Words by KC Deane

Photos by Jeff Richmond & KC Deane

With Session 1 of Evolve Chile over we headed back to Santiago to drop off campers and picked up a new crew. This session we had the most diverse group of campers we have had to date. Kids from North America, England, Brazil and even Italy made there way to Valle Nevado for second half of camp. Here's a quick run down of the past 10 days at Evole Chile.After rounding everyone up we made the short trek up to Valle and got everyone checked in and out on the hill. With all the mountains surrounding Farallones getting a heavy early season dump, the mountain had a ton of snow to get the terrain park up early and dialed by the time we got there. It hadn't snowed in Valle for weeks leading up to our arrival, but that didn't deter anyone from ripping the mountain in addition to the park.

Valle Nevado, Chile

Slashing!

After a few days of lapping the mountain, the campers took to the terrain park to start learning new tricks, and for some learning how to ride park. Two brothers from England came to camp this year with less than two months of skiing under their belt. It was pretty cool seeing those two guys progress an unreal amount in just eight days on snow. They went from getting down the mountain to learning boxes, rails, and were hitting most of the jumps in the park. Meanwhile, our Italian Stallion, Thomaso, came to camp looking to shred lines, and by the time he left he was lapping the park until they closed the poma, learning to slide rails, and by the end of camp, back swaps, back 270’s, and more.

Brady Perron tail pressing

A 12-year-old camper from England learning how to slide a box.

Ben Moxham on the jump line.

Snowboard coach Bruce Johnston doing his thing.

Mike Hornbeck lapping the terrain park poma.

Brady with a group of campers.

KC Deane getting his jib on.

Also this session at camp, Mike Hornbeck, Brady Perron, and Ben Moxham were lapping the park with Armada filmer Corey Stanton, who’s working on an upcoming edit. The crew decided to head down south this season and film for a new movie as somewhat of a follow-up to their last project, The Meltdown.

Brady whale tailing with Armada filmer Corey Stanton gets the shot.

Hornbeck hiking the park at Valle Nevado.

And as always, all of the campers came away with gear from the camp’s sponsors along with some Evolve Chile swag.

Campers cleaning up with some winnings.

Geoff Brown giving away more swag.

Sunset looking over Santiago.

After the session at Valle came to a close, we packed up and headed for the coast of Chile to get in a few days of surf.  We arrived in Vina del Mar to a nice sunset and a solid swell for the following day. After surfing the campers headed down to check out the small town of Valparaiso. Valparaiso is the main port for Chile, and is also filled with amazing art and culture.  You could wander through the streets for days and never get bored. Exploring the culture of the coastal towns, sunny skies and great waves marked a great end to camp here in Chile.

Campers learning to surf.

A camper getting up for the first time.

Vina Del Mar

Following that, the last campers boarded their flights, and with that comes the end to another awesome summer here at Evolve Chile. Stay tuned for videos from Armada and Evolve, and on behalf of everyone at camp, big thanks to all of the sponsors for helping make it another great summer in Chile!