Friday lift tickets were our most annoying TISA experience of the week. When you buy La Parva tickets online in advance you must choose fixed dates for skiing to get the best price. We chose Sept. 17 and 18 for La Parva, yet the ticket office Thursday said we would have to reload our tickets online for Friday. Neither Liz not I could find on the website how to do that. Starting from CaseyE’s condo we skied to the Manzanita poma, where we were let on but told to go to the Alpha chair ticket window.
Ticket windows are usually at ground level so we walked down 4 flights of stairs only to find that the Alpha window was discreetly located just above the lift, so after hiking back up and waiting in line for the reload, we boarded the Alpha chair at 10:28, half an hour after we got on the hill.
We got up to Tortolas after 11AM and skied 2 pistes plus La Muela in the high altitude winter snow before crossing into Valle Nevado. As on Wednesday we skied to the Ballicas poma. From the top we skied along the Retorno ridge to the Valle Nevado hotel, where we expected to show our Ikons and get Valle Nevado RFIDs.
No, the Valle Nevado hotel can only handle tickets for hotel guests and suggested a 5 minute walk over to the Puerto del Sol hotel. We thought it safer to ski to the gondola base where day skiers arrive.
We had heard rumors that Ikons need to be renewed at the ticket office every day but that was thankfully incorrect; we were given two day RFIDs for Valle Nevado. Another interesting Ikon perk is that both the prior and upcoming Ikon passes are good during the southern season, up to 14 days of skiing.
As for what is necessary to use an Ikon for La Parva, I did not ask at the ticket office as we were not planning to ski La Parva Saturday. Some people at our hotel said the upcharge for Ikon to include La Parva was modest, dynamic but usually $15 or so. So that would have been cheaper than the advance purchase La Parva tickets, but it would have required initiating each ski day at Valle Nevado. Farallones lodging like ours is 3km from El Colorado or La Parva but 13km of switchbacks to Valle Nevado.
I may be
here but Mountain Capital Partners bought Valle Nevado in March 2023 and La Parva in May 2024, so it does not speak well that in 2026 the ticket situation is so confusing and inconsistent.
We took a lap on Andes Express before heading into the high alpine.
La Parva’s Tortolas chair at left and VN’s Valle del Inca poma at right rise to 11,700 feet but the mountains just beyond are proposed for expansion.
As it was 1:45 and becoming more cloudy it was time to concentrate on the SW facing Tres Puntas terrain. We were lucky to get up there during a sunny break. Liz had to pose by this sign of distances to famous mountains. Her pole is resting on the Kilimanjaro marker.
Zoom view to glacier on 17,815 foot El Plomo
I found this summer view of El Plomo.
The possible top of future lift service is 13,714 foot Cerro Pintor in center left background.
Possible ski terrain between Ancla T-bar center left up to Cerro Pintor upper right:
We skied the mellow Vals run first to survey terrain, diverting on to this sunny slope for awhile.
Next time up Liz was behind me and fell off the poma about ¾ of the way up. She enjoyed the groomed but fairly steep Shake run near the lift, but with visibility declining departed the high alpine. I stuck it out as with Saturday departure and predicted worse weather I thought this was my last shot at Tres Puntas. This long distance view from Andes Express shows the marked advanced runs on Tres Puntas: Charleston, Twist and Shake.
Twist had the best snow.
Also viewed from top of Andes Express is the ungroomed ridge skier’s left of Tres Puntas, dropping down to the Embalse chair.
That face has great corn potential but the ridgeline getting to it is mostly wind stripped. I would have wanted a sunny day and a view of some other skiers navigating to consider that.
Liz and I regrouped at Andes Express, then went through this fence at the three area border.
As the El Colorado corn had still been good past 4PM Wednesday we hit that La Parva north face down to Fabres for a third day.
We rode Fabres and skied its SW facing bowl, then took the Vegas poma to return to CaseyE’s condo. I skied 8,100 vertical at La Parva and 12,000 at Valle Nevado Friday.
On Saturday we packed, departed Chalet Valluga and drove to the Valle Nevado base.
There were lots of sightseers Saturday.
Saturday was completely overcast with the incoming storm expected. Snow was firmest mid-mountain, still only partly melt/frozen up high and soft on the lower quarter or so. We got up to Valle de Inca and the weather closed in, blasting us with wind on the ride up. So we exited via the retro appearance Embalse chair.
This looks exactly like Baldy’s chair 1 in terms of lift towers, center bar and footrest design. However it was built by Von Roll in 2010 vs. Mueller building Baldy’s lift in 1976. FYI Von Roll bought Hall in 1982. We skied the long Sol1 run from Andes Express to the lowest Prado lift.
Up Andes Express again the light was improved so I ventured one last time into the alpine, riding Valle de Inca to ski La Oficina to the most remote Ancla lift that I had not yet skied (WST would approve!). Ancla was a T-bar, so when a local showed up I invited him on as T-bars can be more tedious solo. I mentioned the proposed expansion upwards, and he said the land was private and by the way his family owned some of it! I suggested they might be pleased for the ski area to buy it, but he said his family are ranchers and they bring their cattle up here in the summers when it is all green.
I skied down again via Embalse and met Liz for one run on Mirador chair.
After another Sol1 run we skied to the gondola base and got on the road 2:15PM after 11,800 vertical, anticipating the 3PM start of downhill only traffic. This looks like a snow play area.
CaseyE says that is a pastime in Chile too, though surely not in the crazy volume we see in SoCal.
This was another interesting feature on the drive down.
Ticket windows are usually at ground level so we walked down 4 flights of stairs only to find that the Alpha window was discreetly located just above the lift, so after hiking back up and waiting in line for the reload, we boarded the Alpha chair at 10:28, half an hour after we got on the hill.
We got up to Tortolas after 11AM and skied 2 pistes plus La Muela in the high altitude winter snow before crossing into Valle Nevado. As on Wednesday we skied to the Ballicas poma. From the top we skied along the Retorno ridge to the Valle Nevado hotel, where we expected to show our Ikons and get Valle Nevado RFIDs.
No, the Valle Nevado hotel can only handle tickets for hotel guests and suggested a 5 minute walk over to the Puerto del Sol hotel. We thought it safer to ski to the gondola base where day skiers arrive.
We had heard rumors that Ikons need to be renewed at the ticket office every day but that was thankfully incorrect; we were given two day RFIDs for Valle Nevado. Another interesting Ikon perk is that both the prior and upcoming Ikon passes are good during the southern season, up to 14 days of skiing.
As for what is necessary to use an Ikon for La Parva, I did not ask at the ticket office as we were not planning to ski La Parva Saturday. Some people at our hotel said the upcharge for Ikon to include La Parva was modest, dynamic but usually $15 or so. So that would have been cheaper than the advance purchase La Parva tickets, but it would have required initiating each ski day at Valle Nevado. Farallones lodging like ours is 3km from El Colorado or La Parva but 13km of switchbacks to Valle Nevado.
I may be
here but Mountain Capital Partners bought Valle Nevado in March 2023 and La Parva in May 2024, so it does not speak well that in 2026 the ticket situation is so confusing and inconsistent.We took a lap on Andes Express before heading into the high alpine.
La Parva’s Tortolas chair at left and VN’s Valle del Inca poma at right rise to 11,700 feet but the mountains just beyond are proposed for expansion.
As it was 1:45 and becoming more cloudy it was time to concentrate on the SW facing Tres Puntas terrain. We were lucky to get up there during a sunny break. Liz had to pose by this sign of distances to famous mountains. Her pole is resting on the Kilimanjaro marker.
Zoom view to glacier on 17,815 foot El Plomo
I found this summer view of El Plomo.
The possible top of future lift service is 13,714 foot Cerro Pintor in center left background.
Possible ski terrain between Ancla T-bar center left up to Cerro Pintor upper right:
We skied the mellow Vals run first to survey terrain, diverting on to this sunny slope for awhile.
Next time up Liz was behind me and fell off the poma about ¾ of the way up. She enjoyed the groomed but fairly steep Shake run near the lift, but with visibility declining departed the high alpine. I stuck it out as with Saturday departure and predicted worse weather I thought this was my last shot at Tres Puntas. This long distance view from Andes Express shows the marked advanced runs on Tres Puntas: Charleston, Twist and Shake.
Twist had the best snow.
Also viewed from top of Andes Express is the ungroomed ridge skier’s left of Tres Puntas, dropping down to the Embalse chair.
That face has great corn potential but the ridgeline getting to it is mostly wind stripped. I would have wanted a sunny day and a view of some other skiers navigating to consider that.
Liz and I regrouped at Andes Express, then went through this fence at the three area border.
As the El Colorado corn had still been good past 4PM Wednesday we hit that La Parva north face down to Fabres for a third day.
We rode Fabres and skied its SW facing bowl, then took the Vegas poma to return to CaseyE’s condo. I skied 8,100 vertical at La Parva and 12,000 at Valle Nevado Friday.
On Saturday we packed, departed Chalet Valluga and drove to the Valle Nevado base.
There were lots of sightseers Saturday.
Saturday was completely overcast with the incoming storm expected. Snow was firmest mid-mountain, still only partly melt/frozen up high and soft on the lower quarter or so. We got up to Valle de Inca and the weather closed in, blasting us with wind on the ride up. So we exited via the retro appearance Embalse chair.
This looks exactly like Baldy’s chair 1 in terms of lift towers, center bar and footrest design. However it was built by Von Roll in 2010 vs. Mueller building Baldy’s lift in 1976. FYI Von Roll bought Hall in 1982. We skied the long Sol1 run from Andes Express to the lowest Prado lift.
Up Andes Express again the light was improved so I ventured one last time into the alpine, riding Valle de Inca to ski La Oficina to the most remote Ancla lift that I had not yet skied (WST would approve!). Ancla was a T-bar, so when a local showed up I invited him on as T-bars can be more tedious solo. I mentioned the proposed expansion upwards, and he said the land was private and by the way his family owned some of it! I suggested they might be pleased for the ski area to buy it, but he said his family are ranchers and they bring their cattle up here in the summers when it is all green.
I skied down again via Embalse and met Liz for one run on Mirador chair.
After another Sol1 run we skied to the gondola base and got on the road 2:15PM after 11,800 vertical, anticipating the 3PM start of downhill only traffic. This looks like a snow play area.
CaseyE says that is a pastime in Chile too, though surely not in the crazy volume we see in SoCal.
This was another interesting feature on the drive down.
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