Dedicated to pushing innovation in splitboarding since 2006.
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Email: sales@sparkrandd.com
Spark R&D
P.O. Box 3284, Bozeman, MT 59772 USA
Words by: Billy Madej
Photos by: Billy Madej & Elana Selinger
Last August I packed my bags and booked a flight to Chile to scratch that powder itch and escape the Bozeman heat. I had been told for years that Chile was an incredible country with endless lines to splitboard in the Andes, so I stopped overthinking it and boarded the plane.
Landing in Santiago, the stoke became real the moment I cleared the jet bridge. The hospitality of the Chilean people was immediate and genuine, I felt welcomed with open arms from the start. One tip for anyone thinking about making the trip: bring a pen. Customs was a bit of a scramble with what felt like one pen for every hundred people. Come prepared.
Once through customs I picked up the rental car and made my way into Santiago to meet up with my partner Elana Selinger. Elana is a ripping skier, a Bozeman local, and the Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center. Between her knowledge of the area and a few Spark R&D connections, we put together a solid plan.
One of our first nights in the city we attended the premiere of Kuruf, a film by Spark R&D Team Rider Anto Galmez presented by our dealer Andes Touring in Mallsport. It was the perfect welcome to the Chilean splitboard community. I finally got to meet Anto in person and share that special night with one of our team riders in her home country. We mingled, ate completos (fully loaded Chilean hot dogs) and called it a night.
The next morning, we packed up the car, grabbed Asado supplies for the road, and made the two-and-a-half-hour drive to Cajón del Maipo. Waiting for us there were the owners of Basecamp Chile and organizer, Marce Gonzalez of Encuentro Pieles. We were welcomed with open arms and shown our accommodations at the base of the canyon, a perfect home base for the backcountry adventures ahead.
The next three days we headed out into the mountains with Marce, her husband Chris, and their good friend Martin. All three of them radiated a genuine passion for splitboarding, their boards were beaten, their bindings well used, and their enthusiasm completely infectious. Elana and I could tell right away we were in good hands. We toured hard, explored the canyon, and felt small standing beneath the San Jose Volcano, all 19,213ft of it straddling the Chile-Argentina border. The snow was thin but the stoke was high, and more was on the way.
The forecast was calling for four feet in the coming days, and we needed to make our way up to Farellones to catch Nick Russell's film Papsura, presented by Patagonia. We packed up and started the winding drive up the mountain, racing the storm. The powder panic was real. Chilean police were stationed at the base of the road checking for tire chains, luckily, we made it through before the closure. Once in Farellones we settled in for what was shaping up to be the biggest storm of the season.
We decided to base out of La Parva, one of three resorts in Farellones, which seemed to offer the best backcountry access out of the gates.
That first morning we woke up completely socked in. Lifts were barely spinning, avalanche danger was high, and our car was buried. We weren't going anywhere. So, we studied maps and talked with the La Parva crew to get a read on the next few days. No visibility, continued avalanche danger, and near-record snowfall hit hard. We were stuck.
With unsafe conditions and lifts on hold, we made the best of it. We hit the streets and rode laps through the village of La Parva, making pow slashes between buildings, sidewalks, and unsuspecting pedestrians trudging through the snow.
When the sun finally broke through, La Parva opened fully and revealed the incredible backcountry access surrounding us. We let the new snow settle, rode the resort, and spent the afternoon eyeing up our backcountry gates for the days ahead.
I'll be honest, roughly four feet of new snow and entering the backcountry had me a little on edge. But the crew from Andes Touring happened to be in La Parva and took us out the next day. We scored. The powder was deep, stable, and the crew was welcoming and dialed. Exactly what we needed.
After a full splitboard day we needed to get back to Farellones for Nick Russell's Papsura screening. We hopped in the car optimistic about finally meeting Nick but spent the next few hours going nowhere. Icy hills, sliding cars, and a road completely blocked by stalled traffic made the ten-minute drive to town impossible. We gave up and never made it to the film. Lesson learned: always get chains with your rental car.
I was bummed. I had never met Nick in person and felt like I had let him down as Team Manager. But Nick was understanding and floated an idea to meet him the next morning at the base of La Parva, hit a backcountry gate, and dropped an untouched line he had been eyeing all week.
Morning came fast. With lift access on our side, we were high in the mountains before 9:30am. Nick led us past our lines from the day before and up to 13,277ft, the top of our objective. Nick dropped first, painting a toeside turn in untouched pow and making it look effortless. Elana followed and I swept.
We regrouped at the bottom, talked NR Pro splitboard binding development, and got some photos with Nick and his newest pro model. With one more line ahead and Nick needing to get back to Santiago, we moved quickly and made it count.
With only a few days left we linked up with Spark R&D Shred Fam rider Isi Assler and explored a new zone outside the gates of El Colorado. Isi and her coach Esteban gave us an inside look at what it takes to compete on the Freeride World Tour, showing us training lines known within the FWT circuit. It was the perfect way to wrap up the trip. We said our goodbyes, left some binding spare parts behind for our friends, and headed home.
Traveling to splitboard doesn't come without its headaches, logistics, gear, and the unexpected will always find a way to test you. But that's part of it. A huge thank you to Marce, Chris, Anto, Nick, and Isi for the hospitality, the beta, and the willingness to share your time with us.
If you find yourself in Chile and need last-minute gear, stop by our dealers in Santiago. Both Andes Touring and MyLine Chile are fantastic shops to resupply or even pick up a fresh pair of splitboard bindings.
Esta es Splitboarding. (This is Splitboarding.)
Nos vemos en la Montaña. (See you on the Mountain.)
