Powder Day Send Off and the Ritz Carlton, Santiago

It was a tough decision, however along with close to half the guests this week, we departed Portillo two days early and headed down to Santiago ahead of the storm. There had been a ton of speculating going on as what to do amongst the crew, chance staying, luck out, get snowed in, or get out while you can. The weather changed, the blue skies disappeared, and we got 7 inches of snow ahead of the "big one" when only a trace was predicted. The powder morning was a great send off and made leaving a little bit easier. We ended up hooking up with our new heliskiing/powder support group friends Jake and Karl for the early transfer out. We were surprisingly credited for the two days we skipped out on and that total we transfered to two nights at the Ritz Carlton, Santiago. What a treat the Ritz has been and great way to wrap up our going on 9 weeks away from home. After skiing 13 days and the bunk beds in the Inca Lodge the comfortable big bed has been very welcome! Last night we joined our new friends for sushi in Santiago's hip Bellavista neighborhood, while today was spent checking out town with them and experiencing Chilean seafood at the famous Mercado Central. On Sunday we are heading out to the the coast for the day, before ultimately departing for home on Monday night.