Chile's Ski Resorts

El Colorado - Farellones ski resort is made up of two ski areas (El Colorado and Farellones, the oldest ski hill in the country) is located 44km (27.3ft) east of Santiago 5km (3.1mi) above the Farellones village and is bordered by La Parva and Valle Nevado on either side. It has 19 ski lifts that give access to a very wide variety of alpine terrain of up to 1.090m (3.576ft) of vertical drop. The mountain has a cone-shaped peak from where you can ski 360 degrees around, finding a variety of runs with world-class, groomed corduroy that are well suited to beginners and there is an abundance of fantastic fall line  runs for intermediates, all while enjoying the amazing views offered over Santiago. On the eastern side of the ski resort there are steep pitches and a few chutes for advanced riders.

Portillo ski resort open in 1949, located in the Central Andes mountains of Chile. Some 160 km north west from Santiago. Its hotel sits at an elevation of 2.880m (9.450ft) above sea level, and the highest lift reaches 3.310m (10.860ft). The lowest lift loads at 2.548 m (8.360ft), yielding a vertical drop of 762 m (2.500ft). Ski Portillo has 35 named runs and 14 lifts. Portillo host the Alpine World Ski Championships in August 1966 and since become one of the principal destinations for ski racers to train during the northern hemisphere summer and hosts many national ski teams.

Valle Nevado ski resort was open in 1988 which made it one of the newer ski resort in Chile with 17 lifts that reach as high as 3.670m(12.040ft) with some of the runs going down to as low as 2.700m (8.860ft) a vertical that offers a great variety and an extensive terrain of well-groomed runs as well easy access to some demanding steep off-piste. It also hosts several restaurants and hotels. Its basically located behind El Colorado and La Parva ski resorts.Season July to September

La Parva ski resort was open by French immigrants in 1953 is located at 2,750 meters above sea level, amidst the Andes Mountain Range at 38km (23.6mi) from Santiago. La Parva has a beautiful view to the valley of Santiago and it count with great variety of refuges, apartments and restaurants in town as in the hill, which reach the 3.630m (11.910ft) and count with 40 main runs that offers a wide variety of very well groomed terrain, the longest up to 4km (2.5mi) long and 15 ski lifts, that give you access to a vertical drop of up to 960m (3.150ft) and  some easily accessed off-piste terrain.

Ski Arpa Cat ski is located some 108km (67mi) north of Santiago is one of the couple of cat ski operations in the country and its all about unbelievable vistas, unbelievable amounts of vertical and unbelievable snow. But believe it! The two valleys of Ski Arpa — Valle el Arpa and Valle la Honda—are unlike anywhere in the world. At the summit you will see east to Cerro Aconcagua, the highest peak of the Americas, and west to the Pacific.

Nevados de Chillan ski resort was formerly known as Termas de Chillan is located at the base of the active Volcan Chillan (Chillan Nuevo and Chillan Viejo), 82km (50.9mi) east of the city of Chillan which 400km (248.5mi) south of Santiago.  Nevados de Chillan is reasonably large and has significant vertical between the base at 1.540m (5.052ft) and the top lift at 2.400m (7.874ft). Plus, the name might have changed, but it’s still renowned for the natural hot springs (termas) where you can soothe tired muscles. Nevados de Chillán has a spread of terrain for all ability levels from beginners to experts. The terrain includes long groomed cruisers and off-piste runs on open slopes. Volcanic eruptions and rivers of lava (none of them recent!) have left behind some really interesting bowls, gullies and natural half pipes. Unlike Chilean resorts further north, there is also some tree skiing (when the snow conditions are very good), which provides the advantage of affording visibility and protection in inclement weather.