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Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

By: Tyler Bradt

By KAVU

February 8^th, 2022

For most of my life I’ve enjoyed the ability to utilize the hemispheric seasons, hopping on a plane or a boat, and journeying to the other side of the world where the dead of winter becomes the peak of summer. Where the snow melts, rivers flow, birds take flight over summertime meadows, and all the other joys of the summer season greet the lands.

The global pandemic had put a halt to this for most of us trying to rally with the global community; our effort instead to stay put, and ease the spread of COVID 19. In the two years since the first lockdown of 2020, I hadn’t stepped foot aboard a commercial plane. I began to realize in these years how important traveling is for my soul. Not only do the sports I love thrive in the warmer seasons, but so much of my community lives all over the planet. Without traveling, I began losing connection with many of the people I love.

So in the North American winter of 21/22, I set off to rediscover the summertime of the southern hemisphere and reunite with some very dear friends along the way. This is the story of that journey.

Whitney Fisher, who guides on the Futaleufu in Chile was kind enough to accompany me on the journey South, our eventual goal reaching the Futaleufu in Patagonia, Chile.

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

The first stop on our journey South: Valle de Bravo. While not in the Southern Hemisphere, Valle de Bravo is a place I have a deep appreciation for. The prime season for paragliding is December through January, making it a natural first stop along the way. I first traveled to Valle de Bravo in December of 2017 and have been back numerous times since. In my very limited experience, it’s the most amazing place I have ever flown a paraglider, and returning there over the years I can see the progression I am making by what I am able to do in the skies surrounding this pueblo magico. First trip to Valle: MEXICO: Tyler Bradt Paragliding in Valle de Bravo

My friends Nick Greece, Alejandro Murrieta, Estefano Salgado were some of the first I had the opportunity to run into and in the serendipitous nature of things, we ran into Estefano in the streets of Valle just outside his house, he invited us in, and one bottle of tequila later we had mostly caught up and already planned some flying excursions into the skies of Valle de Bravo.

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

The next day, Estefano picked us up and we headed to launch at Pinon. Estafano is one of the world’s best paraglider pilots and while I would have a hard time flying with him normally, today he traded his competition wing for a tandem and took Whitney on a cross country flight that very few get to experience their first time in the sky.

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Estefano’s tandem wing matched perfectly with my Swift 5, and we thermalled up into the sky together, stoked to be kicking the trip off in style. Landing back at the lake a couple hours later for high fives and cold beers, it was clear the trip had begun in style, setting a rhythm for what was to come.

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

That night we ate at Estefano’s restaurant, the best restaurant in Valle de Bravo, with Alejandro and Nick while watching a sunset explode into color above the lake, a cold beer and mescal in hand. I felt like the definition of KAVU Day had just hit a new level.

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

The rest of our journey in Valle felt much the same. Beautiful days in the sky book-ended with great friends, good food, and many delicious drinks to wash it all down.

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Whitney and I also took a day to hike to the butterflies, a unique and beautiful place on earth where a multi-generational migration of Monarch butterflies ends, and then begins again. We hiked to the top of a mountain where millions upon millions of Monarchs group together in the trees and fill the air. We sat in awe of this natural phenomenon before venturing back to Valle to begin the next part of our journey, Chile.

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

We rode a bus out of Valle de Bravo, sad to leave but excited to get to another amazing part of the world. The next morning, after our PCR tests came in not a moment too soon, we boarded a plane heading directly to Santiago, Chile.

Traveling has changed a bit over the last couple of years and now more than ever, patience and organized paperwork come in very handy. To successfully arrive in Chile requires a process of about 4 - 6 weeks. Luckily Whit had us well taken care of and after an 8 hour flight and another PCR test, we had arrived in Chile and could soon begin our land journey South.

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

We picked up the BioBio truck in Santiago the following day, traded pants and shoes for shorts and flipflops, and began driving South. Santiago is a few days of driving from Patagonia but we had plans to lengthen the journey, stopping by the famous town of Pucon for another reunion with old friends, a few days of paddling before continuing South.

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Sitting under the snowy volcano of Villa Rica, Pucon is at the confluence of three rivers, and a gateway to the Ande Mountains. One of my best friends, Ian Garcia, lives in Pucon so we headed straight to his place for a good sleep and the beginning of our adventure in Chile. The next day, we visited his shop, Rivers Lakes and Oceans, and picked up a few kayaks that we were transporting South to the Futaleufu and made plans to go for a paddle.

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

While in Pucon we paddled the Upper Trancura before heading up to the Puesco for a quick trip to visit our buddies LJ and Kelsey who just got the brewery Puesco Cerveza up and running. Only an hour from Pucon, their hostel and brewery sits at the base of some of the most stunning mountains in this region of Chile. Waterfalls cascade out of high hanging snow fields and Condors turn lazy circles in the sky high above town.

They treated us to a night at their home in Puesco and many delicious beers. We then continued our journey back to Pucon and onward to the Middle Fuy, a famous paddling river to the South of Pucon. The highlight of the day was dropping off a 50ft tall waterfall with Ian, and then running a stout sections of rapids to the takeout of the river. With more roadside hugs and highfives, we said goodbye to our friends, loaded up the truck, and headed South. The next place our kayaks would touch the water, the infamous Futaleufu.

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Two days, two ferries, a couple hundred kilometers of dirt roads later, we arrived at the Futaleufu. I first traveled here in highschool but hadn't made it back until a few years previously in 2018. On this trip, I discovered BioBio, a beautiful riverside camp and high end rafting operation tucked into the trees on the bank of the Fu, just upstream of the classic put in. Here’s a short film of my first journey back to this river in over 15 years: FUTALEUFU: Tyler Bradt headed to Chile for week & stayed 2 months

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

The next month was a blissful blur, paddling everyday, eating amazing food, enjoying all the beautiful things about the BioBio camp, and visiting lots of amazing friends who live here on the river. It was a dream come true to be back on the river with good friends, warm water, sunny days that never seemed to end, locally brewed beer, and some of the best whitewater in the world. BioBio is like a KAVU day machine, cranking them out one after another.

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Like all good journeys, the best are over far too quickly, and after a few weeks on the river, it was time to start heading North again. Luckily I wasn’t out of tricks yet and had planned another sneaky trip to Valle to pick up my paraglider, which I had left there to scratch out a few more days of flying before committing to winter in the Pacific Northwest.

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Leaving the Futaleufu was hard but again, I was excited to be heading back to a place I love. A couple more days of travel and I was back at launch at the Pinon in Valle de Bravo getting lucky with a commercial flight that landed at 5am in Mexico city.

I spent another full week here in Valle, spectating the Monarca Paragliding Competition from the sky, and rattling off some great flights in the now strong conditions of January. In the end, I decided that Chile paddling trips..... bookended with flying missions in Valle de Bravo....

.....is about as good of a winter vacation as a kid could ask for!

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Valle-Chile Winter Flyaking

Footnotes

Tyler Bradt is the most KAVU OG Dude we know. He's a cornerstone to our family and brings joy to the world..... and lots of fun too!

FootNotes

Tyler Bradt is the most KAVU OG Dude we know. He's a cornerstone to our family and brings joy to the world..... and lots of fun too!

© 2026 KAVU

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