Who We Are
We are a dynamic, environmentally friendly organization run by highly trained Chilean Andeans dedicated to providing authentic ski and snowboard local guides showing the Andes Range of Mountains, Chile, and its culture to the World. Our commitment to you is to share the best of the Andes Mountains, Chile and its culture by offering quality snow tours of Chile at competitive prices.
We have made a commitment to the local community to preserve their environment and promote a life-long passion for the Andes Mountains. Our company invests a big part of its revenues in training our local guides in the highest standards of avalanche awareness and wilderness rescue techniques.
By building long term relationships with our partners and clients, we will develop new and better quality snow tours that will satisfy new and more sophisticated powder snow enthusiasts. Our vision is to offer infinite backcountry powder possibilities by exploring the endless Andes Range of Mountains and sharing this experience with you. We hope you will join with us to support the local community, its people, and their powder dreams.
Meet “Suave”
Nicolas J. Demetrio
Lead guide and founder of Andean Powder Turns.
Place of Birth: Chile
Years Snowboarding: 31
Favorite Place to Ride: Parque Arenas, Chile. Thompson Pass, AK. and Mt Baker, WA.
Born and raised in Chile, Nico, also known by guests as "Suave", is a Chilean snowboard champion and pioneer who started riding the slopes of the Andes mountains back in ’92. He immigrated to the US in 2000, went to business school and since then lives in Washington State and rides Mt. Baker with his wife and son. He spends his summers in Cajon de Maipo’s Parque Arenas, Chile guiding for Dos Tiempos and now runs his own guiding service, Andean Powder Turns. If you can get him to a campfire, he will grill a steak worthy of a Chilean steakhouse. A ride with Nico is one you will always remember. He brings his passion and positive energy into guiding in a contagious way. Not only is Nico skilled in his profession, but he is also known for his charismatic and fun personality. He enjoys making every guest's stay memorable and is a joy to be around. With Nico as your guide, you can trust that you'll be in capable hands as you explore the pristine mountains of the Andes. He is a former PSIA/AASI certified instructor who holds WFR, AIARE 2 certifications and is proficient in crevasse rescue techniques and snowmobile driving. He has been recently trained as a Mechanized ski guide by Black Ops Valdez where he currently guides in the sled-skiing program during the months of March and April in Alaska. He speaks fluent English and Spanish.
FWQ South America
I have always been passionate about living life to the fullest. I have been a competitive kind of person since I can remember. It all started back when i was a kid and I discovered skateboarding. For me riding my board on the streets of Santiago every afternoon after school and during the weekends represented absolute freedom, a state of mind where I could be myself away from any rules or guidelines. After a few years and in my senior year in highschool I learned about snowboarding. My first time was at El Colorado. I was hooked since the first moment. I just could not believe how easy this stuff was compared to skateboarding, for god sake you had bindings to ollie with! It was amazing. You just had to focus on style and grabs. Then, with time, the feeling of riding powder came along and so being one of the only ones in Chile doing it. What a remarkable time to live. Growing up in Chile I also learned how to surf just a couple hours from Santiago where I lived. In Chile the waves are only a few hours away from the snow hills. It was really difficult to switch from one season to the other without having snowboard or surfing withdraws. I guess I have been always blessed. Blessed by a good strong family support and blessed by Chile’s geography and climate that makes it so special for the practice of all kinds of action sports such as surf and skiing. All of these brought me to compete in the US as snowboarder. It all began with The North Face Master before the Freeride World Tour decided to buy out everyone. I really miss those times, sure I do. But moving on competition brought me to Alaska in 2010 where I competed in the Return of the king of the Hill and event that would change my life forever. I was blown away by the Alaskan mountains and its people. Nowadays I still compete. Just last season I participate for the first time on the FWQ South America held in Chile and Argentina. It was an amazing event which promise to open the doors of the FWT to the local riders. I love competing and I will keep doing it as long as my responsibilities as a guide allow me. Blessed and thank you.
Welcome to Chile!
At Andean Powder Turns we believe that a trip to Chile wouldn’t be the same without experiencing the local culture. We will proudly share with you our culture, the Andes range of mountains, and its secrets. Our personalized bilingual service will allow you to live an unforgettable cultural experience. You will be introduced to the Andean local community, and be treated as family. You will have the opportunity to build strong friendships that will last for a life time.
Chilean facts:
Location: Southern South America, bordering the South Pacific Ocean, between Argentina and Peru.
Area total: 756,950 sq km; land 745,800 sq km; water 8,150 sq km
Land boundaries: Total: 6,171 km (3,835 miles) Border countries: Argentina 5,150 km ( 3,200 miles), Bolivia 861 km (535 miles), Peru 160 km (99.41 miles)
Coastline: 6,435 km (4,000 miles)
Climate: temperate; desert in north; Mediterranean in central region; cool and damp in south
Terrain: low costal mountains; fertile central valley; rugged Andes in east
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 meters; highest point: Nevado Ojos del Salado 6,880 meters (22,572 feet)
A little History
The History of the Ski as a sport in Chile started in 1931 when Francisco Guerrero and other influential members of the Chilean society created the Ski Club of Chile. At the time, they hired Gunter Oeitze von Lobenthal, a world-class ski instructor from Austria who created and shaped the first ski area in Chile 60 miles from Santiago deep into the valley of Maipo in the Central Andes. With no lifts to take them to the top Guerrero, von Lobernthal, and his buddies rode mules and hiked all day just to glide down the snow covered hills of the Chilean Central Andes on their skis.
With no doubt, Lobenthal’s and his buddies were the pioneers of the Ski as a sport in Chile. Before them, Ski had been used a way of transportation from one side of the Andes to the other. At the end of the nineteen century, two Olympic skiers from Norway, Elmer Rosenquist and Michael Hermudson intended to run a postal service that would have connected the east and west side of the Andes on skis. However, extreme weather conditions and lack of resources made them give up their idea. By 1913 Fernando Valdiveso Valdes, a Chilean diplomat that had lived in Norway for m any years decided to promote the Ski in Chile by organizing a big hiking excursion to the Maipo Volcano. The big enthusiasm generated by this event in the Chilean community supported the foundation of The Ski Club of Chile.
Suddenly the ski as a sport have got very popular between wealthy members of the Chilean society. That very same year of the event in the Maipo volcano, The Ski Club of Chile decided to look around for another much closer place to practice the sport. They heard about this mining placed called Farellones just a few miles from Santiago, but The Andes Range of Mountains is so tall in that spot that makes it difficult to access. The first successful ski expedition to go to Farellones installed a base camp in Corral Quemado at the base of the Central Andes, and from there they started their mule pilgrimage-riding to Farellones. By 1932 The Ski Club of Chile had organized many excursions to Farellones. Many of them took advantage of the new mining roads and trucks that used to depart daily from Saint Enrique square in Santiago to Paulina Village at the base of the Central Andes, and then to Farellones at 10,000 feet of altitude. Because of the difficult access to the minerals in the Andes, the mining route to Farellones was built in a very wavy and difficult place with more than 50 U turns. In a few months The Ski Club of Chile built the first lodge in Farellones where skiers could stay over night and be protected from the weather. By 1935. Augustin Edwards Budge, a rich man of the time, built another but much more modern lodge and a few cabins in Farellones. Later that very same year, a local company named Middleton & Roi S.A. built thirty more cabins
and founded the little Andean Village of Farellones. The Village was built thanks to Mr. Hans von Kiesling who sold part of his land to the grandson of Domingo Santa Maria Sanchez, Ex-President of Chile. It was them and the recently founded German Ski Club of Chile that really developed ski as a sport in Chile.
The leaders of these two organizations had international influence, organized contests and invited world-class skiers from all around the world to Ski Chile in the middle of the summer. The word of mouth spread out and during the later years skiers from all around the world came to Chile to enjoy an endless winter. With time many Chilean ski areas were founded such as Quebrada de Morales, Farellones, Portillo, la Parva, and Lagunillas. Later on, in 1942 the Chilean Ski Federation, and the Ski Patrols Association of Chile were founded.
Nowadays, The Chilean Andes has more than twelve ski areas from which at least three: Valle Nevado, Portillo, and Nevados de Chillan, are world-class ski resorts. Please give us the opportunity to share this story and others with you.
… Ski & Snowboard Chile with the locals!
