Ski Chile, South America
Ski Chile at some of the great ski resorts perched up high in the Andes Mountains. Snowboarding and skiing in Chile can be combined with soaking in the views of the majestic mountains and enjoying the interesting culture that has a rich history. You can speak Spanish or Spanglish to your heart’s content, eat dinner late in the evening, go dancing into the wee hours, and you might get away with having an après ski siesta. And as part of the culture of skiing in Chile, only the super keen powder hounds are up early for first lifts. Fantástico!
Other than the skiing and snowboarding, Chile is also renowned for its weird shape – the long skinny country that spans 4,300km / 2,672 miles along the coast of South America and is 18 times longer than its widest point. It’s the land of startling diversity with regards to its geography and climate. From hot arid deserts in the north, to the chilly (OK, pun intended!) expanses of Patagonia in the south, it’s definitely the land of contrasts.
Chile Ski Resorts
There are about 17 ski resorts in Chile, located in the southern half of the country. You can check out the
Chile ski resorts page for a summary of the main areas and resort statistics.
Many North Americans go skiing in Chile and just go the highest profile ski resorts of Portillo and Valle Nevado where there are good options for all-inclusive Chile ski packages, yet there are plenty of other options to get off the beaten track as you venture further away from Santiago.
The most northern Chile ski resort is
Portillo, which is 164km/102 miles northeast of Santiago, and not far from the border of Argentina. Portillo ski resort is world renowned, and is recognized in photos by the distinctive yellow Hotel Portillo set amongst the magnificent backdrop of the snow covered Andes.
Other high profile skiing in Chile is at the Three Valleys (
Tres Valles) near Santiago at the modern and massive world class
Valle Nevado, and the interconnected
La Parva,
El Colorado and
Farellones ski resorts. To the southeast of Santiago is little Lagunillas, a non-commercial ski resort that takes Chile skiing back to its roots. Nearby is Chapa Verde, 145km/90 miles from Santiago.
Further south, the Chile snowboarding and skiing is on volcanoes, some of which are smokin’!
About five hours south of Santiago near Chillan is
Nevados de Chillan, a hot springs resort that sits on two active volcanoes. We’ve rated Nevados de Chillan as offering the best skiing in Chile for powder hounds, plus other accolades.
Corralco Ski Resort on the Lonquimay Volcano is not very busy, despite it having a fancy hotel at the base, and we’ve rated it as one of the top skiing Chile destinations for powder hounds.
Further south is the small family resort of
Pillan (formerly Ski Pucon) on the Villarica Volcano. With unreliable lift operations, it’s mostly attractive for its backcountry touring to see the lava lake in the crater.
Other southern ski resorts in Chile include
Antillanca (adjacent to
Bariloche in Argentina), and Antuco, Llaima (Ski Araucarias), and El Fraile. And way down south is the Cerro Mirador Resort. These southern ski resorts in Chile don’t tend to be well suited to the expert skier or boarder.
Ski/Snowboard Chile - Characteristics
As a generalization, the lift systems at the Chile ski resorts are generally not very good, especially when compared to high profile
USA ski resorts and
skiing in Canada. Undertake a good pre-season fitness regime, as your quads won’t get much rest on all those surface tows (although they will get a long rest on the slow chairlifts). The ski resorts nearer to Santiago have acceptable lift and facility infrastructure, whilst the more southern resorts have less infrastructure on offer. The upside of the lack of glitz is the lower cost.
The Andes is the second highest mountain range in the world, and it’s still rising. The summit of Aconcagua which is only 15km from the border of Chile, sits at 6,950 metres (22,841 feet). Thankfully the ski resorts aren’t as high, but those around Santiago still rise to around 3,650 metres (about 12,000 feet). These elevations are fantastic for the views and snow quality, but are not quite so good for those susceptible to
altitude sickness.
These northern Chile ski resorts are above the tree line, and as you move further south the elevations are lower which affords some tree skiing opportunities. Average annual snowfalls are generally around the 7 metre/23 ft mark, except for
Nevados de Chillan that receives a bountiful 10 metres/33ft annually. The snowpack is coastal, so it’s reasonably stable, and considering the cool temperatures, the powder is reasonably dry. That being said, the Chile ski resorts sometimes also suffer from horrendously icy conditions.
The weather can be very kind and provide lots of sunny days, but considering that many of the resorts are very exposed, nasty weather can close the resorts and access roads for days at a time. This may put a quick dampener on your Chile ski vacation, but when the bluebird day arrives you’ll forget about it and enjoy skiing bliss once again.
Backcountry Skiing Chile
There are plenty of options for lift assisted backcountry skiing and snowboarding in Chile.
Portillo is renowned for its steep chutes that are beyond the resort boundaries. The
Tres Valles ski resorts also provide some great backcountry lines that use the lifts plus road pick-ups.
Nevados de Chillan Ski Resort is also a popular starting point for ski touring and splitboarding.
In spring, the volcanoes further south become the main objectives for backcountry touring.
You can check out the
Chile backcountry tours here.
Mechanized backcountry skiing in Chile is also possible, with options for sled skiing with
Dos Tiempos which is within easy reach of Santiago,
heli skiing, and cat skiing at
Ski Arpa north of Santiago.
When is the Ski Season in Chile?
Chile is a great place to have a winter vacation in summer (of course this only works for those who live in the Northern Hemisphere!), or a winter vacation in winter! The Chile ski season begins in mid-June and runs to October. However the best snow conditions in Chile are generally mid July to early September, but the busy Chile holidays are during mid July which are best to avoid.
Ski Chile Packages
Several ski resorts in Chile offer ski and stay packages, however some of them only offer ski weeks (7 nights) or mini ski weeks (3 or 4 nights) such as
Portillo ski packages and
Valle Nevado ski packages.
Most Chile ski packages include lodging, half or full board, lift tickets, transport to/from the airport, and some like the Hotel Portillo offer free child care as part of the package. Some of the resorts have many facilities that are included in the package like swimming pools, hot tubs/jacuzzis, hot springs, cinemas, gymnasium, yoga classes & more.
Powderhounds also offers some multi-resort packages (that are not hosted or guided) that enable you to stay at a couple of different resorts and/or add a day or 2 of snowcat skiing or heli skiing.
Check out the list of
Chile ski & stay packages and what they offer.
Ski Chile Tours - Fully Hosted & Guided
A great way to go snowboarding or skiing in Chile is to go on a guided and hosted multi-resort tour (aka ski/snowboard safari).
On a Chile ski tour, the guides look after any language issues and transport requirements, and they know the terrain intimately so you get to ski or ride the best lines in the best snow with your safety being paramount.
You don't need to be an expert or advanced rider (although some tours are specifically for advanced to experts) as there are some intermediate trips available, and some tours incorporate instruction or coaching.
See the
Chile ski tours listings for more information. For tour dates and an indication of availability, check out the
South America ski tours schedule page.