Since 2004, Corralco Ski Resort has given the children of the Ramón Ramírez rural school in Malalcahuello the opportunity to learn to ski for free. Today, this work is continued by the Fundación Malalcahuelo, which seeks to give children the tools to take advantage of the area where they live and to have opportunities in the future.
Antonia (12) has a sacred routine every Wednesday. She wakes up early, excited, ready to have one of the most eagerly awaited mornings of her week: a bus picks her up at 9:30 am to go to Corralco Ski Resort and ski and enjoy with her friends until 3:00 pm.
She studies at the Ramón Ramírez rural school in Malalcahuello and it's likely that without the help of the Fundación Malalcahuello Corralco she would never have learned to ski the way she does now. This is because since the creation of the ski resort in 2004, the children of this school have been given the opportunity and the resources to take advantage of the mountain and the snow that surrounds their home.
©Fundación Malalcahuello Corralco
The foundation was created in 2016 and since then has continued the task of the ski resort. During the winter season, children are given season passes, trasnportation, equipment, classes with certified teachers and lunch. Off season they are given the possibility of trekking through the Nalcas de Mallalcahuelo National Reserve, where they learn about flora and fauna, in addition to seeing in the field the subjects they see in their classrooms.
"What I value most is the possibility of free skiing, plus an instructor. Skiing is an expensive sport and, therefore, I believe that all parents are super grateful for this possibility (...) What my daughter has learned the most is technique and skills to develop this sport," says Rocío Saavedra, Antonia's mother.
And precisely in developing a good technique in skiing is one of the main missions of the foundation. "The focus of our project is that, in addition to a lot of fun, it generates sporting opportunities and knowledge that children in the future can use for the development of their own ventures or job opportunities. They live in a privileged place in Chile when it comes to outdoor sports and the idea is to make the most of them," explains Francisca Bascur, director of the Fundación Malalcahuello.
©Fundación Malalcahuello Corralco
Once a year the school's parents are invited to enjoy a day in the mountains. Bascur explains that the meeting will be soon this year, but that in 2017 was a day in which parents could see all the progress their children have had and even children taught their parents. The parents then enjoyed a barbecue in the same place where their children have lunch when they go to the ski resort: the famous Zorro con Botas, where they shared with their families, sang songs and watched presentations of the Malalcahuello reserve and Lonquimay Volcano.
Meanwhile, the children of the Ramón Ramírez school in Malalcahuello continue and will continue to enter the world of this snow sport. In fact, according to Antonia's mother, one of the things that her daughter loves most is skiing, and she has been practicing it for nearly five years thanks to Corralco: "What's more, when she grows up she wants to work at the Corralco ski resort!
Ladera Sur, “Los nuevos esquiadores de Malalcahuello“. Source: https://laderasur.com/articulo/los-nuevos-esquiadores-de-malalcahuello/
