Portillo Numero Tres- More Pow and Telemark Skiers

As we sit, readying for week 2 of the Portillo Big Mountain Telemark Camp, I'm excited to say that the first week was a success. Everybody absolutely destroyed the mountain! The less experienced camper Dave is making great steps towards moving into the pow and steeps and he'll be staying here along with Alex Romashko for the second week to really soak up all that Portillo has to offer.

The week progressed well, and after charging the powder non-stop for 3 days, we found that Wednesday required a nice chill afternoon including a hot tub sesh at 1 in the afternoon. Yes, we might've been a bit lazy, but you can't blame us, especially because we got up to 18,000 vertical feet on the first day! The weather has held out for us, but I wouldn't mind a bit of snow to start session 2 out on the right foot.

Here is an edit and a few photos to get the stoke up a bit, and i do apologize if you begin to drool....

Nick Devore Pows out

Ian "Scooby" Scobe gets down on Lake Run

Kayo must've said something funny...

Getting the afterparty Friday night off on the right foot!

Portillo Big Mountain Telemark Camp 2010 Video #1 from Luke Lubchenco on Vimeo.

Enjoy the summer in the north,
Luke

Portillo Update- Dos

Hello there. Tired, so I won't go into too much depth....
The first two days have been absolutely out of this world. Beautiful bluebird days, a great group of people, and plenty of powder to go around. Truly an EPIC way to start off the camp. Unfortunately, Portillo is having a low snow year, so there are still tons of rocks around. If you like what you see, head over to The Winter Life for an extended update and more pics!
Vibe on,
Luke

Nick Devore DESTROYING a pillow

Nick getting down with the scenery

Epic? um... ya

Estoy en Chile!

Alright, something like 24 hours of travel from home to Portillo, Chile is done after re-routing, changed planes and delays. We even barely snuck through the Chilean police as it's been snowing for a few days now and the pass to Mendoza, Argentina is closed to through traffic! Needless to say, I'm here as a guest coach at the Portillo Big Mountain Telemark Camp.
The trip started with Nick Devore, Kayo Ogilby, Hannah Horn, and myself driving my loyal truck Fred out of Carbondale en route to Denver. In vail we picked up a 5th, VMS student Riley Ebel. Our plane had to sit on the tarmac for an extra 45 minutes waiting for a storm to clear over Dallas Fort Worth airport and then we were re-routed so that we went around the storm as much as possible. Once in Dallas, we ran around the airport trying to get to a flight we were an hour and a half late for. Luckily it hadn't left, but not because of waiting for us.... The engine wasn't killing it and not 10 minutes after getting on and seated, we were told to get off the plane and wait for two hours while another plane was prepared. To make a longer story a bit shorter, we arrived in Santiago after a fitful night of sleep on ambien and caught the shuttle to beautiful and snowy Portillo. Enjoy and be sure to check back in a day or two as I'm shooting for an update every other day.
Hasta Luego,
Luke

5 people's worth of gear at DIA....

A slightly larger Telemark crew waiting for a new plane.... 

"Camino Cerrado" UH OH! NOT!

SUP...

yo,
Went on a little outing with Ross and John from Alpine Quest Sports looking for a few images of them Stand Up Paddling. This sport, otherwise known as SUP (hence the title) is one of the fastest growing water sports in the country, and it's no surprise after having laughed more in that night than most people do in a week. In the words of Ross Herr, "It should be illegal to have this much fun". Here are a couple pics from the conquest, and if it tickles you enough, jump on over to Alpine Quest and demo one. I promise you'll have a smile on your face! Have fun and enjoy the summer. Remember to check back shortly as the Portillo Big Mountain Telemark Camp is just around the corner...

Enjoy,

Luke