Portillo chile
Review of snowboarding and skiing in Portillo Chile.
Portillo Ski Holiday Facts
Established in 1949 the Chilean ski resort Portillo lies at 2972 metres altitude in the ? region of the Chilean Andes. With the highest lifts and ski slopes at 3109m Portillo ski area is snow sure. Over 50 snow cannons ensure artificial Portillo snow making covers ?km of ski trails, which equates to around 50 of the ski slopes. The nearest airport transfer to Portillo (Chile) is Santiago at a distance of 160km or approximately ? minutes driving time. Portillo ski season runs from June to October.
SNO-man says
Chile's original resort and important in world skiing, hosting numerous international events including the 1966 World Championships. People began sk iing from the Argentina-Chile railway line in 1890. Virtually all of the resort's accommodation and activities concentrated in the huge hotel complex. Today there's one employee for every guest resulting in high service standards. The resort offers easy and intermediate groomed slopes plus some of the toughest skiing in the southern hemisphere, with heliskiing an option, giving views of the Western Hemisphere's highest mountain - Aconcagua.
alpine downhill runs to ski in Portillo Chile
Beginner Trails
 ? runs ?km |
?% |
Intermediate Trails
 ? runs ?km |
?% |
Advanced Trails
 ? runs ?km |
?% |
Expert Trails
 ? runs ?km |
?% |
Portillo Resort & Holiday Info
| Beginners learning to ski |  |
| Intermediate Skiers | |
| Expert Skiers | |
| Snowboarders | |
| Apres Ski | |
| Family friendly | |
| Snowsure | |
| Ambience | |
| Value for money | |
| Ski Pass Prices (adult 6 day) | Chillean 150000 - Chillean 198000 |
Traditional Ski Village / Purpose Built Ski Resort |
| Ski Resort Opens | Jun 2012 |
| Ski Resort Closes | Oct 2013 |
| (snow conditions often influence resort opening & closing) |
Ski Area Portillo Mountain
| Downhill Ski Runs | 22km |
| total length of Portillo trails |
| Longest lift serve Run | 3.4km |
| longest piste or trail reachable by ski lift |
| Ski Slope Orientation | S, N |
| direction Portillo ski areas face |
| Top Altitude | 3109m |
| top station of highest ski lift |
| Bottom Altitude | 2560m |
| bottom of lowest ski run |
| Resort Altitude | 2972m |
| centre of Portillo ski resort |
| Vertical Drop | 762m |
| total descent from top lift to bottom piste |
| Skiable Vertical | ^v 762m |
| can include extra hike up which may be possible above top lift - stat used by some resorts to con us about true "vertical drop" which is lift-served |
Skiing in Portillo
Skiing Portillo you'll enjoy 34 pistes and trails and that means approximately 22km of ski runs. Portillo lifts number 12 with the capacity to uplift 11000 skiers up the mountain per hour. The longest ski run in the Chilean ski resort of Portillo is over 3.4km long.
Portillo Ski Area
Portillo ski area has ?% beginner ski runs or nursery slopes, ?% intermediate, ?% advanced ski slopes and ?% for expert skiers - the most difficult Portillo piste is the ?km Roca Jack run, with a steepness/slope angle of ?%. You can't ski Portillo after dark.
Portillo for skiing gets 4 stars out of 5 overall
Portillo Apres Ski
The apres ski Portillo scene and off-slope or "non-skier" activities include:
2 apres ski bars 3 restaurants 0 bowling 1 night club 1 cinema 1 billiards / pool 1 games room 0 concert 0 indoor swimming 1 outdoor heated pools 1 saunas 1 hot tubs 0 solariums 0 masseurs 0 indoor ice skating 0 outdoor ice skating 1 indoor sports centre 0 indoor tennis 0 squash racquetball 0 sleigh rides 0 ballooning 0 horse riding 0 prepare winter walks 1 climbing 0 golf 0 fishing 0 museum 0 library Plus these additional apres ski facilities Aerobics, Basketball, Beauty Parlour, Board Games, Climbing, Internet Cafe, Heliskiing, Kids Entertainment Live Entertainment, Pool, Stretching, Volleyball, Weight Room.
SNO-man says
Portillo has been designed for easy socializing and fun with all kinds of entertainment, activities and facilities to keep guests entertained after a day on the snow. The welcome cocktail party on a Sunday night will keep you informed on everything thats happening during your stay and all the facilities on offer. Michael Rogan, Ski School Director and member of the US demo team usually gives a ski talk every Sunday evening too.
Portillo's facilities include something for everyone. The emphasis is very much on relaxation and well-being with regular aerobic and yoga classes. The fitness centre includes gymnasium with weights and theres an outdoor heated pool. A sauna and massage are an excellent therapy to relax tired muscles and the beauty parlour is the perfect place for extreme self indulgence.
The Living Room's comfy old couches make a great place to hang out, whether reading, playing chess or just enjoying a lazy afternoon by the fireside. The cinema has videos for most tastes and The Bar features live music and bands every night, the sun deck is a social centre and theres the cyber café, equipped with 9 computers, so you can check out your photos, surf the net or send a few e-mails. Letters and postcards to North America and Europe take from 5 days to a week by airmail.
The swimming pool is an afternoon must while the Games Room attracts those who enjoy pool, ping pong and electronic games. Afternoon kids' games are organised and led by entertainment staff. The Disco is the venue for classical music videos and the ski school do their video analysis there too.
The weekly torchlit descent is followed by dinner, live music in the Bar and a Goodbye Disco which is sometimes fancy dress so its worth packing a fun costume.
Portillo for apres ski gets 4 stars out of 5 overall
More Portillo Snow Ski Area and Resort Information
Portillo resort - ski Portillo by any other name
The Chilean ski resort of Portillo ski resort is also known as Portillo and has the following common misspellings:
Portillo ski area has ski slopes which face S, N
The direction which the various Portillo ski slopes face can make or break your skiing or snowboarding holiday. If you want to guarantee good snow and ski conditions, you should choose a resort with ski slopes which face the right way for the time of year you're travelling.
- In the coldest winter months of January and February you need a ski resort with some sunny south facing ski slopes, so your days on the snow doesn't feel like a polar expedition. Conversely, in the warmest spring skiing months of March and especially April, a ski resort with some cool and shady north facing slopes will ensure you're not skiing on slush, but benefitting from best late season snow. The best ski resorts have ski areas and slopes which face in all directions so that you're guaranteed greating skiing whatever the weather. Portillo ski resort has ski slopes facing S, N.
Portillo for snow gets 4 stars out of 5 overall
Portillo reviews, 4 star rating and resort and ski area information is collated by SNO man from staff experience and customer feedback.