Ski Portillo, Chile

Portillo is the oldest ski area in South America. Its enviable Andes Mountain location just two hours northeast of Santiago, one big yellow hotel, one big beautiful ski mountain, lack of commercial distractions, and Saturday to Saturday all-inclusive hotel plan, make the Portillo skiing and resort experience unlike that of any other commercial ski resort. The ski season runs from June to October, with discounts available at the beginning and the end of the season.

Santiago is the capital and largest city of Chile, boasting a metropolitan population in the area of seven million people. The international airport is one of the busiest in Latin America, with around twenty international airlines servicing this airport. There is shuttle service available on Saturdays and private transfers are available every day.

Since there is no town surrounding this international resort destination, your ski week in Portillo is one free of commercial expansion and distractions. The mountain is free of crowds and some of the hotel features include a classic main dining room and cozy bar, fitness room, yoga room, heated pool and hot tub, sauna, massages, game room and climbing wall, full court gymnasium, and a cinema.

The terrain is best characterized as having open powder fields, steep powder runs, tight chutes, long groomed trails and gentle wide beginner slopes. The mountain base and hotel sit at 8,195 and 9,350 feet respectively, and the highest lift served ski point is 10,859 feet. The area receives an average annual snowfall of around 300 inches and experiences 80% sunny days. Fourteen lifts service the 19 slopes and 35 runs. At Portillo, all of the 35 runs are groomed nightly and there is also extensive skiing on unpacked runs and off piste. The bowls and shoots perfectly collect the light, dry snow and with such a low weekly guest capacity, guests don’t have to worry about getting up at first light to get first tracks. In-boundary terrain is rated at 15 beginner, 30% intermediate, 30% advanced, and 25% expert.

Heli-skiing is offered for access to fresh powder snow in the mountains that surround the resort. At elevations of up to 14,000 feet, runs average 2,400 vertical feet, with some around 4,000 vertical feet. Heli-skiing around Portillo is characterized by alpine bowls, couloirs, and big mountain faces.

For alternative skiing and snowboarding, visit Chile’s Three Valleys ski region, located just south of Portillo ski resort. There, you'll find three lift-linked resorts and the most ski-able terrain in South America.

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