Traditional ski season ended down here in mid- October. But the Kassels’ family got the itch…or something like that. Why wait till our return in the end of December to the US when you could sneak in a day in November?

But skiing in November in Chile requires climbing up before you get the ski down. No chair lifts are running. Plus the added issue of finding skis because there are no ski rental shops except at the mt in our local area. And you can’t just go any day or time as the weather has to be ok and you have to go early am so that the sun does not melt the glacier snow. So we hunted down the skis and set the date to play hookie from school.

Side note- usually our boys want to capture every day of school- both good in some ways perfectionist students and those that like to follow the rules. But down here they have taken to the thrill of doing something unique and capturing the moment. Sometimes it ends in them having to take a test when they return they did not know about and not getting the grade they hoped but we are learning how to let that go and prioritize something else at this point in time.

So we skipped school and off we went.

We arrived at our favorite conal perfect shaped Volcano Osorno. The clouds were below us when we started the climb. We pulled into the parking lot in our red trusty truck (with our hanging bumper). The air was cool and scene surreal. We climbed 3 hours up the granular volanic sand. When we reached the plateau we suited up in our ski boots and skiis and found those last turns of the season! Or wait was it the first turns of the season? Either way it was a thrilling way and tribute to our dear Osorno.