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Destination Report: South America

Ski Chile

By Randy Mink

T
The next time you bite into a chili dog at
Portillo’s, imagine yourself hot-dogging at
a ski resort named Portillo. In a country
called Chile.

Set high in the Andes on Lake Inca and
close to the border of Argentina, Portillo
is one of South America’s top ski resorts.
It’s about two hours from Santiago, the
capital of Chile.

If the thought of skiing in July intrigues
you, consider the resorts of Chile’s
Central Andean Region. They offer a
relaxed ambience, modern lift systems
and lodges, rental shops and passes
generally 50 percent cheaper than in the
United States, Canada and Europe. Grand Hotel Portillo
You’ll encounter few lift lines. A narrow strip of land that runs down the western coast
of South America, Chile is squeezed between the Andes
With a ski season of June to September, Chile resorts Mountains and Pacific Ocean. At some points you can see
attract professional skiers from the Northern Hemisphere Andean peaks from the coast. The Andes form a 2,500-
who come to practice during northern summers. Most ski mile frontier with Argentina, about the same distance as
runs are at altitudes of around 10,000 feet. New York to Los Angeles.

Several top ski resorts are clustered in the Three Valleys
area around Farellones, about an hour’s drive from Santiago.
Valle Nevado, one of the largest winter resorts in South
America, is the only resort in the area that offers a full-service
infrastructure. The resort complex, recently renovated and
now undergoing a decade-long, $150-million expansion, is
not a town but has lodging, shops and a variety of restaurants
and bars. Developments in Master Plan 2020 call for a
mountain village with a new condo building each year and
a fourth hotel.

Valle Nevado, offering an interconnect ticket with
La Parva and El Colorado resorts, boasts “access to
South America’s largest skiable domain” (nearly 7,000
acres). Ten percent of the runs are for beginners and
36 percent for intermediates, with 33 percent for advanced
skiers and 21 percent rated black. All 25 of the fully
groomed runs are above tree line. Valle Nevado boasts
the continent’s only detachable quad and in 2012 will
introduce its first gondola. Top elevation at the resort is
12,041 feet. The highest visible peak of the Andes is
El Plomo (17,814 feet).

10 MIDWEST SKIER 2011/2012 DIRECTORY www.skicmsc.com