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.
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 10th 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.