CRISTO

Text: Andreu Lacondeguy

Photos: Cristóbal Batlle

My first time in Chile was in 2010. At that time, I was riding for Kona Bikes, and my teammate was Aggy. Somehow, we ended up in a massive urban downhill race in Valparaíso, a pretty cool city on the Chilean Pacific coast. The race was crazy; they lost my gear bag at the airport, and I was essentially riding down stairs in shorts and an open-face helmet. A couple of runs later, I decided to put an end to my urban racing career. Right after the race, we changed locations and drove to La Parva ski resort just outside Santiago. La Parva is a huge ski resort with a bike park featuring long rocky trails and some insane freeride lines. That night, we experienced an 8.9 earthquake, and that pretty much marked the end of our trip; the country went into a bit of chaos, and we had to cancel and fly home.

I always wanted to return to Chile, and it was in 2019 when I decided to embark on a riding and exploring trip from Santiago down to Patagonia with my brother and a couple of friends. Our friend and kayaking legend Aniol Serrasolses had moved to Futaleufú in the deep Patagonia a few years prior, and we wanted to visit him. Aniol knows the terrain, all the mountains, rivers, and volcanoes like he's been there for a hundred years, so he gave us a few locations. That's when I realized that Chile had unreal terrain for biking; it was pretty much a mountain bike paradise. A few days into the trip, we met up with our buddy Alan Mandel, who was coming from a freeride trip in Peru. He joined the trip, and we rode some unreal places. Chile had everything we wanted to ride, from the Atacama desert in the north, which is the driest place in the world, to Patagonia in the south, with some unreal forests and the deepest loam I've ever seen.

Pyt's Park

I like to ride new zones every year, travel the world, and discover new spots to ride around the globe. For me, freeride means exploring and finding, so I was a bit bored of doing the same thing for so many years, riding the same cliff year after year. With a very successful trip in the Peruvian Andes last year, I wanted to move a bit further south and do the same thing in Chile, but on a different scale. This wasn't going to be just a two-week trip.

Early this year, my buddy Alan hosted the Todo o Nada event at Pyts park, so again I got on a flight to Santiago with my brother, and we went there. The event was the first big international freeride event in South America, and for me to be a part of it was something really cool. South America is home to some of the most talented and passionate riders I know, and riding and becoming friends with them was awesome. Chile has a sick mountain bike scene, and the vibes were all-time. Right after the event, I decided to stay in the country and visit the North of it. I ended up traveling Chile for the next 3 months, riding more than ever, eating the best asados, having just a few piscolas, and making a lot of new friends while riding in the craziest locations I've ever been to.

We wanted to share some of these locations with you, so together with Cristobal Batlle (photos), our Chilean friend Santi Alcalde, whom we met back on our second trip in 2019, and Commencal bikes, we decided to film and document some parts of the trip and show the contrast and different landscapes that we saw on our journey.

Nevados de Sollipulli

On my trip to Chile back in 2019, I met Nacho Coulon, a sick rider from Pucon. We did some riding together, and he showed me some spots in the 7th region. We spent some time riding in different places, and he was always telling me about this spot, a place that looks and rides differently than anywhere else... Nevados de Sollipulli.

Nacho got me in contact with the local legends Rafael Marchan and Raul Flores from @suntripadventure and @xploraturismocarolina. They've been guiding ski and mountain biking in the Pucón area for years and know the 7th region better than anyone else out there. These guys introduced us to Nevados de Sollipulli and Robert Gibson, who, together with his dad, built the lodge and runs all the operations in the mountain.

Nevados de Sollipulli is something else... Right at the bottom of the Sollipulli Volcano and next to a small lake at the River, the Gibson family built an unreal high-end Lodge with some cabins, a restaurant, natural hot tubs and all you need to have a nice stay in the mountains.

Big hikes on the top to ski down the volcano. Too much snow to ride so I got the skies out.

The beauty of Sollipulli. The sunsets are next level.

The Trails at Sollipulli are the best. Just loam mixed with black volcano dirt through the trees. Unreal riding.

The dirt there is something else; it's a mix of volcano dirt and loam, so it's hero dirt territory. The goal was to ride some lines into the crater of the volcano on the top, but we got the first snow of the year a few days before we got there, and we could only ride the top of the volcano on skis, which was also pretty cool. Riding down the volcano was awesome; it was cool to find some lines between the dirt and the snow. Then after some high-speed sections on the top, getting into the Araucaria forest on some fast snow feels so good... this place is a must-visit for a full mountain biking or skiing experience; the accommodation, the cabins, the people, and the riding make this place so special.

The top of the volcano was unreal to ride. Just fast open sections with some features in between... Nothing crazy, but the speed and location made it so special.

The moon was so bright we decided to go into a night ride. One of the most beautiful moments of the trip.

ANTOFAGASTA

I think that Antofagasta is the capital of Freeride in the North of Chile, no doubt. Antofagasta is a pretty big city on the North Pacific coast of the country, and it's for sure one of the coolest places I've been to find freeride lines... Actually, the whole city is a freeride line, everything goes.

Located in the North of the country and close to the city of Calama, right in the Atacama desert, Antofagasta became one of my favorite riding spots, for the dirt, the lines, the views, and the locals.

La Portada. Antofagasta. Chile. / Eyes on the Prize / Rippin'

I met Bastian Araya at Pyt’s park for the Todo o Nada event for the first time, and together with Kurt Sorge, we took a flight to Antofagasta with him to go ride and visit the place.My brother was there a year ago, and he already told me about how cool the place was.

It was incredibly awesome to spend some time in the country, hang out, and get to know the place. I can't wait to be back and ride and explore some more zones. The Andes are huge, and there is a lot more to ride.

Huge thanks to everyone who made this possible.

Commencal Bikes

Rider: Andreu Lacondeguy 
Directed by: Andreu Lacondeguy
Filmmakers: Santiago Alcalde & Cesar Fierro 
Edit: Santiago Alcalde 
FPV/Drone: Cesar Fierro
Photography: Cristobal Batlle

Pyt’s Park

@pytspark

Gracias en especial a Pablo Yarur, Cristian Moris, Cristofer Moris, Picolo, Dani, Chanfa y a todo el equipo! Gracias por hacer de Pyt’s Park nuestro hogar en Chile.

Nevados de Sollipulli

@nevados_sollipulli

Gracias a la Familia Gibson por compartir el Volcán con nosotros y enseñarnos este hermoso lugar. Un grande Robert Gibson y los africanos.

Gracias a los jefes de las Montañas @suntripadventure y @xploraturismocarolina a los grandes Rafael Marchant y Raul Flores por los consejos y las buenas vibras. También a Carlos y Óscar Huerta por abrir camino en la nieve con el buggy y por todo el apoyo.

¡Nacho y Rai Coulon my Chilean Brothers!

Roca Park

@rocapark.co

Bastian, Cristóbal, Vegano, Luis, Gato, Dropping and the crew! ¡Sois unos jefazos! ¡La Máquina del tiempo submarina!

Surf Hostel Antofagasta

@surfhostelantofagasta

Paski y Kenny you guys are the best!

Ricardo de La Lobera y Bike Park Maiten

Colico Bikepark

413 Park

Huilo-Huilo Reserva Biológica

Las Palmas Bikepark

La Parva Bikepark

Nevados de Chillan Bike Park

Fox Chile

Thank you Chile for being the best country in Chile (iykyk) and in the world, maybe!