Exploring Patagonia With Atomic’s Janelle Yip, Tim Durtschi, and Nick McNutt

Taste of the riches tucked in the Patagonian Andes near Eleven's Rio Palena Lodge. Photo: Eric Parker

Janelle Yip grew up skiing as a weekend warrior. Bouncing between Fernie, BC and her family's home in Calgary, she quickly developed an insatiable appetite for skiing as a teenager, and rose through the ranks of her local freestyle ski team competing in slopestyle. After moving to Revelstoke, that inbounds passion naturally morphed into a backcountry obsession, chasing pow and big lines on foot and via snowmobile. 

Janelle Yip gets to know her soon-to-be trusty steed. Photo: Eric Parker

Last October, after sitting out most of the previous season with a nasty injury from taking a knee to the face on a jump, Janelle joined her two Atomic teammates Tim Durtschi and Nick McNutt in Chile. The mission was to explore the country’s stunningly beautiful Patagonian Andes region for big-mountain skiing potential, based out of the luxurious Eleven Rio Palena Lodge for Legend Has It. 

Photo: Eric Parker

With condors soaring overhead and verdant lowlands giving way to jagged snowy ridges up high, the crew was excited to get after it - and the high peaks beckoned. Traveling the world through skiing had long been a dream of Janelle’s, and she was finally living that dream alongside two of her favorite athletes in a place not very many people have gotten to ski before.

For the adventurous, the journey to Eleven's Rio Palena Lodge is part of the authentic experience. Photo: Eric Parker

“It was really hard not being able to ski for the rest of last season after getting hurt. I had a lot of great plans and things coming up,” shares Janelle, “But coming on this trip has definitely been like an awesome redemption for that. Getting a whole segment done in October is awesome!”

Surrounded by snow-filled peaks, the Rio Palena Lodge boasts old world charm and amazing access to backcountry terrain. Photo: Eric Parker

While it might have been early season for the three North American-based shredders, winter was already giving way to spring in the southern hemisphere. The high peaks of the Andes are some of the most remote, rugged, and hard-to-access mountains in the world, and October is a great time to explore. 

Atomic and TGR athletes Tim Durtschi, Janelle Yip and Nick McNutt study their options. Photo: Eric Parker

Tim shares, “It's really rugged country, and it's definitely a unique place to be heli skiing. The terrain here is very different from what we have in North America. We're surrounded by granite, and the rock creates these super unique layers and ramps and different features that we've been able to discover. We're just this little sliver of land surrounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. And below us is Antarctica.”

Photo: Eric Parker

As a skier who cut her teeth riding pillows and deep, dry snow in the forests of BC, Janelle was wowed by the towering alpine spires and couloirs that were thousands of feet long. “There is no tree skiing here,” she laughs, “I asked our guide and he said he once spent two months looking for a tree skiing run. There are really not a ton of ways to approach these mountains without a helicopter and its vastly unexplored terrain that we had the privilege of being able to ski.”

Janelle finds speed and style in the Andes. Photo: Eric Parker

At only 25, Janelle might not have quite the decades of experience Tim and McNutt share, but the process of mentorship and inspiration (which definitely goes both ways) has been a hallmark of TGR trips. Each skier brought their own expertise to the table, and just as much as Janelle learned, Tim and McNutt were stoked to feed off her own energy and hunger for exploration.

Nick McNutt charges between steep granite faces. Photo: Eric Parker

Day after day, the crew ventured deeper into the range, ticking off technical couloirs, big faces, and skiing off the pointiest summits the heli could land on. Once they were done for the day, it was time to enjoy delicious local asada at the Lodge - and maybe just a few pisco sours.

From peaks to fire pits, Eleven's Rio Palena Lodge's accessible terrain. Photo: Eric Parker

About The Author

Follow

stash member Max Ritter

I manage digital content here at TGR, run our gear testing program, and am stoked to be living the dream in the Tetons.