South America 2026

[Tony Crocker]

We are renting a 4x4 so hopefully will not need chains.

Portillo is not that big or difficult to navigate. It did not occur to me to hire guides any of these places in Chile in 2007. Everything is above tree line and visible so you can decide for yourself what’s in your comfort zone.

 

[Sbooker]

Booked! Arriving Sunday 13th. Leaving Tuesday 22nd. Now to arrange a car and lodging.
Very excited to be skiing Chile for the first time instead of NZ that looked likely a week ago.

 

[Casey E]

Chains, while unnecessary 99% of the time, are required gear, and the police may stop you and ask to see them at the Ermita checkpoint, km 10 or so of the 40km road.

 

[Sbooker]

Chains, while unnecessary 99% of the time, are required gear, and the police may stop you and ask to see them at the Ermita checkpoint, km 10 or so of the 40km road.

Can they be hired down the hill?

 

[Casey E]

A moderate atmospheric river (3) is barreling down on central/south Chile, with 3 or 4 fronts over the next week.

A lot of B’s funneling thru those two A’s. Classic format for intermittent pulses of rain/snow, and the associated logistical troubles.

Another couple representations

Freezing levels should be ok after the first front.

 

[Casey E]

Can they be hired down the hill?

Yes they can, before the checkpoint. I don't do it but I see them dangling from renters hands on the way up. Hard to be sure of a good fit. Here is a shop, chains for about US$ 20 per day. https://www.xscape.cl/producto/cadenas-xscape-ski-rental/

Or buy them here

https://cadenaspower.cl/cadenas-de-nieve/

Or https://www.sodimac.cl/sodimac-cl/buscar?Ntt=Cadenas+para+la+nieve

 

[Sbooker]

Yes they can, before the checkpoint. I don't do it but I see them dangling from renters hands on the way up. Hard to be sure of a good fit. Here is a shop, chains for about US$ 20 per day. https://www.xscape.cl/producto/cadenas-xscape-ski-rental/

Or buy them here

https://cadenaspower.cl/cadenas-de-nieve/

Thanks.

 

[ChrisC]

Is three days around Valle Nevado and two days at Portillo is about right? Is Santiago itself worth checking out for a couple of days?

I think so.

I was thinking of staying in Farellones and driving up to the resorts.

Farellones is the resort area. It somewhat functions as the base for El Colorado. It's close to all 3 areas.

The big issue is whether you are staying in Santiago and driving up.

I would have stayed in Farellones, but I thought room rates were too high for the value in August ($200+ per night), and I could stay in Santiago for free and eat well at city restaurants. The commute got a bit old by Day 3, but it was scenic and had no crowds on weekdays.

If limited to 5 days I'd go 3-2 the other way. Why?
1) Portillo has a deeper snowpack and is also less vulnerable to wind messing up the off piste.
2) Portillo overall has better terrain quality even though it has less acreage.
3) The Roca Jack/Juncalillo side of Portillo gets the morning sun for corn. There is very little east facing at VN/La Parva so it may take some time for spring snow to soften.
4) The commute from Los Andes to Portillo is easier than the commute from Santiago to Valle Nevado.

Agree with snowpack and terrain quality, but...

If Sbooker is going with his wife, I think skiing each Santiago ski resort for one day is better than three days at Portillo.

• Valle Nevado
• El Colorado
• La Parva

Individually, they each have a larger intermediate footprint than Portillo. Likely more groomed piste mileage?

At Portillo, you will need to ski the advanced terrain and off-piste to avoid repetition for 3 days. There are 'skied' paths off the major slingshot lifts, and the main lines of Lake Chutes and Garganta, but comfort zone?



I will draw you a map of how I see Portillo for intermediates: maybe 4 major pisted/groomed runs with 1000 vertical ft? To me, an intermediate could ski Portillo in 3 hours vs. 3 days.

 

[Sbooker]

I would have stayed in Farellones, but I thought room rates were too high for the value in August ($200+ per night), and I could stay in Santiago for free and eat well at city restaurants. The commute got a bit old by Day 3, but it was scenic and had no crowds on weekdays.

Yes the pricing to stay up the hill is mental. We'll only stay up there two nights to ski the three days. This is really lashing out for me. It'll take me some time to recover from the trauma. I will lower the average lodging price for the trip by staying in flea pits for the rest of the time.

If Sbooker is going with his wife, I think skiing each Santiago ski resort for one day is better than three days at Portillo.

Thank you. This is a good point. Kylie is no hard core skier and this trip will not be all about me getting out of my comfort zone. I'm sure I leave her ski by herself from time to time while I check out some areas that are not in her comfort zone though.

At Portillo, you will need to ski the advanced terrain and off-piste to avoid repetition for 3 days. There are 'skied' paths off the major slingshot lifts, and the main lines of Lake Chutes and Garganta, but comfort zone?

Would you point out this stuff in a diagram for me please?

I'll probably catch Tony and Liz for a ski at some point. If we can cross at Portillo he might be able to show me around.

 

[skiandgolfnut]

I’m booking the flights this morning. In on the 14th is set. I’ll see if we can leave on the 23rd. Looks like we’ll cross paths 16th to 18th.

Is the advanced terrain at Portillo above my pay grade and do I need a guide? Are guides easy to source in Chile?

Guides can be arranged through the hotel and if I recall they actually offer it hourly and pricing was closer to European pricing than American thankfully. I would say it’s all fairly self explanatory but my first ride up the Roca Jack resulted in a lengthy fall because I had no idea how to ride the lift. The intermediate skiing is very limited. For me personally, if I were bringing my wife, I would try and stay as many nights at Portillo as I could swing. The whole package offers something incredibly memorable.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

flea pits

A British/Aussie expression that we should adopt!

if I were bringing my wife, I would try and stay as many nights at Portillo as I could swing. The whole package offers something incredibly memorable.

Could you expand on what makes the package memorable/unique?

 

[skiandgolfnut]

The setting on the lake, the hotel itself, the people there, the staff, the dining room, the nightly cover bands in the bar after dinner. All on top of really fun skiing! (More for advanced/expert). I cant think of any other ski destination I’ve been to that I continually think about as much as Portillo. Maybe it’s the novelty of it or that I cannot reasonably go so often.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

I cant think of any other ski destination I’ve been to that I continually think about as much as Portillo.

Wow

 

[Tony Crocker]

I reread Jimmy's chapters on Argentina and Chile yesterday. Like skiandgolfnut, he waxes ecstatic about Hotel Portillo. Hotel Portillo is a relic of a bygone era where ski areas served mostly all inclusive onsite guests. The best analogy in my experience would be the late St. Bernard Lodge at Taos. The Alta lodges have similar ambience but unlike Portillo, Alta is a very competitive ski area. With Liz I wasn't making the trip at all unless we could get into Hotel Portillo. She had a very challenging time driving and skiing solo to Portillo and Valle Nevado in July 2010 after the Easter Island eclipse. That was when I was visiting the NZ club fields.

Jimmy also touted those farther south volcano areas in Chile but I think he got lucky. I have concluded that with shrinking and decrepit facilities plus the weather vulnerability, those are very speculative destinations on a fixed schedule. And to get the most out of them you need to go ski touring above the lifts, a pastime which I have mostly aged beyond now. By contrast Jimmy's view of Las Lenas was cursory, only a couple of days. I saw just enough on my first trip to return a decade later and ski some technical terrain that I should not be skiing now. I'll editorialize that @snowbirdsurfer should absolutely make the effort for Las Lenas with its rare current snowpack. I'd say the same for ChrisC except that he already scored big there two years ago.

ChrisC is correct about Portillo terrain. It is skewed advanced/expert. IMHO closest analogies in scale and terrain weighting are Alyeska and Taos, though topography (high tree line) is completely different at Taos. Adam disputed my Alyeska analogy, but he saw Alyeska in prime form with Christmas/New Year's chutes open and lots of powder, but then Portillo with the Roca Jack traverse burned off (Cara-Cara wasn't there yet), both of those trips in 2007. Since then I see those chutes at Alyeska not open all that often in my bimonthly reviews in-season.

Valle Nevado is the opposite, extremely intermediate weighted. La Parva has better balance, but when I was there most of the off-piste was wind stripped or had unpleasant surfaces. I was not sure whether Kylie was coming on the trip when I made my preferential comments abotu Portillo skiing.

Sbooker's last day in Chile is our first ski day in Portillo, so we could meet up for that as well as some of the time in Three Valleys. I expect not to drive to Valle Nevado because El Colorado has a $19 senior lift ticket, so we could easily ski from our hotel, then use our Ikons when we cross into Valle Nevado.

 

[Casey E]

One more time!

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

LOS LIBERTADORES PASS CLOSES AGAIN
This Monday, August 24, international traffic is suspended as a preventative measure for all types of vehicles due to adverse weather conditions in the high Andes.

Barrier closures:
Guardia Vieja: 1:00 PM
Uspallata: 2:00 PM
International tunnel closures:
3:00 PM | 4:00 PM
Local tourism to Portillo: entry until 12:00 PM and exit until 5:00 PM.

According to the forecast, adverse conditions could persist until Monday, August 31.
We will keep you updated.
4:00 PM

I might add that, for a groomer cruiser, Portillo is basically 2 runs, Plateau and Juncalillo, with a few variants, and a few shorter runs. But Chile is not a heavy grooming country, with one run per lift a normal average, so the 3 Valleys are similar. With this years coverage, there could be corn to be had on the Va-et-vient lifts in September, which would be a major bonus. ( I just looked at their new map with run description drop downs, and there is at least one new run, "Los Zorros" on Juncalillo).

 

[ChrisC]

The setting on the lake, the hotel itself, the people there, the staff, the dining room, the nightly cover bands in the bar after dinner. All on top of really fun skiing! (More for advanced/expert). I cant think of any other ski destination I’ve been to that I continually think about as much as Portillo. Maybe it’s the novelty of it or that I cannot reasonably go so often.

Hotel Portillo is a relic of a bygone era where ski areas served mostly all inclusive onsite guests.

I was going to mention Taos and Alta as comparisons. A business school friend has been visiting one of the Alta lodges for five days midweek around March 1st for over 15 years, and he consistently runs into the same guests. The Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe might have been an East Coast equivalent years ago...

Europe still maintains lodges with this type of atmosphere. The Chalet du Lys Hotel in the low-key Gressoney Valley (Monterosa) functions similarly, offering dining, a pub, and game rooms. The Schwarzer Adler Hotel in St. Anton (and likely Kitzbühel) shares some of these traits as well, though it is located in a much busier setting.

Obviously, cat and heli-skiing lodges can offer a similar experience to Portillo, but they generally lack that same historical weight and are geared more toward hardcore skiing.

 

[ChrisC]

Jimmy also touted those farther south volcano areas in Chile but I think he got lucky.

Very interesting trip report - almost one month in Southern Chile over 2 trips.


Again, a lot of things are going to go imperfectly on lone volcanic peaks. Chile's southern volcanoes, New Zealand's Ruapehu, and Mount Bachelor are just difficult environments.

Niseko (almost all development is on the more protected south side/lifts do not go to the summit), Mt Baker (ski area is not on Mt. Baker, more like Shuksan), Mt. Shasta (ski area destroyed, new one not located on the volcano), and Mt. Hood (mostly lower altitude skiing in winter).


Link:

About that record-breaking Chile ski season…

 

[Sbooker]

I were bringing my wife, I would try and stay as many nights at Portillo as I could swing. The whole package offers something incredibly memorable.

I’ve turned my missus into a bigger tight arse than I am. She’d be horrified at the price of the hotel.

And a note to other amateurs out there. I found direct hotel pricing for Farelonnes that is quite a discount to the booking sites. Dates are limited though. Due to the holiday weekend I suspect.

 

[snowbird surfer]

I reread Jimmy's chapters on Argentina and Chile yesterday. Like skiandgolfnut, he waxes ecstatic about Hotel Portillo. Hotel Portillo is a relic of a bygone era where ski areas served mostly all inclusive onsite guests. The best analogy in my experience would be the late St. Bernard Lodge at Taos. The Alta lodges have similar ambience but unlike Portillo, Alta is a very competitive ski area. With Liz I wasn't making the trip at all unless we could get into Hotel Portillo. She had a very challenging time driving and skiing solo to Portillo and Valle Nevado in July 2010 after the Easter Island eclipse. That was when I was visiting the NZ club fields.

Jimmy also touted those farther south volcano areas in Chile but I think he got lucky. I have concluded that with shrinking and decrepit facilities plus the weather vulnerability, those are very speculative destinations on a fixed schedule. And to get the most out of them you need to go ski touring above the lifts, a pastime which I have mostly aged beyond now. By contrast Jimmy's view of Las Lenas was cursory, only a couple of days. I saw just enough on my first trip to return a decade later and ski some technical terrain that I should not be skiing now. I'll editorialize that @snowbirdsurfer should absolutely make the effort for Las Lenas with its rare current snowpack. I'd say the same for ChrisC except that he already scored big there two years ago.

ChrisC is correct about Portillo terrain. It is skewed advanced/expert. IMHO closest analogies in scale and terrain weighting are Alyeska and Taos, though topography (high tree line) is completely different at Taos. Adam disputed my Alyeska analogy, but he saw Alyeska in prime form with Christmas/New Year's chutes open and lots of powder, but then Portillo with the Roca Jack traverse burned off (Cara-Cara wasn't there yet), both of those trips in 2007. Since then I see those chutes at Alyeska not open all that often in my bimonthly reviews in-season.

Valle Nevado is the opposite, extremely intermediate weighted. La Parva has better balance, but when I was there most of the off-piste was wind stripped or had unpleasant surfaces. I was not sure whether Kylie was coming on the trip when I made my preferential comments abotu Portillo skiing.

Sbooker's last day in Chile is our first ski day in Portillo, so we could meet up for that as well as some of the time in Three Valleys. I expect not to drive to Valle Nevado because El Colorado has a $19 senior lift ticket, so we could easily ski from our hotel, then use our Ikons when we cross into Valle Nevado.

I am TRYING to get there, but sadly logistics don’t work. I managed to open up next week but can’t imagine traveling 18 hrs only to find marte closed and with only 6 days to ski I can’t risk it. So instead, I’m putting together a Portillo/La Parva split. Presently no rooms availability at Portillo, but I did find a B&B 40 minutes away. That said, another AR is forecast; could they close the road again? for weeks?!!! I imagine that the pressure to remain open must be extraordinary given that the authorities previously already closed access for 5 weeks, and took a public shellacking for it, but who knows? Jump in please if the current forecast and your own experience leads you to believe that travel will impacted 8/30-9/6. I figure ski La Parva for the first few days offers optionality in the event that Portillo access is cut off through 9/1.

 

[jasoncapecod]

my favorite ski youtuber just posted this..