Pirca Trail. Photo: Ms. Raychel Germaine.

Photo provided.

Many of the FIS Alpine ski racers traveled to Chile for a training camp. We were all so excited and nervous at the same time because we all knew the departure was early in the school year. In fact, we went to school for just two days before we loaded vans and headed to the airport.

Chile has always been my favorite trip for many reasons, but this year was even better than the last time. First, we have the largest ski team Northwood has ever had, which makes a dynamic unique in its own. I asked ten athletes on the team what their favorite moment or highlight of the trip was so that our readers could experience the best parts of our trip.

If I had to choose a highlight of this ski camp, I would have to be, the powder day we had. It must have been one of the best ski days I have had in a long time, there was a nice blue sky, the temperature was hitting 35 degrees Celsius. We couldn’t complain.  We all used our slalom skis, which is normally not a pair of skis to use for powder because they’re not made for that much snow, but the feeling of floating on a nice white snow was hard to beat. It just felt so good to be back on skis after such a long time. I was happy.

Aston Ferrillo ‘26

It was Aston’s first time in Chile. “I never he saw that pretty of a sunset,” Ferrillo said. Everyone was enjoying the moment and that’s when someone said, “Gang we’re in Chile – that’s insane!” Everyone realized how lucky we were to be here. Aston has a passion for taking pictures of landscape and he brought his camera to Chile. He took beautiful pictures of the sunset, here’s his favorite.

Sunset in Chile. Photo: Aston Ferrillo ’26.

Charles Leduc ‘25

Charles is new to Northwood, and he said the highlight of the camp was on the first day off, when everyone was enjoying the sun and sitting around the pool. He felt the connection with his teammates. Charles knew he was in the right place with good people.

Gavin Ebert (NYSEF)

Gavin is one of the “NYSEF” athletes who has been part of the team for the longest time. In fact, this year will be his 10^th year with NYSEF. It was Gavin’s second time in Chile. He told me that last year, he and the guys found a dog on the ski hill. No one knows who’s dog it is, what his name is or how old he is, he’s just the dog of the mountain and they named him “Stan.” Gavin forgot about the dog during the past year, but on his first day here, he saw Stan standing at the same place. Gavin was so happy to see Stan again and he called this moment his “favorite” of the trip.

Elleanore Pelletier ‘25

Elleanore is also in her first year here at Northwood. She said her highlight was when we took our first girl’s photos with the sunset. She felt like this new year was going to be good for her and that it was the beginning of new friendships.

Caroline Purcell ‘24

Chile was Caroline’s first big ski camp. She went to Austria the year before and was excited for new challenges to start her senior year. She said that the camp in general made her super excited and that it was the best preparation for a good ski season.

Julianne Brochu ‘25

Julianne is starting her second year at Northwood, and she describes Chile as her favorite ski camp. She said that everything was in her favor: the weather, the view, the location. Her highlight was when she woke up in the morning to get her little warm-up session. She would start with a little activation like running or jumping and then would use resistance bands to activate her lower body. Warming up with a view like the one in Chile surely made her biggest motivation at such an early time in the day.

Olivia Levesque ‘24

This was Olivia’s second time in Chile. She knew what was waiting for her, so that made her even more happy to go back, since she loved it so much the first time. Her favorite day was when the FIS women’s team trained on one of the mountain’s hardest and steepest trails, named Pirca. She said that it was challenging for each of us and that everyone learned something that day.

Arielle Haccoun Choquette ‘24

Arielle, in her first year at Northwood, is a good addition to the FIS team. Her energy brings positivity to the team. Her highlight of the camp was being so welcomed by her teammates. She is happy to be part of the team and she is ready for a year full of challenges.

Cara Dempsey ‘25

Cara really enjoyed her trip to Chile. She is a regular at Austrian ski camps, and Chile was very exciting because it was something new. One of her favorite parts of the camp was our dryland training. Sometimes, we would do agility ladders or hit a workout in the hotel gym, and sometimes we would play tournaments of ultimate frisbee.

Sydney Kuder ‘25

Sydney is a hard-working athlete who is dedicated to her sport. Sydney specializes in two events: slalom and giant slalom. Her highlight of the camp was the day we trained a slalom course on the “Fox-Trox” trail. She said that she skied well that day, which made her proud.

Edouard Brochu ‘24 is a member of Northwood’s Men’s FIS Alpine Ski Team. He wrote this guest column from his training camp in Chile.

Chile is the longest country in the world: over 4,200 miles from top to bottom. But other than that, it is a relatively unknown corner of the ski world. Skiers usually think of places like Europe, the Rockies, or Japan when going on a ski vacation, but the beautiful Andes mountains in the east of Chile are a magnificent, yet incredibly underrated, ski destination.

While not very popular with tourists, the Chilian Andes are a haven for ski teams for two reasons: First, the terrain is great for training for ski racing. Second, and most important, they are in the southern hemisphere. This means skiers can train during the summer in the North while it is winter in South America. This is precisely why the U18 Northwood ski teams ended up in Valle Nevado de Chile.

Lots of people have asked me, “Why so early in the school year, though?” The ski team left Northwood on September 9^th, after just a single day of classes. It might seem a little extreme to leave for two and a half weeks after just one day of school, but no athlete here regrets coming, and none is falling behind academically. We have some time every day to keep up with our classes. School definitely isn’t as easy 4,000 miles away, but the extra bit of work is worth it for our skiers.

“We skiers have to make sacrifices to be the best we can be”, says Elléanore Pelletier ‘25, one of our U18 racers. All of the skiers I have spoken to agree, and no one regrets it. The training quality is simply undeniable.

The training has been top-notch.  Since it’s the end of the season in Chile, there is abundant snow, and the whole mountain is skiable. The conditions allow the skiers to train on different terrains. Our coach Seppi Steigler chose this location because of the amount of snow it gets annually and the absolutely huge skiing area. And speaking of snow, the snow conditions here are quite near perfect for racing. All in all, this place checks all the boxes for a great training venue for ski racing.

“Five Stars!” That’s the only thing our skiers have to say about the Chile camp. From the magnificent scenery to the practically unmatched training quality, there aren’t many words that describe how near-perfect this trip has been so far. It sure isn’t the typical skiing trip, but Chile is definitely a place I will visit again, and I am sure I am not alone.

Traveling the world is not very common in everyday life. When you travel you probably go somewhere warm where you can sleep all day and lie on the beach. When athletes travel i,t’s a little bit different. The Northwood School FIS ski team is currently training in Chile, and it’s definitely not a vacation. I’d like to take you through our lives so you can feel like you’re living it.

Valle Nevado is a ski resort situated at an altitude of 5,450 meters (about 3.39 mi). It is approximately a 2-hour drive from where we landed in Santiago. Chile is considered a developing country, and I felt it when I first arrived. Random people at the airport will ask if you need help carrying your suitcases and then will make you pay to get them back afterward.

Our journey from Northwood included a 3-hour flight, a 4-hour layover, and then another 9-hour flight. We had another 2-hour bus drive to our hotel.  The view on the drive started with palm trees in the city to cacti while going up and finally, not a single tree, just some snow, and then a lot of snow.

Once we reached the base of the mountain, we really discovered another world.  There’s a little village with hotels and one supermarket. There’s nothing else around us but beautiful white mountains.

On our first day, we went powder skiing. It was maybe one of the best ski days I’ve ever experienced. I had snow up to my knees and floated on the fresh powder. The altitude really hits when you ski or do any physical activity. Your heart rate is the same as after a big cardio workout.

For our first day of training, we trained slalom on a trail named “Fox Trot.” I woke up at 5:45 and went for a quick breakfast before doing my warm-up workout, I usually go for a little run, and then use a resistance band to activate my legs and shoulders.

Once I’m done, I head outside. I start with two to three free skis run to go back to bases. Our first run in the course is probably the most important because that’s the only run that counts in races. Our sessions are from 7:15 to 11:30.

After skiing, we headed to lunch, I was kind of worried about the food here, I was imagining myself starving for days because I wouldn’t like it. Surprisingly, the food here is the exact same as it is at school. It’s a buffet. As an athlete, it’s important to eat and fuel our body the right way, I usually get a portion of fruits or vegetables for every meal.

The academic side can be very difficult when athletes are away from school. Is leaving school for two and a half weeks hard for students? Do they work when they’re gone? The answer is, if students are not organized, they will 100% fall behind in their schoolwork. We normally have two hours per day dedicated to our homework. We can ask our teachers for help on the app. Some of the teachers are used to long-distance teaching because many of Northwood’s student-athletes are living the same reality when we’re away from school for games, training, or races.

Our day isn’t over when we are off the hill. Our skis require some work. We need to sharpen and wax them. How much work varies, but I remember spending maybe an hour and a half on just one ski just to repair an edge. After all of this, we go to bed around 9:00 p.m. and get ready to do it all again.

Photos by Ms. Raychel Germaine.