HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING Surf, host and ConnectiCouch! COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE Joined in 2012 and got involved with the PDX crew through meetups and mutual friends (Aside: if you're ever in Oregon, make sure to surf in Portland because the community there is amazing!)Ever since I've been hosting and occasionally surfing as often as I can.

1. Landing in Chile for the 1st time: I had been dreaming of it for months, and barely realized that Chile was a real place and not a South American Shangri La. Objectively, the airport was none too pretty, but touching down in the shadow of the Andes mountains was a very intense moment. I was overwhelmed by my arrival in the greatest way possible. 2. Viewing the glacier: It was about a week into our month-long NOLS course and I was not feeling too great. I started off, on the very first day, with a bad case of strep and had barely begun to feel better. The cold rain and my heavy pack didn't help either. After 5 or 6 days of terrible bushwhacking we had barely glimpsed a mountain. We had some opportunities, but clouds and haze interfered; mountains were implied, maybe teased, but still too distant to grasp. After 2 days spent in the forest, the weather turned right when were making our big push for a high camp. As soon as we broke the tree line we were treated with an awesome view of the Cordón Contreras glaciers and peaks. Giant cracks and impossibly steep slopes returned our gaze from across the expanse. One of the instructors stretched out a finger and guided it across the horizon. In just a few days we would be traversing that range, he said, straight through the most crevasse-riddled, exposed part. And just a few days later, we did.