Amberley, Mark, and I at SkiArpa!
Today, we go cat skiing at Valle El Arpa! Arpa is a ski resort with no runs or chair lifts--just mountains, powder and two snowcats that allow you to access untouched terrain without a helicopter or hours of hiking. That's right, cat-skiing at Arpa is the poor man's heli skiing, and it was awesome!!
The adventure began in Lo Calvo, about 20-kilometers north of our hostel. There, the pavement ends, giving way to a dirt road that leads to Arpa. We traveled for about an hour on the unpaved road, watching it turn from dirt, to mud, to snow. Because the road to Arpa is so treacherous, you must have a vehicle with high clearance and 4-wheel drive, as well as an experienced driver to get up the mountain safely. There is practically no organized transportation to Arpa and, therefore, it was extremely expensive to hire a driver--it cost us USD $259 to hire someone with an appropriate vehicle to drive us up the mountain.
They are kind of hard to see, but, if you look closely, you can see about 10 switchbacks going through the valley and up the mountain. Look just above the rocks and brush where the snow starts. This is where the switchbacks start.
The view at the top of our first run was amazing.
Some of the switchbacks are so tight that you have to make 3-point turns to get around them.
After traveling about an hour up the mountain, there is a point on the unpaved road where it is impossible to travel any further by car because of deep snow. There is a small turnout just before the road turns to snow where everyone parks and waits for the snowcat to pick them up and take them to the small lodge, which is located about half a mile further up the snowy path.
This is where we parked and waited for the snow cat to come and pick us up.
The staff consisted of 8 people, all of who were extremely professional and welcoming. As soon as we arrived at the lodge, the staff went over all necessary safety procedures and each guest was given an avalanche beacon.
This is the tiny ski lodge built into the side of the mountain.
It was a day filled with amazing views, 900-meter vertical runs, wide-open valleys, and powder-powder-powder!
This is the snow cat track up the mountain to our first run.
The view at the top of our first run was amazing.
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