Skiing in Chile

[tigertail]

So I am going to Chile this summer from Mid-June to Mid-October, and I have a couple questions.

1. Which resort should I ski (el colorado, valle nevado, la parva)? I ski the Bird during the winter, so I'm looking for challenging terrain, and access to backcountry. I've heard that el colorado has some great skiing in an area called Santa Terre. Can you access the lifts from the bottom of this? I'm assuming they all get about the same amount of snow. Terrain park is a plus, but not that important.

2. How can I hook up with people that want to do some touring/mountaineering in the Santiago area or elsewhere on the continent? Anyone on here planning a trip to South America this summer? Where are some good places to go? What is the right time to go?

3. I've had people that have traveled to New Zealand suggest that I might be able to make some money selling gear when I'm down there. Is this true, what gear will sell the best?

Any other advice you have would be appreciated, thanks.

[el penoso]

The best terrain is in Portillo you just have to hike (strait up). The other resorts are geared towards the intermediate Brazilan, but there is still good stuff to be had you just have to look around a bit.
Search this site there is tons of info on Chile.

[CaliKid]

Of the 4 resorts mentioned Portillo has the best terrain but you have to be willing to work for it. Santa Theresa is a cool little area with very easy access from the bottom of one of the lifts at El Colorado. It is essentially the ridge that leads down to the road going to VN. Easiest with car laps, I hitchhiked after each lap which can be a bitch at times. I'll attach a photo of the area taken from VN.

In my opinion you have to leave the resorts to find good terrain. Never toured out of La Parva/VN except for a 1.5 hr hike from the top of La Parva but there looked to be some cool terrain that you could access.

Also did one day at Arpa which was a fun experience, a couple small chutes and good people who ran it but nothing crazy terrain wise.

[tigertail]

Thanks for your help.
Can you get back to the lift from the bottom of Santa Theresa, or is it waaaay to long of a hike? Can you tour out of El Colorado too? or just La Parva and Valle Nevado? I'm going to be staying in Santiago, so Portillo is a little far for me to consider getting a season's pass at, which is my plan, because I'm going to be there for 4 months.

[clarnitty]

Yo Tigertail
I've probably seen you at the Bird....

Unless you're tied into something in Santiago, not sure that getting a season's pass at any of the areas around there would be that rad. If I was to spend 4 months somewhere skiing in Chile, it would probably be Nevados de Chillan (used to be Termas de Chillan). 250 km south of Santiago and TONS of touring options including hot springs. Plus the city of Chillan is big and it's easy to get supplies there and then retreat back to the mountains. There are little Cabañas for rental in the tiny town of Las Trancas and generally if you time it right (morning) you can hitch up to the mountain and there are a couple of busses. I wouldn't say the terrain is super gnarly, but then again that's not really what Andean skiing in resorts is like....It's big though and there are volcanos and endless areas to explore around the areas--all of them.


I work for CASA Tours and have had the privilege of skiing all the areas mentioned. Portillo is rad but unless you are staying there it is sort of a bitch to make it work daily. I hear they have a good visa work program though.

Arpa is the shit!!! My friend Anton and his dad own it...Definitely worth checking out while you're down there!

[JRainey]

El colorado was my favorite of the santiago area resorts. I only so portillo from a bus to medoza, it looks sick but isn't realistic for a long term stay due to price.

The thing that surprised me about Santa Theresa was how big it was, I guess how big everything was there. I looked at pictures and tried to line them up with maps and get an idea of the place. I was thinking they were like 800-1000 foot runs down santa theresa. It's def. more like 2000 vert though.

The best option i'd say for hitting it without a set up car shuttle is to get a combo colorado/valle nevado pass because the lower Valle lifts dip pretty close to the the bottom of some goods off santa theresa, 10-15 min skin back to the lifts if you play it right, 30-45 if you don't.

If you just want to get an el colorado pass, add like 30mins onto the skin time to get back to the bottom of cono este t-bar. You can traverse early and save yourself some hassles, but not all.

The stuff that's off the cono este t-bar is fun as fuck though, by far the best inbounds terrain in the santiago resorts that I had access too. And it's south facing (opposite down there) so the snow says pretty good. There are two or three chute that are like more gnar than will still let you ski back to the lift that are basically the beginning of the santa theresa. The t-bars a riot too, no rest on the way back up. There seemed like some cool north facing shots off the top of valle nevado (the upper bowl area), but it was such a bad snow year last year it was just dirt.

The only place I went south was Pucon for some backcountry freestyle contest, the Big Bang, it was cool but the snow kinda blew when I was there. There actually skiing in the resort is kinda lame, but they have natural halfpipes and windlips EVERYWHERE. Booter central, but plenty of natural options. The vis was too bad to venture into the higher up backcountry, but there looked to be some good bc options with a traverse or minor skin back to the bottom, just don't get lost in the trees. You can also climb the whole thing and ski it which seemed like it would be really cool.

Pucon is a super cool town, way laid back but plenty of places to eat and drink. Hostels too, it reminded me of jackson, just a little more rustic, but similar size.

Where are you planning on living though. I was living in santiago and it was a total pain in the ass to get up to the ski areas everyday. From providencia, the municipality 2nd closest to the mountains, it was a slog.

-Wake up at 7am, get 1st public bus at rush hour. Seriously maul people with my ski shit just took squeeze onto a packed bus and find a spot to settle, wait 5 mins, then maul the same people on the way out of the bus.

-Catch bus number two on the busiest street in the city, maybe wait 20mins because the busses are so full that people almost fall out when the doors are open. Finally, sac up and just decide to push onto one of those super full buses. Maul lots of other people even harder with ski gear. Wait 10 mins, then get off and maul them again.

-Now you're at the private ski shuttle place, Ski Total, and you can relax. But you'll wait. You wanna get there around 8am and if it's busy and they're filling buses then you'll go relatively quick. If it's not busy you can wait for a hour before they fill up a bus. It cost $20 for la parva/ el colorado and $24 for valle nevado. You'll leave around 8:30 to 9am. Then you drive through traffic for 30mins, stop and get snacks and gas before you head up, then drive up the super windy road has great scenery.

-Arrive at resort between 10am and 11am, probably closer to 11.

-Ski until 5pm.

-Get back on the bus/van then go back down the mountain, fight traffic for maybe an hour this time and then you back at the shuttle bus office.

-Time for the public bus again! I found them generally less crowded in the evening on that side of town, but if it's raining, buses wont even stop because they'll be so full. Not any.

-On the way back I would skip the second bus and make the 20 min walk back to my apartment, because the traffic was so bad it was almost faster to walk. And honestly I was too emotionally drained to maul any more unsuspecting commuters with my ski gear.

-Arrive back home between 8-8:30pm. 7am to 8pm. Yeehaw.

-There is a subway stop not far from ski total, but avoid the subway like a plague during commute times (the times when you are trying to get to and away from ski total). Imagine a packed tram, throw in 25 more people for good measure and thats the subway scene at rush hour. People really do fall out when the door opens. You are not getting on with ski gear.

-I usually went during the weekdays because the tickets where cheaper at the ski areas, but the city shuts down on sunday, so if you want less competition on the public transit that's your day.

-You start getting used to it though. After a while you become a cold, emotionless individual whom can't be bothered by the fact that your ski boot just hit some old lady in the stomach or you're squeezing some young woman with a baby against the glass because of your mere bulky presence. Welcome to the Jungle.

As others said, there is quite a bit of info on this site, but mine might fill in some gaps.

Chile's cool, but expensive. As a rule of thumb, think american prices. They're pretty equal. And you'll have to pay $140 bucks just to get into the country. No one less you that either. But it's good for the life of the passport. If you're planning on getting it renewed soon, do it before the trip.

If i was gonna do chile again, I go with enough friends to spread the costs, get someplace to stay in Farellones, the town below el colorado, rent a car, and do santa theresa laps all day long with friends alternating as the shuttle driver. If only my friends weren't dirtbags.



These are at the big bang in Pucon

These 3 tracks were all mine, on cono este. I think people were scared of hitting rocks, I didn't touch any, but i tried to take a older british gentleman down this stash and he locked up on some and totally piled shit. I felt bad.

[skieurmalade]

heh, tigertail used to be what they called me when I skied a run called that compulsively in another life good luck. I have nothing pertinent to provide.

[Nedanderthal]

Yo Tigertail,
We will have to meet up and shred. I am currently studying in Buenos Aires, but I am heading west at the end of June. Planning on skiing until I have school down south in Valdivia at the end of August. I also have no set plans right now, but I am kind of just floating for two months. I am thinking about spending a week in Portillo, and I have all that fancy gear to tour with as well. I will keep you posted with my plans, its always good to have some gringos to travel and shred with.

Clarnitty- have you toured much in the south? I will be in Valdivia from August - December and I know there are some volcanoes down there, but I have yet to find any beta on skiing down there.

[CaliKid]

Definitely did that Subway to Ski Total slog a few times. Very crowded and strange looks as most that can afford to ski aren't taking public transit. Part of the whole experience though. If you're looking for an early start not the way to go but on the other hand they don't line up at 7am to go skiing like we do here.

As far as getting out of Santa Theresa that lower T-Bar is somewhat close. If you can get a dual ticket your life will be easier without a car shuttle. I only had EC and couldn't if my life depended on it hitch a ride in that direction so I decided to try my luck and sneak onto VN. Well that didn't work and after getting reprimanded at two lifts/t-bars, and only responding in Portuguese they gave up and let me hike/traverse to EC through their resort. Not something I would recommend. (I didn't have skins with me that day). When I was there EC they also had a 2 for 1 promotion going if somebody had movistar or another carrier (I can't exactly recall which one it was) that helped with the money situation.

If you are flexible you can call Portillo and get rates for only a few days. They will always say only week long reservations but when they are not at full capacity you can negotiate with them. If you are there for that long it is worth at least a weekend. Consequently I only did a day trip from Santiago.

[Cono Este]

I might be down with the farrellones cabin. I have alot of hookups down there to find cabins etc. Im deciding on whether im moving down there for a while pretty soon.

[tigertail]

CaliKid
In my opinion you have to leave the resorts to find good terrain. Never toured out of La Parva/VN except for a 1.5 hr hike from the top of La Parva but there looked to be some cool terrain that you could access.

Can you tour out of El Colorado or just VN/Parva?

clarnitty
Plus the city of Chillan is big and it's easy to get supplies there and then retreat back to the mountains. There are little Cabañas for rental in the tiny town of Las Trancas and generally if you time it right (morning) you can hitch up to the mountain and there are a couple of busses. I wouldn't say the terrain is super gnarly, but then again that's not really what Andean skiing in resorts is like....It's big though and there are volcanos and endless areas to explore around the areas--all of them.
Portillo is rad but unless you are staying there it is sort of a bitch to make it work daily. I hear they have a good visa work program though.

Remember I'm going to be there for 4 months, so I really don't want to spend more then $300 a month wherever I'm going to be staying. Right now I have a free place lined up in Santiago all summer, so it's going to be tough to beat that. Just out of curiosity though, how much would one of those Cabañas cost?
Anyone have more info on this or any other work visa programs? I thought about doing this earlier, but all the stuff I read said that I wan't likely to find a job at a ski resort. Where could I find more info on this?

JRainey
If you just want to get an el colorado pass, add like 30mins onto the skin time to get back to the bottom of cono este t-bar. You can traverse early and save yourself some hassles, but not all.

The stuff that's off the cono este t-bar is fun as fuck though, by far the best inbounds terrain in the santiago resorts that I had access too. And it's south facing (opposite down there) so the snow says pretty good.

This is somewhat encouraging. I do have a good skin setup so I don't think I'd mind skining back to the lift that much.

JRainey
Where are you planning on living though. I was living in santiago and it was a total pain in the ass to get up to the ski areas everyday. From providencia, the municipality 2nd closest to the mountains, it was a slog...

This sounds like hell. I'm going to be there with a friend for a lot of the time, who is also skiing, but I'll probably need another way up a lot of the time. It's really $20 EVERY TRIP to El Colorado? That's half the price of a day pass. Is it discounted for season pass holders? Is there a way to take a bus to a place where you could hitch hike up? A bus that doesn't cost $20?

Yo Tigertail,
We will have to meet up and shred. I am currently studying in Buenos Aires, but I am heading west at the end of June. Planning on skiing until I have school down south in Valdivia at the end of August. I also have no set plans right now, but I am kind of just floating for two months. I am thinking about spending a week in Portillo, and I have all that fancy gear to tour with as well. I will keep you posted with my plans, its always good to have some gringos to travel and shred with.

For sure man, PM me and I'll give you my e-mail. I have been collecting gear for this trip, so I'm ready for pretty much anything. Do you know about any good places to tour?

Cono Este
I might be down with the farrellones cabin. I have alot of hookups down there to find cabins etc. Im deciding on whether im moving down there for a while pretty soon

Let me know man. If I can do it for $400 a month or less I would definitely consider it.

[JRainey]

This sounds like hell. I'm going to be there with a friend for a lot of the time, who is also skiing, but I'll probably need another way up a lot of the time. It's really $20 EVERY TRIP to El Colorado? That's half the price of a day pass. Is it discounted for season pass holders? Is there a way to take a bus to a place where you could hitch hike up? A bus that doesn't cost $20?


Let me know man. If I can do it for $400 a month or less I would definitely consider it.

That is really how much it cost to ride the shuttle everyday. You could try hitchhiking, but if you're staying anywhere close to downtown santiago your public transport problems will be triple what I had. Where you start hitching is at the very base of the mountains, a long way from the city center. You could find a place to stay closer to the spot where the road goes up, but thats one of the pricier places in the city.

As far as you budget goes, i was at around $400 a month not including skiing. I had a separate ski budget. If you share an apartment of something or you can stay free with someone, that's crucial. The next thing is don't buy your food at supermarkets, go to the big market downtown that all the farmers bring their shit to directly. Everything is half the price there vs. the supermarket. After you've gone to the market, make sure your cooking 90% of your own meals. Eating out in chile is just as expensive as the US and sometimes more son, ditto for drinking out. Maybe you can live on a $400 in the US, but I can't. So I didn't eat out. Luckily apartments are cheaper than in the US, jackson atleast :P.

My advise would be to set a $400 dollar a month budget for living, then set aside another $1000 or more for a skiing budget. You've got most of the summer so start earning.

Btw, prices drop once you get out of santiago, so if you were thinking about going south, this might be a consideration.

[Cono Este]

I would recommend going up mid week then returning to Santiago for the weekends. Its too much for a day trip. Carry a ton of food basics up in the beginning and what you save on transportation and eating in Santiago will pay for a room in Farrellones. Bring alot of books though, because there is nothigng else to do but ski and shovel snow up there.

[clarnitty]

Clarnitty- have you toured much in the south? I will be in Valdivia from August - December and I know there are some volcanoes down there, but I have yet to find any beta on skiing down there.

The furthest south I've been is Esquel in Argentina....My big goal for next summer is to ski Puyahue in Chile near Osorno (?) It's A HAUL, as in, you have to hire horses to carry your gear in....Not too many people have skied it. You can actually ski INTO the volcano. I know maggette Klar has done it so that's where all my beta comes from. The touring around Cerro Catedral in Argentina was phenomenal and if we had been a few weeks earlier (were there in October) it would have been even better. I'll be ski touring for all of September most likely.

[JHoback]

Yo Tigertail
I've probably seen you at the Bird....

Unless you're tied into something in Santiago, not sure that getting a season's pass at any of the areas around there would be that rad. If I was to spend 4 months somewhere skiing in Chile, it would probably be Nevados de Chillan (used to be Termas de Chillan). 250 km south of Santiago and TONS of touring options including hot springs. Plus the city of Chillan is big and it's easy to get supplies there and then retreat back to the mountains. There are little Cabañas for rental in the tiny town of Las Trancas and generally if you time it right (morning) you can hitch up to the mountain and there are a couple of busses. I wouldn't say the terrain is super gnarly, but then again that's not really what Andean skiing in resorts is like....It's big though and there are volcanos and endless areas to explore around the areas--all of them.


I work for CASA Tours and have had the privilege of skiing all the areas mentioned. Portillo is rad but unless you are staying there it is sort of a bitch to make it work daily. I hear they have a good visa work program though.

Arpa is the shit!!! My friend Anton and his dad own it...Definitely worth checking out while you're down there!

I've never skied South America, but I looked into it to spend a few months there. What I found out is that I would've been best off going to Nevados de Chillan as stated above.

[tigertail]

So, after looking into this more, I've decided that the only way I'm going to get a good amount of skiing in without a huge hassle is to buy a car while I'm down there. Like I said, I'm traveling with one other person so hopefully we can get one for about $3000 and spend $1500 each? Does this seem realistic?

So your $400 a month included rent? How much was your rent? What else did you spend on your ski budget besides travel to resorts? Did you have a seasons pass? Was this included in the $1000?

What are my chances of finding work down there at a ski resort? I can work in a ski shop, but I don't really have any teaching experience.

Also, Can you tour out of El Colorado? It seems like you would have to tour through the top of either La Parva or Valle Nevado, but will this be a problem? How much good touring can I do right around Santiago? I'm definitely going to do El Plomo before I come home.

[parker83]

Tiger tail. Sick. I'm coming over to santiago for a month to ride on the 5th July. We should try hook up make things easier on ourselves????

[rod9301]

Is cero catedral high enough to get good snow.any steep shots in the resort or in the backcountry?