Everyone loves summer, that wonderful time of the year when there’s baseball, hot dogs and fireworks. But what better way to appreciate these things as a skier than from the viewpoint of the southern hemisphere, where you can be knee-deep in Chilean powder while everyone else is packed like sardines on the beach, stuck in the car with crying children during Fourth of July traffic jams and sweltering the day away under relentless sun and 102 degree temps.

You’ll miss all of those things, of course, but given that flights into Chile’s capital city of Santiago are affordable and convenient, and that you can be on snow making turns by noon on your arrival day, it’s worth the questioning stares you’ll endure to jump on a plane with skis in tow and head south for a week or two during the hottest time of the year. Just don’t try to explain your excitement about the 2-meter dump that is scheduled to hit the Andes the day after you arrive to your non-skiing friends. They won’t understand.

Photo: Chris Albers dives into an August storm day at Termas De Chillan, Chile