Last Southern Hemisphere spring, Lau Nitzsche made a multi-country, multidisciplinary trip on the Andes Mountain. This journey combines her various passions: splitboarding, biking, art and music.
Taking place in northern Patagonia, her journey began in Villa La Angostura, Argentina, bickepacking along Ruta de los Siete Lagos (Argentina’s lake district), crossing the border into Chile through Paso Tromen, traveling through Pucón, ascending Volcán Villarrica (Rukapillán) on foot and splitboard and descending on her Weston splitboard.
But this story isn’t only about sports, it’s a journey through Lau’s passions and personal search for making something out of everything she loves and finding a way of life.
Photos by Tomás Popritkin
Illustrations by Lau Nitzsche
"A few months ago, as spring transitioned to summer in the Southern Hemisphere, Lau Nitzsche embarked on a multi-country, multidisciplinary journey along and through the Andes Mountains. Throughout the past year, Lau—an incredibly talented artist, entrepreneur, and outdoor athlete from San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina—had dreamt up and mapped out an adventure that would combine her various passions.
She started in Villa La Angostura, Argentina; bikepacked along the Ruta de los Siete Lagos (Argentina’s Lake District); passed through San Martín de Los Andes and Junín de los Andes; crossed the border into Chile; and traveled through Pucón before ascending Volcán Villarrica on foot and splitboard and descending on her snowboard.
In addition to bikepacking and splitboarding, at various overnight stops, Lau intentionally incorporated visual art and music (Lau is a flautist) into her time spent outside—often at sunrise, sunset, or under the stars of the Northern Patagonia sky."
Read the full story by Emily Hopcian at Osprey HERE
