When the sun shines, go run

Our first really stunning day since Saturday. During class this morning I saw some sunbeams coming through the window. That's the signal for, "Get home, get changed, go run!".

So, that's what I did.

I headed up my local hill, Cerro Otto. This is where I regularly run and where I went cross-country skiing yesterday. Initially I saw just going to run to the 'second bend' but as it was nice up there - blue sky and no wind - I decided to head ALL THE WAY UP. I haven't been to the top-top since I first arrived here almost three weeks ago.

We had snow two weeks ago and then not much until Sunday or so. The season is open and Cerro Otto too has snow on top. Knee-deep, evidently.

On Cerro Otto there are ski pistes (there's a ski place about 1km after my 'second bend') but they're very much for beginners (lessons) and children. Low degree of difficultly and short in distance. Right up top of Cerro Otto there's a restaurant (revolving, it seems) and 'slopes' for bum sliding. Being the winter season there were loads of school children up there. Can't say the top is very nice - with the exception of the view. I don't think I'll go all the way up to the restaurant again, even for the view.

From my 'second bend' the road got pretty muddy. There has been more snow higher up here and so the increased volume of cars has churned up the road. LOTS OF MUD!

And yes, that's a condor soaring top centre-right (not dirt on my camera).

Nordico is where I went for lesson's yesterday. The Confiteria is the top of the mountain.

After the ski place that I went to yesterday the road is closed off completely to vehicles - walking only.

'Camino' is walk.

That's the restaurant up top. I was trying to show you the foot-print track but I couldn't get the angle right...

The other option to get to the top of Cerro Otto is via a cable car from a main road down at the bottom (where the trail that I took three weeks ago starts). Once up there's another kind of connecting cable car (probably only 100m journey) that takes people from the 'station' up to the restaurant and seems to transport bum sliders back up too. I didn't have a ticket so I took the road around. Only one other set of foot prints - knee-deep in the snow...

At the top I took a look around, checked the view and tried to find another route down... no luck. Had to run around again the way I'd come. There wasn't any wind today (perfect conditions!) but it was still cold and so I couldn't hang around too long up there without running - too cold to stand around wearing run tights, thermal base layer and run shell. Perfect balance for running.

View was good. Nice and clear. Compare with the pics from my first run up here on 17 June.

There will still be LOTS more snow to come. We're only really a week into the season.

I think that I'd have to live in a snowy place for a long time to tire of the white-white-whiteness of the snow., especially when there's a lovely blue sky too. It constantly delights me.

I'm really glad I went all the way up today. Definitely good advantage taken of the conditions. It's around an 18km round trip from my hostel to the top. Half up, half down. Ba-ba-ba-boom.