One of the things that makes skiing so different from surfing is that you can always find good snow if you look for it. Finding waves is much harder. Liberty Skis played the hide and seek game today in Valle Nevado, opting for the sheltered lines in the lower canyons that plunge below the resort. With plenty of different aspects and hidden chutes that held snow that was sheltered from the winds that can whip the higher terrain here, we weren’t disappointed.

“The Stadium” as locals call it is a nicely shaped bowl with a tight coulior guarding the entrance. By coincidence, the face is clearly visible from the deck outside our room at Valle’s amazing Puerta del Sol hotel. With snow in the forecast, we didn’t know if we’d be able to tag The Stadium. But when the day opened up clear under blue skies, we decided to take advantage of the weather window and go for it.

After working some shots on some spines above our intended goal, we lined up the coulior. As we’d predicted, it held soft, grippy snow, which made skiing the tight chute a bit easier.

But even we were surprised at the conditions once we exited the coulior. Nearly 1000 vertical feet of butter awaited us. The terrain was wide open, the snow perfect and the sun was still burning brightly in a crystalline sky. But the best was yet to come. After skinning back inside the resort’s boundary, we could see that the storm was finally arriving. By the time we hit the base of the mountain, the clouds were rising up out of the valley and the snow wasn’t far behind. Today was good, but tomorrow will be epic.

Details, Details:
You know you want to ski pow in August. Do it at Valle Nevado:
Valle Nevado

Learn more about Liberty’s full line of freeride skis, manufactured using sustainable materials like bamboo and environmentally friendly methods here:
Liberty Skis