by Armand Gutierrez, President

Last month I fulfilled a long-time desire to ski in Chile, in particular the Valle Nevado ski resort located just 2-hours outside of Santiago. The FWSA Chile trip had been in the works for about five years and finally came to fruition.  

Getting There

There were 52 participants from various ski clubs and the group was divided into two groups: those on the SFO-MIA-SCL flight (layover in Miami), and those on the LAX-SCL (non-stop) flight. Unfortunately, the LAX-SCL flight experienced engine trouble just two hours into the flight and had to return to LAX and the group had to spend the night. Meanwhile, the SFO flight arrived in Miami with a 6-hour layover and then continuing on to Santiago and arriving the next day early in the morning. I was on that flight, and I didn’t mind the layover since it gave everyone time to relax, have dinner, and then board an early morning flight to Santiago. Our group arrived on schedule on a wet and rainy Friday morning, and the other group arrived on Saturday morning and missed a day of skiing.

The bus ride to Valle Nevado was one for the books that consisted of a steep, uphill climb, on a narrow road with 41 switchbacks and numerous cars/buses going uphill and downhill. And to make it more exciting the weather changed from raining to lightly snowing as we gained elevation to 10K and the Puerta del Sol Hotel.

Skiing Valle Nevado/La Parva

Valle Nevado and La Parva are interconnected and both offer great skiing. Valle Nevado has 5 chairlifts, 1 gondola, and 7 Poma lifts, and La Parva has 5 chairlifts and 9 Pomas. Now, I’m not a big fan of Pomas, especially long and steep ones so I stuck with the more comfortable rides up the mountain. However, there was one Poma that we had to take at La Parva in order to return to Valle Nevado.

Both Valle Nevado and La Parva are above tree level and reminiscent of skiing in Europe, so there were plenty of groomed runs and a number of off-piste runs to play with. The wide-open, off-piste runs bore the tell-tail signs of good powder skiing earlier in the week, but by the time we arrived those runs were typical of heavy and hard to turn powder runs that you find at Lake Tahoe. I did find a few off-piste runs that weren’t groomed with mild bumps.

Since our group arrived on Friday we had the option of skiing six days, and that was a first for me. By the fourth day my legs were telling me that they didn’t want to ski. But, I overruled them and it showed in my form (what form?). As my ski buddy used to say: “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

There are two dining areas on the Valle Nevado slopes for dining and restroom breaks. Baja Zero was by far the most popular and just right off the Andes Express lift. The Gondola Cantina is located at the base of the gondola and also provided a variety of food to eat, plus bathrooms. Baja Zero offered inside and outside dining, while the Gondola Cantina only offered outdoor dining. La Parva offered a single lodge with outdoor dining only. One other important item: skiing the backside of the mountain does not offer any lodges or bathrooms, so it is necessary to plan where you’re going skiing.

Some Final Thoughts

Valle Nevado is a destination ski resort given the location atop an isolated mountain, a two-hour drive up a winding road that is subject to closures due to weather, and only two hotels and a number of condos/apartments. Also, there is no village for shopping and dining, only a mini-mart with very limited food items.

There is a clinic for emergency injuries and I did see a helicopter on a helipad, but not sure if that was for medevacs. Entrance to the ski area is next to the Puerta del Sol hotel, and at the end of the day it’s necessary to take a slow beginner lift to return to the lodging area.

The Puerta del Sol hotel includes a gift shop (clothing and souvenirs), rental shop, and a locker room. Our meal plan included a buffet breakfast and dinner, and dinners where either at the restaurants in Puerta del Sol or Tres Puntes hotels. Lift tickets were also included, and there was a discount for Ikon Pass holders.

Valle Nevado can be skied in three days, and La Parva in two days, so a week of skiing is just about right. Skiing Chile was a worthwhile experience.