Pisco for breakfast. Hot-tubbing with the ever-elusive Brazilian ski bunny. Suffice it to say that if you’re planning to take on the South American ski season this year, you better be prepared. So here’s a sneak peek at everything new and worth knowing about south of the equator. Well, almost everything.
Meet Ski Portillo. Actually, wait. You know Ski Portillo. It’s only South America’s oldest and highest ski resort. And turns out, they’re in the chalet game now. Yeah. They just built five new ones with prime views of Lake Inca and room for eight people. So... definitely enough room for two people.
There’s still plenty of untouched territory in Argentina. And you’re about to fix that. By heading to Chapelco’s just-opened back bowls. You’ll have three hours to explore endless off-piste runs with a local patroller and mountain guide by your side. Something about “imminent danger” and “not getting incredibly lost.”
You’re at Cerro Castor. You’ve crashed. You’re miles away from the nearest base and being circled by the wrong kind of cougars. This new iPhone app should help. It’ll summon the ski patrol with an emergency GPS signal. It’s also got condition reports and trail info and whatnot. For... later.
Getting to the highest peak of Cerro Bayo isn’t easy. Well, wasn’t, anyway. Because now all you have to do is climb into the resort’s newly christened gondola and ride comfortably to the top. Oh, and that gondola. It also opened up 460 acres of new terrain. Thanks, that gondola.
Nordic cross-country skiing on a just-opened eight-kilometer track surrounded by inappropriately beautiful valleys. We figured that was something you should at least know is possible now. And if you feel like giving it a shot, the Termas de Chillan resort will set that up for you. BYO spandex onesie.
