Corralco, Chile, Report: Oh, the Sun Does Still Exist

Report from Thursday, August 6, 2026

Oh, the sun does still exist in Chile. I kind of forgot.

It’s been raining and snowing hard for the past seven days, each day since I arrived. 

My skin has gotten a lot paler, and my legs are already much stronger from ski touring and breaking trail every day. 

No complaints, though.

But today we were reminded that the sun does shine south of the equator, in the Southern Zone, the land of fire and ice and frozen volcanoes. 

Lonquimay. 

Near the little Andean town of Malalcahuello, this is the volcano where Corralco Resort resides.

“It’s a ski area that packs a punch is why I like it,” Jimmy Ackerson, General Manager of Corralco, told me as he sipped his afternoon coffee after skiing. 

Ackerson first came to Chile in 1978 at the age of 19, where his love for the geography and the people slowly evolved into a life pursuing snow and building Chile’s tourism industry. 

He spent 20 years working at Portillo and another 10 as Valle Nevado’s GM before coming to Corralco. 

Chilean wife, kids, full-time residency, and illustrious industry career along the way. 

You should see the light in this man’s eye when he talks about his ski area…

We got on the first chair at Corralco at 8:30 a.m. with our gaze on the summit of Lonquimay. 

A beautiful gal who’s always got everybody’s eyes on her.

She’s no stranger to it. 

We took the old double-chair up, and I sat next to Chaz, a snowboard racer from India who was there training with the Korean national team.

He plans to be the first snowboarder from India to be in the Olympics, he told me. 

The sun that was incognito for the past week (month?) was clearly brightening everyone’s mood. 

Chaz and I parted ways, and APEX Backcountry Guide Forrest and client Noah and I donned skins and started moving upwards. 

2 friendly Chileans followed our drift. 

I haven’t met a single Chilean here that hasn’t been friendly, in all honesty. 

We toured up past the Cumbra t-bar, where crews were dangling like frosted spider monkeys from the icy cables they were prepping. 

They didn’t pay us any mind.

We continued skinning for the summit. 

To the south you could see 4 other volcanoes spaced out across the horizon, a line of cosmic pimples poking out far above the face of the world. 

Soon it was bootpack and crampons territory.

The wind picked up. 

First it kissed us. 

Then it nibbled. 

Then it was biting hard. 

Then it was downright abusive. 

Like a bad relationship you know you need out of but can’t seem to let go. 

We went as far as made sense before it was too painful. 

We were just at the cliff band, 500 meters (1,640 feet) below the summit, when the wind was borderline tipping us over on the peak’s steep slopes. 

Time to go the other way.  

Down. 

Fast. 

Smooth.

Powder. 

Yum.

The snow was suave down the wide open bowl that was like a tunnel with the ceiling cut off. 

We enjoyed about 20 centimeters of packed, soft snow and the absence of howling wind.

We enjoyed it like pigs rolling in shit. 

The line skied without hiccups. 

We got down to the t-bar at Corralco, sun miraculously still shining and not robbed by clouds yet, so we kept on skiing. 

Later I had a big plato del dia lunch with tender steak, creamy mashed potatoes, lemon salad, a ripe banana, and a sweet pineapple drink. 

I met some more friendly Chileans who were genuinely content with life. 

I love Chile, man…

Then I snuck in a couple more powder laps on the t-bar before I had to meet with Jimmy, which were smooth as could be in the fresh snow.

Vitamin D coursing through my veins, knowing it wouldn’t be long until the storms return.

Make hay while the sun shines and enjoy it while it lasts. 

Best not to take for granted the sun rays, the hospitable people you meet, the good food and drink, and certainly not the soft powder snow. 

You’ll never be here again. 

Not in this moment. 

It’s for this reason that our finite lives as humans are beautiful. 

Because we are doomed. 

But it’s hard to even think about that word at Corralco. 

Not when the sun is shining. 😉 

Photos