How to ski Chile this summer with 5 vacation days and $2500
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The weather’s [finally] heating up and your ski gear is just starting to collect dust. While the final remnants of winter dissipate across the Western US (except for certain Sierra Nevada slopes, namely Mammoth and Squaw Valley, the latter of which is considering staying open the entire year), for diehard skiers and snowboarders across the globe this marks the beginning of a special time of year: summertime in South America.
The ski season in Chile and Argentina typically gets going late June and extends through early September. July and August are considered ‘high season’, during which period the conditions are best and prices reflect that tendency. I would recommend narrowing your search to within this window for your best chances at summer pow.
This post focuses on Ski Portillo, but be sure to check out Valle Nevado, El Coloardo, La Parva (Chile) and Las Lenas (Argentina) for other options to escape the mid-summer heat in exchange for something much cooler.
Hotel Portillo
Portillo is the oldest and most storied resort in South America and has been attracting elite visitors from around the globe since its first lifts were erected in the 1930s. By the 1950’s, Norway’s legendary Stein Eriksen ran their ski school, and in 1960’s Portillo went on to host the Alpine World Ski Championship. Over the years, the hotel has been frequented by the likes of both Fidel Castro and Kennedy family, who enjoyed an exclusive summer skiing experience alongside olympic athletes (various national teams still train here each August) and powder-chasing civilians alike.
Popularly known as a ‘cruise ship in the mountains’, Ski Portillo sells a famous all-inclusive ‘ski-week’, which includes unlimited skiing, 4-meals per day, and access to the array of activities and amenities. And it’s a good thing — Portillo is so isolated that beyond the Argentinian border and a Chilean military base, there is no additional infrastructure in either direction for hours. With no TVs in the rooms and a top-down focus on keeping things old-school, Portillo maintains an unrivaled atmosphere of authenticity. I didn’t have the pleasure of skiing back in the ‘good old days’, but I have a feeling not much has changed at this little yellow hotel nestled deep in the Andes.
By far the most fascinating thing I witnessed working at the hotel was how families who first visited Portillo years ago continue to not only make the yearly trek, but do so in coordination with their ‘Portillo friends’ who they met during past trips and reunite with back in Chile on an annual basis. Couple that with an incredibly loyal staff — with a handful of employees counting 40+ years of service to the operation, and others have married and all but raised their families there — and the result is an authentic vibe that is incredibly rare in the hospitality world today.
The Ski Experience
While there is something for everybody at Portillo — there’s a learning area and a few long and wide runs that are groomed on a daily basis — the bulk of the terrain at Portillo can best be described as lift-serviced backcountry. Given the nature of the snowpack and steep pitch of the upper mountain, each time the resort built traditional chair lifts in the early days, they were quickly taken down by avalanches. To combat this, Portillo engaged Poma — a french lift company — to develop a system that could sustain these challenging conditions.
The result was 4 5-person Va A Vient lifts — ‘Come and Go’, in English — that were fixed to the towering cliffs above and therefore lack lift towers in the path of potential slides.
True to their name, these lifts shuttle skiers up these 35+ degree slopes at a somewhat alarming speed, then release immediately upon reaching their peak — leaving you in a very off-balance state that typically results in an awkward side-fall to prevent a terrifying downward slide.
These lifts serve the entire upper mountain and while the experience is unconventional, it’s a small price to pay for seemingly endless access to epic chutes and couloirs within a short traverse or hike.
Overall, the ski experience is truly spectacular for advanced to expert skiers. While not necessarily huge from an acreage standpoint by North Amercia standards, given that traffic is limited to the 400 guests that fill Portillo’s various accommodations to maximum capacity, it’s unlikely you will ever need to wait in line during your stay.
Like everywhere else, snowfall has been hit or miss in recent years — my season was below average while last year (S ’16) started off with a 10-foot storm over 48 hours in June. In any case, the high elevation and utter lack of traffic guarantees that fresh powder can be found weeks after the last snow event.
Super C
For those looking to push the boundaries, the most storied line at Portillo is known as ‘Super C’. The climb starts at the top of Roca Jack, from which skiers hike approx. 2 hours vertical through the Roca Jack couloir across a harrowing traverse above a no-fall zone and up through to the saddle of Ojos de Agua mountain.
From the upper half of the hike, skiers are rewarded with unobstructed views of Aconcagua — the largest mountain in the world outside of the Himalaya — and 12 other peaks over 20,000 feet. I attempted the hike during July with a group of instructors and after serious deliberation, we collectively decided to turn back due to thin cover on the traverse.
From what I hear, trekking approx. 45 minutes further upward reveals in excess of 5,000 vertical feet of untracked pow at a sustained 45 degrees back down to the hotel. I hope to one day conquer Super C, but I remain confident we made the right decision that day and it shall for now remain at the top of my bucket list.
In the absence of any sweet photos or footage of a proper Super C descent, check out Powder Mag’s feature of Super C from last season (along with a sweet GoPro video of Chris Davenport’s) descent:
http://www.powder.com/stories/interviews/magic-of-the-super-c/#zQT3z9W5FTxVwRBc.97
Apres Ski Scene
After a few leg burning hours on the slopes — which is all you need when you’re literally lapping terrain as technical as Portillo’s — guests head back to the base for Apres Ski. Be sure to try one of the resorts signature cocktails, the Pisco Sour and indulge in some local Chilean wine. For those unfamiliar, Pisco is a brandy distilled from grapes which — depending on who you ask — is originally from either Chile or Peru.
A forewarning for my fellow Americans — as I quickly learned from my co-workers, drinking in Chile is a marathon, not a sprint!
As the Apres scene quiets down, many visitors head to take a dip in one of the hotel’s 3 pools and hot tubs and enjoy the unmatched views of Laguna del Inca and the surrounding mountain peaks (named a Best Ski Resort Pool by USA Today)! I must add that the sunsets in Portillo and the starry nights that typically follow are unlike that which I’ve experienced anywhere else on this earth (see below, noting that camera tech has come along way since 2012)!
Following a drink or two here, at approx. 5pm guests typically congregate in the hotel’s vast living room for ‘Once’ — a traditional Chilean tea time with fresh made pastries from the hotel’s breadmaker, or panaderia. After heading back to their rooms to clean up, they soon return for one of two formal dinner seatings or a bite in the hotel’s more casual cafeteria (depending on which is included in their level of accommodation). Both options serve fresh Chilean fare — typically an array of seafood, meat and veggies sourced from the country’s far geographical reaches (2nd longest country in the world from north to south)! And of course, more wine.
Nightlife
The real party at Portillo begins after dinner, where rather than retire to their rooms and surrender to Netflix like most would after a long day on the mountain, guests filter back into the living room to share stories from the day and hang out. With the common bond of a love for all things winter — and a bit of social lubricant to boot — it’s only natural that this be a fertile environment for real friendships to be formed (this goes back to the ‘Portillo Friends’ concept previously mentioned).
At around 10:30pm each night, guests slowly filter into the bar, which features live music with a new band playing international hits every 2–3 nights. Certain evenings — especially when it’s snowing, I found — get super rowdy. I saw dancing on chairs and tables on more than one occasion. For those who are up for it, there’s a basement night club that heats up when the bar shuts down around 12:30am, and goes until the wee hours of the morning as guests’ demand.
*Insider’s Tip*
If you’re looking for a more authentic Chilean experience, sneak across the road after dark to La Posada. A former trucker’s brothel turned employee bar, here you will find $4 bottles of wine, $12 bottles of vodka and an incredible atmosphere where employees, instructors and visitors alike sneak away to blow off steam.
Portillo on Budget — Pricing it out
Nonstop Flight (NYC to Santiago)
$1100
Priced out as of early June for early August with Friday coming, Saturday going redeye travel. 1-stop flights available for as low as $900. Fun fact: no time difference from EST!
All-Inclusive Ski week (Everything but alcohol)
$1300
Based on 7 days in ski-on-ski-off Inca Lodge during high season. Prices include seven nights lodging (Saturday to Saturday), four meals per day, lift tickets, and access to fitness and entertainment facilities.
Ground Transportation (Airport to Portillo)
$120
Based on return trip from Santiago airport in shared van.
Total: Approx. 2,520
Note that you could choose to spend a TON more for an elevated experience including luxury accommodation in Hotel Portillo, helicopter transfer from Santiago, etc. Also, if time/budget allows I would absolutely recommend a few nights to explore Santiago, Vina del Mar, Valparaiso, and other awesome Chilean destinations. This post is simply meant to show that an sweet summer ski experience is within reach.
How to Book and More Info
For more info and to book your ski week, Portillo has one of the best websites in the industry (see below) with a ton more info on everything covered here. Their social media presence is also top notch and a great source of promos throughout the year.
*****
Thanks for reading. The SnowSearch team is thinking about making a trip down south in early August. Drop us a note via the email below if you want to coordinate!
-Bryan
Co-Founder @ SnowSearch
bryan@snowsearch.io
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