Centro De Ski La Parva

Centro De Ski La Parva is a sister resort to Utah's Snowbird Resort, where we often ski when we are home. Of the three resorts in the "Tres Valles" La Parva was the most family-oriented, but word-of-mouth held that on the higher slopes La Parva was the most interesting for skilled skiers, offering more varied and exciting terrain. Thursday, we decided to upgrade our Valle Nevado lift tickets so we could also cross over the pass into La Parva territory and see for ourselves.

We consulted the map at the top of the Andes Express and skied along the middle ridge following signs leading us to La Parva. The weather was getting colder and cloudy, with reduced visibility, but we wanted to explore the unfamiliar territory anyway. Descending into the middle valley, we found broad trails and gentle, open terrain, surrounded by steep ridgelines and cliffs.

Henry checked out the terrain park, but was not impressed by its modest size and the few features available in comparison to the snow park at Valle Nevado. The snow conditions were not as good either. Spring melt was more advanced here than on the higher slopes next door.

But we did find the steep and interesting slopes we'd heard about from other skiers. Great terrain does exist at La Parva, only you've got to ski it on a powder day earlier in the season.

Here's Joni at the cliffs high above the family-friendly slopes that define the resort. We'd like to come back when the snow is deep and fresh to really ski these slopes the way they should be skied.

There are no hotels at La Parva village. Guests mostly come for the day from Santiago or stay in private lodges and slopeside condos. We headed back across the ridge to Valle Nevado to have lunch and to ski on slopes that were still deep with snow.