Ski Chile 2022

[Casey E]

Santiago from astro fotógrafo Roberto Antezana

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid...27323289564664

[Casey E]

I'm looking into travelling down to Chile in September for 2 weeks to Ski some volcanoes around Pucon. Does anyone have any experience planning a similar trip? We are only planning on bringing touring gear and not going with any guided companies. We would be flying from the U.S.

You will need a car, better to get a higher one with good traction. You can then choose your objectives without worrying about someone else driving you. Many places to stay in Pucon, and the Rio Trancura basin has 4 volcanoes to choose from, with several more within 2-3 hours. Check out the chile ski guide here: https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...of-my-envelope


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[Casey E]

Arriving back in Chile today the views were of a classic temperature inversion. Lots of snow and sun further north of Santiago where the Andes are relatively high and wide:



The upper slopes of the Central Andes foothills, just north of where Central Valley begins, were crispy clear right up to the Aconcagua across the divide. That is the Putaendo River snaking up, and Portillo and Arpa would be off to the right:



We took a turn and got a view of the Central Valley smog:




And as the plane dipped into that muck, we got a quick look at about 100km of the Andes:

Red marks the 3 Valleys.




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[Casey E]

Corralco is full preparation mode

Nice tracks up in there if you zoom in



https://www.facebook.com/10006965605...703832429/?d=n

And Antillanca will have a limited opening, or “marcha blanca” this weekend:

https://www.nevasport.com/chile/art/...fin-de-semana/

$10,000 pesos a ticket!


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[Casey E]

Antillanca delayed opening due to rain, which will be a factor in coming days as well. But high up, more snow is coming.



http://www.meteochile.gob.cl/PortalDMC-web/index.xhtml

Osorno looked like it had good cover Thursday





https://www.facebook.com/vnosorno/ph...020770/?type=3

[Casey E]

The heat will be on for the next few days

[Casey E]

From Laguna del Maule this weekend, courtesy Slava

Looking North west from above the aduana, with Cerro Azul and V Descabezado Grande


And north east, cerro Campanario



Good base it would appear

[raisingarizona13]

It's going off in New Zealand apparently.

[MakersTeleMark]

I've gotten very cynical over the years, but I kinda wanna slay the shit out of that all by myself.

[SnowMachine]

Chile is quickly climbing my bucket list!!

[Casey E]

News from Nevasport

“Valle Nevado Pospone apertura por falta de nieve” no longer opening 17/06

“Portillo adelanta su apertura para el 18 de Junio” only Plateau side

“Parques de Farellones inaugura su temporada 2022” for kiddies cheap thrills

https://www.nevasport.cl/

Minor chance of snow over the next week in the Central zone. Webcams today

Portillo



La Parva



Valle Nevado



Low, flat and north facing slopes are not skiable. High, steep, and south facing ones could be skiable.


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[Casey E]

More news on change of management for V Villarrica, 30 years of Andacor are coming up:

“El Ministerio de Bienes Nacionales adjudicó la concesión del centro de ski Pucón, que se ubica en el Parque Nacional Villarrica a la sociedad Andacor S.A. propietaria y gestora del Centro de Ski El Colorado y Parques de Montaña Farellones.”

Or
“The Ministry of National Assets awarded the concession for the Pucón ski center, which is located in the Villarrica National Park, to the company Andacor S.A. owner and manager of the El Colorado Ski Center and Farellones Mountain Parks.”

However,
“The current situation of the infrastructure and the lifts, together with certain administrative procedures unrelated to our company and, additionally, the time required to implement our quality and safety standards, led us to make the decision not to operate this winter.”

Guess that means the snowmobiles will take over the access to the volcano this year, IF the road is maintained beyond the turnoff to the Cuevas Volcanicas, some 10km before the ski area. Otherwise, everyone will have to start somewhere near the Cuevas, which is somewhat restrictive.

https://www.nevasport.com/chile/art/...ximos-30-anos/

They project opening the concession for the summer season in December.


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[Casey E]

Finally, something is appearing on the horizon for next week

[abcdethan]

More news on change of management for V Villarrica, 30 years of Andacor are coming up:

“El Ministerio de Bienes Nacionales adjudicó la concesión del centro de ski Pucón, que se ubica en el Parque Nacional Villarrica a la sociedad Andacor S.A. propietaria y gestora del Centro de Ski El Colorado y Parques de Montaña Farellones.”

Or
“The Ministry of National Assets awarded the concession for the Pucón ski center, which is located in the Villarrica National Park, to the company Andacor S.A. owner and manager of the El Colorado Ski Center and Farellones Mountain Parks.”

However,
“The current situation of the infrastructure and the lifts, together with certain administrative procedures unrelated to our company and, additionally, the time required to implement our quality and safety standards, led us to make the decision not to operate this winter.”

Guess that means the snowmobiles will take over the access to the volcano this year, IF the road is maintained beyond the turnoff to the Cuevas Volcanicas, some 10km before the ski area. Otherwise, everyone will have to start somewhere near the Cuevas, which is somewhat restrictive.

https://www.nevasport.com/chile/art/62496/andacor-controlara-el-centro-de-ski-pucon-los-proximos-30-anos/

They project opening the concession for the summer season in December.


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Thank you for the thread. Based on past trip reports and the two guidebooks that I picked up, finding a good reliable car rental capable for driving in snow is pretty important. Do you have updated links to good car rental places for AWD vehicles with chains? We would be flying into Temuco and staying in Malalcahuello and Pucon. For some volcanoes like Osorno, and now Villarica if the resort is closed, you need to register with the guardaparques if you are ascending without a Chilean guide, correct?

[Casey E]

Thank you for the thread. Based on past trip reports and the two guidebooks that I picked up, finding a good reliable car rental capable for driving in snow is pretty important. Do you have updated links to good car rental places for AWD vehicles with chains? We would be flying into Temuco and staying in Malalcahuello and Pucon. For some volcanoes like Osorno, and now Villarica if the resort is closed, you need to register with the guardaparques if you are ascending without a Chilean guide, correct?

Your best bet is to first check the Temuco airport car rentals, like Budget, Avis, Mitta and other local companies. I have had good experience there, but never had to rent a mountain vehicle as such.

On the Villarrica volcano, the word from the vulcanists is “respecto de los niveles de estabilidad volcánica y del peligro asociado a las explosiones menores dentro del perímetro del cráter, se mantiene la Alerta Temprana Preventiva para las comunas de Villarrica, Pucón y Curarrehue en la Región de La Araucanía y para la comuna de Panguipulli en la Región de Los Ríos, por actividad del volcán Villarrica, que se encuentra vigente desde el 23 de abril de 2021.

Asimismo, conforme a los antecedentes técnicos proporcionados por SERNAGEOMIN, el Sistema Nacional de Prevención y Respuesta ante Desastres (SINAPRED), recomienda mantener preventivamente restricciones al acceso en torno al cráter activo con un radio de 300 metros.”

https://www.onemi.gov.cl/alerta/moni...os-rios-por-a/

But that 300m recommended crater restriction would unlikely be your problem. Controls are pretty non-existent, and tourist traffic steady. Conaf doesn’t have the resources.

Osorno would seem to be closed for everyone due to instability of the ice. How they enforce that I dunno, but probably not smart to go too high.


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[abcdethan]

Osorno would seem to be closed for everyone due to instability of the ice. How they enforce that I dunno, but probably not smart to go too high.

Like Rime ice at the top? It looks like a beautiful mountain and at the top of my list.

[Casey E]

Like Rime ice at the top? It looks like a beautiful mountain and at the top of my list.

It seems the restriction is variable according to stability of rock and ice near the top, in particular when snow cover is low. Osorno has a long history of accidents and rescues, but with Conaf resources as they are, actual controls are rare. It is the boys at https://socorroandinochile.cl/wp/ that have to rescue people and request restrictions. You are supposed to register with them, but that would not be enforced either. Go for it with care.

[byates1]

If you were to fly down for a season and buy a van to live in then sell a few months later, is there an iKon style pass to hit various areas? Would you be buying passes at each one?

Great thread as always. Thx!

[Casey E]

If you were to fly down for a season and buy a van to live in then sell a few months later, is there an iKon style pass to hit various areas? Would you be buying passes at each one?

Great thread as always. Thx!

This kind of pass does not exist in Chile (Ikon is good for Valle Nevado tho), but there are are low season discounts, and special discounts with telcos, credit cards, 2x1, etc as well. Sometimes not well publicized, but usually evident at the resort ticket booths. Tickets can be had for $30-$50 in the south in general, without discounts now. Dollar at $860 pesos, lucky yanks.


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[Casey E]

This years rules for weekend and high season travels on the Santiago - Farellones road





And there is optimism for the free ride crowd




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[kamtron]

In 2019 Fall I was able to rent a Subaru crosstrek from Salfarent at the Temuco airport, which worked great for a volcano roadtrip.
Echoing Casey's suggestion that you check which phone company has offers at the resorts you want to ski. Movistar and Entel are the biggest ones. You will probably want to buy a phone card for any longer trip anyway, and those can double as your in on discounts.

Edit to add:
Chains you can often get in the town you'll need them. The rental companies generally don't give you chains, I think for liability reasons. And registering with the CONAF is usually not worth it unless they catch you gearing up to climb. It just adds a bunch of paperwork and annoyance.

[Casey E]

In 2019 Fall I was able to rent a Subaru crosstrek from Salfarent at the Temuco airport, which worked great for a volcano roadtrip.
Echoing Casey's suggestion that you check which phone company has offers at the resorts you want to ski. Movistar and Entel are the biggest ones. You will probably want to buy a phone card for any longer trip anyway, and those can double as your in on discounts.

Edit to add:
Chains you can often get in the town you'll need them. The rental companies generally don't give you chains, I think for liability reasons. And registering with the CONAF is usually not worth it unless they catch you gearing up to climb. It just adds a bunch of paperwork and annoyance.

For chains, ask at the rental desk, but they are not that easily bought or rented in smaller towns, or away from ski areas. That said, with a 4x4 or AWD you probably won’t need them either, unless you have to show them to a cop on the ski area approach, and in that case there should be dudes looking to make a fast buck, renting them (not necessarily useful ones…).

If needed, you could probably buy them at the Easy store in Temuco

https://www.easy.cl/cadena%2520nieve%2520?map=ft

And do get a SIM card, very useful for maps, traffic, and all that other good stuff. Coverage in the mountains is patchy tho.


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[Casey E]

For a quick fix, new gear, or other skiing needs, Miguel Ángel the pro skiman is working the winter in Santiago

https://www.google.com/search?q=ski+...d:CgIgAQ%3D%3D

Fixes skins, edges, bindings and so on, selling Black Crow and G3.






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[Casey E]

A couple recent pics from Llaima/Lonquimay courtesy of Slava





That ended in this



Said “ It looks like the first wave of the coming storm has passed here overnight, rained a lot around the cabin, almost no visibility and very wet snow near the Corralco road. Lonquimay melted at the bottom, the middle part has perfect coverage, and all snow is either windblown or avalanched at the top.”

Sounds about right for this time of year. Will get cold and keep dumping for a few more days.

[Casey E]

Finally started snowing in the central zone



Plateau chair is running.

La parva needs a good dump



But a once-a-month-storm does not a season make. This one should end tonight. We’ll see if next week another front blows in, and the season can start.

School holidays are starting early this year (June 29) and were extended for 3 weeks. All due to the pediatric wards being flooded with sick kids, from Covid and other bugs that had been on hold for 2 years.