Valle Nevado
Valle Nevado Chile Review
Valle Nevado ski resort in Chile can be summed up as “sometimes deep, generally not steep, and definitely not cheap”.
Valle Nevado is one of the best
Chile ski resorts. It has very well developed skiing infrastructure (by South American standards!) and is the grandest of the resorts. Valle Nevado unashamedly caters to the well heeled local and international ski market. This is definitely not the place to ski on a shoestring, but you pay for the quality that you get including huge
ski terrain, reasonable chair lifts and good service (sometimes!).
Valle Nevado (pronounced va-ye nevado) loosely translates to “snowy valley”. It’s definitely snowy with an average of 7.1 metres of snowfall annually. The top of the resort is at a soaring 3,658 metres above sea level, but it sits amidst peaks that are 6,000 metres high, so it seems reasonable to say that the ski resort is in a “valley”. Considering that the resort sits at dizzying heights, the air is a little thin. However the views amongst the Andes are spectacular, only marred by the towering hotels at the resort base and the occasional smog problem over nearby
Santiago.
Ski and Snowboard Terrain
The
skiing and boarding area at Valle Nevado is vast to say the least. With treeless terrain, only 12 lifts and 102 trails spread across the large area, the number of potential off-piste lines is infinite. And then there are the backcountry possibilities. Valle Nevado is also interlinked with the ski resorts of
La Parva and
El Colorado (and Farellones), and with a multi-resort lift ticket this adds another 1,421 hectares of fun.
Valle Nevado is largely an intermediate ski hill. It has lots of cruisy wide-open groomed runs appropriate for the intermediate skier and boarder. There are also slopes for beginners, mellow pitched off-piste areas for advanced riders, and a couple of steeper bowls and chutes to challenge the experienced rider. The resort also has a terrain park.
The high elevation of the resort ensures reasonable snow conditions and there is also snow-making to top up the cover. Powder days can be epic thanks to the Valle Nevado phenomenon whereby the abundant snow is often dumped (or blown) upon the resort, even if neighbouring resorts only receive a few inches.
Modern fast chair lifts are pretty rare for a
ski South America experience, so Valle Nevado prides itself on having a detachable quad chair. This is accompanied by a few other chair lifts as well as surface lifts that are required for the sometimes windy conditions.
Where is Valle Nevado?
Valle Nevado is located high in the Andes Mountains of Chile, only 67km from
Santiago. From the Santiago international airport you can
hire a car and self-drive, or alternatively there are various ground transportation options. The drive takes about an hour and half because the road up the mountain has multiple hairpin switchbacks and is slow going. The scary road makes some of the New Zealand ski resort roads look like modern highways. Of course this is all part of a
ski Chile adventure!
Valle Nevado Accommodation
There is no town at the resort but rather a “village” that consists of three hotels, two condominium buildings and a few restaurants. The flagship hotel is the ski-in ski-out Hotel Valle Nevado where you can hope for 5-star pampering, and
Hotel Puerto del Sol is also rather classy. Staying at Valle Nevado does not come cheaply but the
Valle Nevado hotel accommodation packages have many inclusions such as lift tickets, breakfast, dinner and access to quality facilities.
Valle Nevado accommodation is generally arranged in full weeks or mini-weeks.
Other options are to stay at nearby
La Parva,
El Colorado or
Farellones hotels.
Valle Nevado Communication and Service
In case your Spanish language skills are not fantastic, there are various staff around the resort who can speak reasonable English. However the majority of staff do not speak English so there will be some situations where Spanglish will need to be used. Guests are predominantly South American and there’s a smattering of gringos, but don’t expect to find a traditional South American culture at Valle Nevado. It’s somewhat hidden under the swankiness of the resort.
The resort rates themselves as having 5 star service but perhaps this rating is a bit generous. The only thing consistent about the service at Valle Nevado is the inconsistency. Some staff provide exceptional service whilst some staff chastise you or ignore you. The service is also lacking in regards to reliable communication about road, run and inter-resort link closures which can be rather frustrating for guests.
Why Ski or Snowboard at Valle Nevado?
If your budget isn’t a concern then Valle Nevado has plenty to offer including huge terrain and quality facilities. And if all that terrain is not enough for you, there’s always
heli skiing that operates directly from the base village. You can do just one run or as many as your thighs or dinero will allow. Valle Nevado - Arriba! Arriba!
Travel Agents & Tour Operators
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Santiago Adventures - Santiago Chile
SA is an English speaking travel company based in Santiago with a particular passion for skiing. They can organise package for you to all of Chile's top ski resorts as well as cat skiing & heli skiing tours.
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