“Our adventures south had delivered, and no one in the group was ready to leave. After arriving at the base of Llaima, we quickly threw on our boots and skins, and were moving before we knew it. The cold morning slowly gave way, as the sun peaked over the hills and our internal engines revved. The day was stunningly clear, and conditions were excellent. About 3,000’ of skinning later, we encountered steeper slopes and made the decision to transition to boots and crampons. As we climbed, ski conditions deteriorated and we encountered ice. About 100’ later, it was clear these conditions would not let up, and we chose to leave our skis and the packs of our clients hanging on the slope from an anchor built in the snow. Steep and icy cramponing to the summit kept everyone’s attention at the task on hand, and moments later we were crossing snow bridges over thermal vents from the top of the volcano. Time on the summit was brief, and we still had difficult terrain to cover. After returning to our skis, we carried them about 200’ lower until skiable snow was found, clicked in and were off, descending thousands of feet to the valley below. Again, firm snow became soft and nearly perfect corn, and before we knew it we were back at the van” Excerpt from @samkieck on our Chile Ski Adventure