From the field: VBSR staffer & professional photographer, Santiago Ces
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina; Farellones, Chile; Canjon del Maule, Chile
When Vail Mountain closes for the Summer, VBSR staff head to all corners of the earth to chase adventure. We’re fortunate to have Santiago on the VBSR team as he’s also a partner in a professional photography firm based out of Buenos Aires, Argentina. He was home for the summer working in the city with a watchful eye on the regional mountains with fellow snow chasers. When they spotted a film competition in Chile, they packed their skis and headed out.
The competition consisted of a two minute video of Freeride for the Flux Veho Mountain Film Competition. Meeting in Farellones, Chile, they scouted, skied and enjoyed a recent storm that brought six feet of snow! It was incredible. Despite great competition, Santiago’s team came in 3rd place. Watch the winning video:
After a week of awesome powder skiing at the Central Andes, they headed south, to explore one of the most unskied places in Chile and Argentina called Cajon del Maule, which stands close to the Argentine border. Mother Nature provided four days of camping in an abandoned winter wonderland shack – intact with wood (angels looking out for the powder hounds??). Each evening under the stars, they made a fire and dried their gear from touring and skiing. As the stars aligned, they discovered a natural hot springs, in a magical place next to a river and a ski face just explored.
A magical snow shack under the Chilean backcountry stars. Photo by Santiago Ces.
Touring the Chilean backcountry. Photo by Santiago Ces.
