Views to Remember from Volcano Osorno

Amber shares:
Im a little sore from the awesome skiing but mostly comfortable in this nice hostel on Volcano Osorno. It´s called Teski, - the old owners loved tennis and skiing!

(Picture: Teski hostel on Volcano and morning view, August 22)

Today we woke up and saw the thick blue of the practically cloudless sky. We were looking down at the clouds. The only time I had ever seen the top of a cloud before was in an airplane.
From the hostel window and ski lifts are unbelievable panoramic views of the neverending Lake Llanquihue (I kept mistaking it for an ocean!), the snowcapped Andes, and the peak of the volcano which seemed a lot closer than it actually was. It took the French hikers only 6 hours to hike up and ski down, a short trip. They were studly! Most of them were at least 50.

(Picture: Dad in front of the summit. It looks pretty close, doesn´t it?)

After going down the basic runs a few times, including the disgustingly icy one near the top, and enjoying the awesome views, dad wanted to try something different and I agreed to come along. It gets a little boring doing the same run over and over.

(Picture: Dad and I skiing Volcan Osorno with Volcan Calbuco in the background.)

Instead of going down the lift the normal way, we turned left and headed towards the pure white of the fresh snow. Barely anyone had skiied there before us, but luckily there were a few tracks for us to follow. Up there, through valleys of white, far away from the bumbling chairlift, was the loudest quiet I´ve ever heard. No sign of civilization, just surrounded by mountains and the ocean-like lake below us.

(Picture: Amber front of the afternoon light on Lake Llanquihue.)

(Picture: Dad skiing in front of Lake.)

The first half of our adventure was fun with only a few scary moments (skiing on the edge of a huge serac) but after we started towards civilization the skiing was HORRIBLE. (Metaphor anyone?) It was super steep, we traversed the entire width of the ski resort plus more in slippery icy snow that sucked in our skis in making you fall for no reason. To turn we had to find a patch of ice and stab in our pole to make sure the snow wouldn´t eat us. And of course Dad made it look so easy, but for me, a beginner-intermediate skiier, it was (I hate this word but I´ll use it anyway) intense!

(Picture: Amber skiing on the ridge of a serac.)

(Picture: Osorno sunset.)

Phew! But now we´re back at the hostel. They fed us a nice meal of salad, rice and meat, and ice cream topped with kiwi. (The kiwis and bananas here in Chile are excellent!)

Much love,
Amber

PS: Thanks for the comments! I like knowing that a few people are reading this.

PPS: Why does ¨awesome¨have a positive connotation but ¨awful¨have a negative one? Today was full of awe for me, but I can´t call it awful without sounding like a brat! It didn´t have just some awe, it was FULL of awe! ¨Aweful¨not ¨awful...¨

PPPS: I am experimenting with knitting and trying to make a glove without a pattern. It´s going surprisingly well, but we´ll see when I´m done. Any requests for knitted garmets? I have one blue-green hat for Joy on the to-do list, and I have red and purple yarn. I have a lot of free time at night to read and write in my journal, its very relaxing!

GOODBYE VILLARRICA - PUCON AREA, THANKS FOR THE SUNNY 2 DAYS!