subject: Portillo; Arguably The Best Ski Resort In Chile! [print this page] Although it is very compact at only 500 hectares in size, Portillo it is arguably the best of the Chile ski resorts.
The resort base is 10,000 feet (just over 3,000 metres) above sea level and consists of a big yellow historic hotel (and a few other smaller accommodations) located in a valley overlooking a magnificent lake (laguna) with lifts accessing the steep walls of the valley either side of the hotel.
Its piste terrain consists of some of the steepest pitches you will find anywhere in the world yet it has some fabulous intermediate and beginner runs in the valley. For the more adventurous and extreme skier and boarder there is a huge amount of backcountry terrain which is easily accessible by a traverse or a short walk. When the lake is frozen you can literally ski right down onto the lake and walk back across the lake to the lifts.
Some of the expert runs are so steep and avalanche prone that they are serviced by the unique "va et vient" lifts (aka slingshot), which are like 4 to 5 person poma lifts, but much more efficient. They also have standard chair lifts and other surface tows.
On-mountain accommodation is limited and even the budget options are still relatively expensive. Packages are all inclusive of accommodation, lift tickets and 3 to 4 meals a day and all are pretty much ski-in ski-out. If you are staying in the infamous Portillo Hotel, expect to be totally spoilt as there is nearly one staff member to every guest. The rooms aren"t much to write home about, comfortable and clean but far from 5 stars; however the food is to die for. After a day of skiing the place to hang out for aprs is the beautiful heated pool which looks up the valley across the laguna. The hotel is a self-contained resort with its own bars & nightlife, entertainment, kids activities, child minding ski valet and much, much more.
Portillo is located amidst the high Andes peaks including nearby Aconcagua (the highest peak on the continent) on the boarder of Chile and Argentina, about 100 miles (164 km) northeast of Santiago. It is about a 2 to 3 hour drive from Santiago via quant Chilean villages and the trip up the mountain provides spectacular scenery. The road is very well maintained as it is one of only a few major routes between Chile and Argentina. Literally thousands of trucks pas through the border each day making the trip up and down the mountain painfully slow at times. From the Santiago airport, there are shuttles that operate on Saturdays and other private transport operators for other days. Alternatively you can hire a car and self-drive. The road to Portillo is sometimes closed during and after storms, so you might need to have contingency plans.
If you are going to ski in Chile, you should definitely check out Portillo as a destination.
