimos a almorzar a la confitería Pehuén, ubicada en la sección intermedia del cerro. Allí, Natalia Bogado –la chef encargada de la cocina– nos tenía preparados unos deliciosos platos, que con placer nos dispusimos a degustar.

Con una decoración cálida, grandísimos ventanales con vistas panorámicas de todo el cerro, y la atención personalizada de los empleados, este refugio ofrece comidas rápidas, desayunos americanos, tortas artesanales, chocolates, tragos y vinos calientes para hacer un alto en la jornada y reponer energías.
Nosotros primero “atacamos” una sopa de espárragos que nos devolvió el calor al cuerpo, para luego desquitarnos con un guiso de lentejas completísimo y una omelette de queso, tomate y jamón: imperdible.

We finished lunch and resolved to go for a walk around the area, watching the rest of the services offered by the ski resort.


Pirouettes in the Air

In the distance, we saw how the riders would show their skills by jumping from a sharp snow tongue with their skis or snowboards. We came closer to observe the jumps and turns in the air with further detail.
It was amazing to see how the specialists would jump from the heights, drawing figures in the deep snow. An unforgettable show, indeed.
The second part of the ski day began going up the T-bar to make a new descent, this time along the “del búho” run, a difficult circuit that is characterized by the amount of bumps it has, one after the other.
Thus, we spent the rest of the day going up and down the “del rodeo”, “de los pumas”, “del mallín” and many other runs.

Totally exhausted, we called it a day. It was around 5 in the afternoon. We left the resort and headed for the Farallones Hotel coffee-shop, where a delicious snack was waiting for us. Silvina, manager of the hotel, very polite as always, had prepared hot chocolate and kiwi pie.

Feeling more relaxed, we killed time until 7 pm, when we went back to the base of the mount to witness the traditional downhill torch parade.
We watched the skiers going downhill, as they performed a unique show full of light and sound, before the look of hundreds of viewers who had gathered in the resort. It was astonishing to see the exciting descent amidst a clear night. At that moment, when the glittering stars perpetuated themselves in the sky and there were a few instants of silence, we understood that the festive spirit of Caviahue would revolve around the volcano, where the ski resort is located.