Lifts & Terrain
Nevados de Chillan Ski and Snowboard TerrainThe ski and snowboard terrain at
Nevados de Chillan is fabulous. It's the best in Chile. The lower quarter of the mountain has the best beginner terrain in Chile, and Termas de Chillan (or Nevados de Chillan - whichever you want to call it) also has very interesting terrain for advanced and expert skiers. This is not a standard mountain with a front face that has uninterrupted runs with perfect fall line and no cambre. Sure there are some areas with wide-open terrain, but in the top half of the ski area, volcanic eruptions and rivers of lava have left lots of mounds, mini bowls, natural half pipes, steep pitches, and drop-offs. Nevados de Chillan has a plethora of playgrounds in which to explore.
The trail map of the ski area, if you can find one, is tiny. It folds down to 2x2 inches and really understates the magnitude of the terrain. Nevados de Chillan claims they have 25,000 acres (10,177 hectares) of ski terrain but this statistic must include the backcountry area. Other sources report the terrain to be 3,000 hectares (ie a little bit smaller than
Whistler) but this is also an exaggeration. Nevados de Chillan is big, but not that big! There are obviously inconsistencies in the way the skiable terrain is measured, a common phenomenon in Chile.
Nevertheless Nevados de Chillan can make some legitimate claims regarding its size. It has the longest run in South America, the 13km long Las Tres Marias, and the biggest vertical drop in Chile. It has the longest chair lift, the Don Otto, with a length of 2,500 metres covering a vertical ascent of 700 metres. Don’t be too impressed though, as the lift is painfully slow. It takes 21 minutes to get to the top! There’s a big screen at the top of the chairlift that looks like it belongs at a drive-in cinema. It’s a shame that they don’t show movies, as it would help pass the time.
Another statistic that the resort can lay claim to is that it receives the most snowfall in South America (although it has to share this claim with Pucon Villarica). Thankfully for powderhounds, even when it's busy, it doesn't feel busy. And with a high proportion of beginner and intermediate skiers, there are plenty of fresh tracks on offer in the more challenging parts of the mountain.
Unlike the ski resorts near Santiago, some of terrain at Nevados de Chillan is below the tree line. However tree skiing fiends shouldn't get too excited. The snow quality on the lower quarter of the mountain is often not conducive to off-piste skiing, and in many areas the spooky trees adorned with green hair are either too close together, or have too much undergrowth. However in the right snow conditions and with some exploring, a little bit of tree skiing can be found.
Lifts
The lifts at
Nevados de Chillan are a major downside to the resort and are in complete contrast to the Gran Hotel of Termas de Chillan. The hotel has 5 star service and amenities, whilst the lifts are 2 star or even 1 star. Of the 12 antique lifts, 5 are painfully slow chair lifts. The others are surface lifts which are handy in windy conditions when some of the chairs have to close. Sometimes the Don Otto lift off-loads at the mid station if it's too windy at the top.
The El Chueco poma lift is a lowlight of the ski resort. Most pomas buck a little bit, but this lift bucks you twice and the second thrust is big enough to “kick” and leave bruises between the legs. It makes for a great spectator sport, but it’s not so funny when you’re the one being damaged!
Lift Tickets
For day trippers, lift passes cost $29.000 for an adult (13 years and above) and $21.000 for a child (6-12 years of age) (2009 rates). Half day tickets are also available.
Lift tickets are included in all on-mountain accommodation packages and are provided each morning. The
Gran Hotel doesn’t seem to understand that powderhounds might be itching to get first lifts on a powder day, as we experienced that tickets weren’t available until about 9:30am. However powderhounds can probably relax as many people are just venturing out of bed at this time of day, and there are plenty of freshies to share around.
Nevados de Chillan Snow and Weather Conditions
Snow is bountiful at Termas de Chillan. Like other
South American ski resorts, the quality of the snow is inconsistent. Sometimes the powder is dry whilst at other times it can be rather wet. The resort is further south than those around Santiago, but the top elevation is about 1,000 metres lower. With 1,097 metres of vertical, the snow conditions in the lower parts of the resort can be poor. At these low elevations it sometimes rains, or the snow can be sloppy or icy. Hopefully the beginners that hang out in this area won’t care that the snow is much better at the top of the mountain.
Nevados de Chillan commonly suffers from windy conditions. The obvious downsides of this are that your face may get cold, lifts may close, and the snow becomes wind affected. However on the upside, the wind creates additional terrain features with undulations and cornices, and there are always windblown powder stashes to explore.
Keep an eye out for the occasional “hole” in the snow created by the steam rising from the fumaroles. Alternatively keep a nose out for the stinky sulphur!
For the Beginner
The beginners’ areas at Nevados de Chillan are absolutely fabulous. They are spread across the lower quarter of the mountain, and below the tree line they are well protected from any inclement weather. From all three hub areas there are slopes suitable for complete novices. The easiest of these is the handle-tow near the Gran Hotel although it’s not marked on the trail map. The slope off the El Bosque chair is also very gentle.
More confident beginners can play on the trails that weave their way down from the main hub area to the accommodations and the bottom chair lift.
Intermediate Ski and Snowboard Terrain
Both the blue and red runs are appropriate for intermediate riders. Some of the blue runs are wide groomers that are great for cruising or racing, and there are plenty of places to pop off the side for an off-piste experiment in the powder. However on low visibility days, intermediates should not venture off the trails from the El Pillin lift or they might inadvertently jump (or fall!) off a small cornice.
The super long Tres Marias run is a great way to zip down the full vertical of the resort on a narrow-ish trail, but you’d probably only do it once a day because the slow lifts required to return to the top are too much to bear.
Terrain for the Family and Kids
The beginners' areas are located close to the accommodations or the hubs, which provides a degree of security for the little tackers. The beginners’ areas are generally devoid of fast skiers so kids can learn in peace, but the disadvantage of the terrain layout is that family members of differing abilities can’t ski together.
For young children there is the Jardin de Nieve (snow garden), a very gentle area for them to play on skis.
For The Shredder
A terrain park was an addition to the ski resort in 2008. It’s near the top of the ski area so surface lifts are required to access it. When the powderhounds visited in 2009, the park was closed for no obvious reason. Like other South American ski resorts, there is no pipe, although there are stacks of narrow gullies that act as half-pipes. There are also lots of other natural terrain features for freestylers.
Advanced Skiing Nevados de Chillan
Nevados de Chillan has incredibly interesting and challenging terrain. Some of the best advanced ski and board terrain is off the long Don Otto lift. If you don’t want to be challenged too much, off load at the mid-station and play in the bowls and gullies either side of the lift. From the top of the lift there are more challenging lines. In this treeless terrain you can just spot a line that takes your fancy.
The trails that fan out on the skiers’ right from the top lift (El Fresco) and El Pillin provide a smorgasbord of lines in which to play. Snowboarders will need to keep up plenty of speed on the traverses. Another disadvantage is that the snow on this side of the hill may be more wind affected than that around Don Otto.
With a bit of exploration in the gullies and on a cold day, a degree of tree skiing can be found.
Expert Ski and Snowboard Terrain
Experts will be very happy playing on some challenging lines off the Don Otto lift. If the wind’s been howling there is plenty of cornice fun to be had, and there are some very steep but short pitches hiding around the resort.
For the Powderhound
The in-bounds terrain will provide plenty of freshies all day, but there are also various backcountry opportunities. To the left of the Don Otto chair, out of bounds terrain can easily be reached without hiking. The many lines end up in a narrow gully that returns to the in-bounds area. If you’ve got energy to burn, a climb to Volcan Chillan is also possible. As with all backcountry skiing, check with patrol regarding the conditions and take the usual precautions and safety equipment.
The resort also runs cat skiing programs ranging from 1.5 to 4 hours in duration. These are very reasonably priced with a maximum price of $Ch60,000 (convert here). Cat skiing is held in the alpine terrain above the Don Otto chair, so the operation is very weather dependent.