Ski Chile 2024 sputter sputter

[Casey E]

So all the enthusiasm of last year, an almost normal one, has been vanquished by the announcements of an impending La Niña. While it may be early for June-Sept predictions, the signs are there:

Sorry, not able to post pics....

For general Chile ski info not related to current conditions, see https://bit.ly/Chileskiguide
Although a bit outdated in some of the posts, the mountains haven´t changed much.

[Ted26]

Do areas farther south such as Osorno and Bariloche usually fair poorly as well during La Niña conditions?

[byates1]

It begins. Another year another Casey e thread! So cool!

[Casey E]

Here we go, the infamous plume plunges



A big swing to cool waters is a common post-Nino phenomena. This will likely affect the precipitation for the winter, but with a possible exception. So the Chilean forecast is:



Drier, cooler mornings, warmer afternoons. Swings like this can be disastrous, select historic ones:



The 1998 La Niña is the only year in memory that La Parva didn’t open. The driest and the wettest years (Chile avg):




The recent trend is disheartening



Thus the sputter.

Could be colder storms than last year, tho. So there is that. Oh, and it might snow this weekend….

[SpeLunker]

oh boy. Was planning on leaving my job and apartment at the end of june and spending the next 3 months skiing in Chile....

[Casey E]

Do areas farther south such as Osorno and Bariloche usually fair poorly as well during La Niña conditions?

Very unpredictable, the freezing level is most important in the south, as there it always precipitates a lot even in dry years.

[possum]

Looks like first snow in Portillo today per their IG. I’m going back in August.

[halliday]

Good thread timing. Im planning a customer visit to the mines later in the summer.

[Casey E]

First dusting Valle Nevado

[Casey E]

La Parva joins Valle Nevado under the Mountain Capital Partners umbrella:

https://dfmas.df.cl/df-mas/coffee-br...-leonidas-vial

“Mountain Capital Partners, con sede en Durango, Colorado, posee 14 centros de esquí en distintos países. “

“Entre sus valores, consignan en su página web: “Enfocamos nuestro negocio de forma diferente. Cuando algunas estaciones deciden cerrar, nosotros permanecemos abiertos. Mientras algunas estaciones eligen las mismas fechas de apertura y cierre año tras año, nosotros nos esforzamos por ser los primeros en abrir y los últimos en cerrar. Nos sentimos cómodos tomando decisiones difíciles, especialmente cuando esas decisiones apoyan el propósito de nuestra empresa: dar a la gente la libertad de esquiar”.

Who could argue with that blurb? “First to open, last to close” is a welcome change. Inter-ski area passes too, in the past this was very difficult.

[Casey E]

A wee bit more than just a dusting



Kinda hazy but that is 50 km of the Central Andes, from the Vespucio bridge over the Mapocho River. In the foreground is construction of an eastern piece of the Mapocho bike path, which will follow the river thru downtown to western Santiago, for 42km.

And Cerro La Parva to El Cono on the left, with La Parva and El Colorado towns at the snow line:

[yeahman]

Going to watch how the season unfolds down there. Maybe this will be the year I ski South America. Thanks for the updates Casey.

[Buster Highmen]

From: https://psl.noaa.gov/map/clim/sst.shtml

[raisingarizona13]

I think if we have learned anything from the last few years is that the expected, statistical norms in regards to weather patterns is kind of off the table now.

[kamtron]

In the PNW the el nino/la nina effect is not that big, statistically. Not sure what that means for Chile. I would still plan a trip down if I could!

[Casey E]

Now that’s a pretty sight



The Araucanía has been getting the most precipitation in Chile so far, proportionally, and a lot more than last year. It just has to start falling as snow, as that fcst says. Maybe Corralco will be the first to open, as they like to boast.

[Casey E]

Chillan looking frosty

[comish]

Sweet. I think Mini Comish will be spending 2 weeks in Coralco in August with his new ski team. Jealous!

It's been almost 20 years since I have been down there during the winter of '05.

[Djongo Unchained]

I'm a firm believer in the enso phenom but I have to say the past 4 seasons here in JH have been less than perfect in expected performance.
Usually an El Nino is dryer for us and La Nina tends to be wetter and snowy.

We just had 3 La ninas in a row and then an El nino this last season.
Normal woulda been 3 fat seasons and 1 skinny one. Instead it went fat21, justok22, fat23, good24.
This past season's El nino started out worse than I've ever seen for Dec. but bounced back through a few solid storm cycles and a decent flow mid-winter.

2 knockout cycles, one to get us off the base and one to pull us over the finish line with tons of coverage left.
More snow here now in late april than usual. Like winter waited an extra month, then lollygagged late for a month.

Hopefully your el Nino will work out for the better.

It occurs to me that a Mag meetup in Chile could be pretty rad. Hmmmmmm.

[yeahman]

It occurs to me that a Mag meetup in Chile could be pretty rad. Hmmmmmm.

I'm in.

[emma__watson]

holi - if anyone is down here, I would love to link and chat skiing! i'm out of Santiago at the moment

[Casey E]

A clobbering in the making.

[Casey E]

Food for thought

[Casey E]

Piling up in Corralco

[Casey E]

The volcanos appeared today