A Guide to Chile's Northern Ski Resorts
by Tony Crocker

Santiago, Chile - North American skiers and snowboarders looking for a summertime fix cast their gaze toward the Southern Hemisphere. While skiing is available in Australia, New Zealand and even South Africa and Lesotho, the biggest resorts and most dependable snow cover lie in South America.

Santiago, Chile's capital city in the country's central valley and one of Latin America's most modern metropolitan centers, is the most convenient gateway to Southern Hemisphere skiing. Skiing from Santiago doesn't require a connecting flight when flying from North America, as New Zealand and Argentina ski resorts do. Chile also offers more flexibility and choice among ski areas than Argentina.

In September 2007 I divided my time between Los Andes, an hour from Santiago and a little over an hour down the hill from Portillo, and the interconnected ski resorts of Valle Nevado, El Colorado and La Parva, located an hour and a half from Santiago. From Los Andes I also sampled two days with Valle El Arpa snowcat skiing.

Skier Chris Purcell smiles through deep powder at Chile's Ski Portillo. (photo: Jonathon Selkowitz)

Portillo, and especially Arpa will appeal mostly to advanced and expert skiers. Valle Nevado, along with adjoining areas La Parva and El Colorado, is oriented more towards intermediates, though in combination the three ski resorts cover the largest skiable acreage in the Southern Hemisphere and do include some interesting off-piste terrain for advanced skiers and riders.

If you have at least two weeks available, Chile also offers worthwhile skiing further south, notably at Termas de Chillan, but as I had only 10 days I chose the areas most accessible from Santiago. For those in South America for other reasons, accessibility from Santiago makes even short ski trips viable.

Santiago is at the same 34-degree latitude as Los Angeles and has a very similar climate, averaging about 15 inches of rain per year concentrated in the winter months. From a skier’s perspective, Santiago has two big advantages. Mountains are much higher; over 17,000 feet behind Valle Nevado, and South America's highest peak, the 22,841-foot Aconcagua, dominates the horizon while snowcat skiing at Arpa. Most ski terrain sits at over 9,000 feet, so all of the midwinter precipitation falls as snow and preserves well. Santiago’s peak rain also falls in June and July, coinciding with the coldest weather, while L.A.’s wettest months are January/February. Given the huge volatility of snowfall, the earlier wet season in Chile makes advance planning easier.

Valle Nevado (photo: Valle Nevado)

I had already analyzed South American snowfall after my trip to Las Lenas in 2005, and Portillo’s statistics are very similar. The standard deviation of snowfall is much more than any of the North American areas I track, about 50% more than in the Sierra and double that of the Rockies. Snow tends to come in huge dumps of several feet with extended sunny spells in between, similar to but even more extreme than in the California Sierra. Only five of Portillo’s past 38 ski seasons have recorded less than 90 inches of snow, while snowfall exceeded 450 inches in the four best years. Two of those were in strong El Niño years of 1972 and 1997, with a record 738 inches in 1972. The 45% correlation of Portillo annual snowfall to El Niño should lead one to be especially cautious of advance booking in La Niña years.

With the overall snowfall volatility I recommend waiting for June storms before booking for an August visit. July can be problematic thanks to South American holidays that bring crowds and high prices, similar to the bustling Christmas period at Northern Hemisphere resorts. In July I’d be more inclined to ski the Chilean resorts further south to try to avoid the crowds. Snowfall in the southern regions is reputedly more consistent and drought is less likely despite much lower altitude.

Skiers should expect spring conditions in September. Snowfall averages only half as much as in August, in contrast to February and March snowfall being relatively equal in Utah and Colorado. And at the Los Angeles/San Diego latitude the midday spring sun is high, leading to common melt/freeze conditions except on steep south- facing slopes. The clear spring weather at such high altitude can create outstanding corn snow conditions when the snowpack is deep.

Season snowfall in 2007 was close to average at the resorts near Santiago, but no new snow fell after August 20 and my first ski day was September 6, so spring and its varying effects were in full force at allof the ski areas visited.

PORTILLO

The Hotel Portillo is like a snowbound cruise ship high in the Andes Mountains. (photo: Guy Wenborne)

Portillo holds a prominent place in the history of Southern Hemisphere skiing. The first hotel and lifts were built in 1949 as it was located on the only railroad line crossing the Andes between Chile and Argentina. The Chilean government first operated the area, but encountered difficulty and sold it to North Americans Bob Purcell and Dick Aldrich in 1962. They improved the hotel and built lifts to service the terrain that is skied today. Portillo’s reputation in ski history was secured when it hosted the only World Alpine Championships in the Southern Hemisphere in 1966. The Purcell family is now in its third generation of ownership.

The 1910 railroad was replaced by a paved road in the 1960s. Even though it remains the only road connection to Argentina, it can still be shut down by big storms. With open ski terrain along the lower slopes of sheer mountains rising thousands of feet above, extensive avalanche control is needed. The unique “Va et Vient” slingshot poma lifts were designed for Portillo’s higher slopes after earlier chairlift towers were destroyed in a 1965 avalanche. The rebuilt Juncalillo chairlift’s path now passes over the highway instead of the more exposed ski runs.

Click image to open a full-size Portillo trail map in a new browser window. (image: Ski Portillo)

The ski area has two sides. Roca Jack faces east, with its steeps draining to the Juncalillo groomed trail heading south 1,000 feet below the hotel base. The El Plateau/Condor side faces west. In between sits the stunningly scenic Laguna del Inca, overlooked by the Hotel Portillo. The sustained clear weather produced excellent corn snow on both groomed and off-piste, timed by switching sides after lunch each day.

Portillo’s coverage held up fairly well during the warm spell. The key loss was the traverse skier’s right of Roca Jack, which provides access to at least four long fall lines. For 2008 Portillo has installed the new Caracara slingshot poma lift to ensure more consistent access to some of these slopes. On the other side, the Lake Chutes end on Laguna del Inca, and if you can’t skate across the lake you have to climb back up about half of what you just skied. Midwinter 2007 was fortunately a cold one and the lake was still frozen during the warm days I skied.

Cruising: There are groomed runs connecting all the chairs, but only two long groomers have sustained pitch. Juncalillo is the longest, and it was draped in nearly effortless corn in the late mornings on each of my two ski days. The Plateau run hides in morning shade throughout its upper half and is used by several national ski teams for summer training in early morning. It’s in the sun by noon, however, when it opens to the public. Snowmaking on Portillo's groomed runs ensure that it can operate from July 1 through mid-September to host the racers in dry years.

Moguls: Garganta, which drops through an opening in the cliff under the Plateau chair, sported the most substantial moguls while I was at Portillo. There were also a few near the top of Roca Jack, but people tended to spread out a few hundred feet lower down. Lack of moguls on the wider slopes is due to very low skier density.

Portillo's Laguna del Inca (photo: Gabriela Hales)

Wide Open Spaces: Portillo’s upper slingshot poma lifts serve broad expanses of open terrain. From Roca Jack the Primavera area lies to skier’s left, and lower down its fall line turns north toward the lake. Halfway down the lift on skier’s right the fall line turns south toward Juncalillo. From the Condor slingshot poma the broad Plateau Superior stretches out to skier’s left. This area has a southwest tilt, so some of its steeper sections retained winter snow through the warm weather. At the lower skier’s left of Plateau Superior you can reach Portillo’s other slingshot poma, Las Vizcachas, which accesses the easternmost edge of Portillo’s lift-served terrain.

Steeps: The open terrain at the top of all three slingshot pomas starts out fairly steep before gradually mellowing out. The steep fall lines in the Lake Chutes, skier’s right from the Condor lift, are more sustained for over 1,000 vertical feet. This area takes a bit of exploration to find the best entrances. I did one each day, and there are undoubtedly numerous options with a deeper snowpack. The chutes skier’s right of Roca Jack house the area's longest steeps. The traverse is straightforward and the new Caracara lift provides additional access this season. I could also visualize some short but very steep and narrow slots opening up in the Plateau cliffs on either side of Garganta in big snow years.

Trees: The tree line in Chile is far below the base of these ski areas. Cactus and other desert vegetation similar to that found in Arizona and New Mexico lines the access roads leading to the resort.

Powder: Portillo has a reputation for excellent powder skiing. While I did enjoy any during my visit, it’s not difficult to see the reasons why it has its reputation. The low capacity of the slingshot poma lifts would restrict traffic in the upper bowls even if Portillo were crowded. Some open spaces with good powder fall lines could last several days with skier density this low. There appears to be less wind affect compared with Arpa and Valle Nevado, which is often a concern with massive storms dropping snow on open terrain. With the bowls on opposing east and west faces, it is possible that some storms could wind blast one side but deposit blown-in powder on the other.

Hiking and Backcountry: From Roca Jack or Las Vizcachas you could easily extend a high traverse south and ski to the road. As an alternative, in the Lake Chutes head farther out and have a longer skate back on the lake. A few hundred feet above the lifts the mountains become steeper and hold less snow, but for the ambitious there is the Super C Couloir. The Super C requires a two- to three-hour climb from the top of Roca Jack at 10,980 feet to well over 13,000. From the road below, the Super C appears to be very steep and narrow for at least 3,000 vertical feet before reaching more open slopes for another 3,000 feet.

Riding one of Portillo's unique slingshot poma lifts five abreast. (photo: Paul Morrison)

Crowds: The hotels at Portillo only provide accommodation for 500 people and Portillo does not receive many day skiers. I thus hardly ever waited in line for more than a couple of minutes despite the low capacity lift system. The unique slingshot pomas work somewhat like a tram, with one set sending people up the hill at high speed while the other empty one comes back down. Each set has four or five poma discs side by side, so despite the high speed, lift capacity is very low with only four or five people going up the hill at a time. I could visualize substantial lift lines on powder days, but with the tradeoff that the powder would get tracked out very slowly. The other lifts are all conventional double and triple chairlifts.

Intermediates, Novices and Children: The compact base area, with most hotel guests on one week all- inclusive packages, would be very family friendly. The caveat is that most of the terrain is off-piste and requires at least strong intermediate skills. The 433 vertical-foot Las Lomas chair serves Portillo’s beginner runs.

The Hotel Portillo sits steps from the slopes. (photo: Fred Foto)

Lodging and Logistics: Advance reservations at the Hotel Portillo require a one week stay with lifts and all meals included. Shorter stays are possible in late season, but only on very short notice. Also at the base are the Octagon (four bunks per room with bath) and Inca Lodge (dorm-style), which attracts a young and lively crowd. An all-inclusive week between July 28 and Sept. 8 in 2007 cost about $2,000 at Hotel Portillo, $1,150 at Octagon and $600 at Inca Lodge. Octagon and Inca Lodge guests do have access to the Hotel Portillo’s pool and restaurant. For lunch the independent Tio Bob restaurant is a short ski from the top of the Plateau chair.

Portillo has a retro ambience that is increasingly rare in modern skiing and that some skiers value highly. The atmosphere is preserved by the ongoing Purcell family ownership, somewhat akin to the Blake family at New Mexico's Taos Ski Valley. By reputation the hotel rooms are plain and fairly small, but food and service are excellent. The lodges at Alta would be another good analogy.

A week, however, may be more time than first-time visitors to Chile may want to spend at one ski area. Portillo has interesting terrain but is limited in its size and in the spring conditions I experienced half a week would have been plenty of time. I thus planned a 10-day tour in Chile through Santiago Adventures. While skiing Portillo we stayed in Los Andes, which is a little more than an hour down the hill in the Aconcagua Valley. While we had hired a car and driver from Santiago Adventures, Los Andes is a viable option for Portillo skiers with a rental car. We stayed at Casa St. Regis, a hacienda popular with ski groups that includes breakfast and dinner. After one of our ski days we visited the hot springs and spa at Termas El Corazon, which is a more luxurious lodging option near Los Andes.

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