Ski Portillo, Chile, Closing Day 2024, Report: Is it 2025 Yet?

Report from September 21-22, 2024

Ski Portillo is just over two hours from the Santiago Airport. Although bus, private driver, and helicopter transfers are available, we opted for a rental car.

The drive through the foothills was full of vineyards, which made for a great halfway stop. Once in the valley, traffic started to slow behind trucks traveling through the closest route to Argentina—a road that, according to Ski Portillo’s Operations Manager Michael Rogan, carries up to 40% of Chile’s trade.

We were able to pass the trucks before slowing ourselves up the 29 hairpin curves that make the route up to Ski Portillo.

On arrival, the view of the hotel was breathtaking, with the surrounding Andes, Laguna del Inca, and Aconcagua, the tallest mountain in South America at 22,837 feet, towering in the background. We quickly checked into the resort to catch a proper Chilean sunset under clear skies.

A golden hour welcomed us to the resort.

We then proceeded to eat in the Main Dining Room. Guests of the Inca Lodge have four meals daily included at the self-service cafetería. Guests of the Octagon lodge, Hotel Portillo, and chalets all have their four meals included in The Hotel Portillo dining room. The three-course meal was incredible: soup, tuna, and tiramisu, a Portillo favorite.

The legendary Portillo Bar sits next to the dining room, where live music plays every evening. It is maintained with architecture from when the original hotel finished construction in 1949 after starting eight years earlier. After spending the rest of the evening here, it was time to sleep before the impending closing day snowstorm.

Day 2

We awoke to high winds and light snow. This gave us enough time to enjoy breakfast in the cafeteria and explore the hotel.

The walls are filled with signatures from legendary skiers/racers who have been coming to train at Portillo during North American summers for decades. We passed signed posters from Lindsey Vonn, Mikaela Shiffrin, Aleksander Kilde, and Shane McConkey.

Complete with an outdoor hot tub and heated pool area, library, reading room, cinema, discotheque, gym, basketball court, rock climbing wall, sauna, game room, and child daycare, we hoped we would get snowed in. And we might have spoken too soon—wind/snowfall continued to increase, leading to all lifts being placed on hold—which is rare for Portillo.

This gave us enough time to sit down with the resort operations manager, Michael Rogan. He had worked at the resort since 1989 when the Purcell family provided room and board and a plane ticket he worked off over the season for him to come down and instruct at age 19. Despite being at the resort for 34 seasons, he still feels like a rookie compared to the tenure of key employees.

The resort has remained in the family and was purchased from the Chilean government by Robert (Bob – Tío Bob’s) Purcell of New York in 1961. Bob’s nephew Henry Purcell, a graduate of Cornell’s restaurant management school, took over operations and continues to own the all-inclusive resort.

We even met Henry’s son, Miguel Purcell, who runs the resort as general manager and humbly greets guests as family in the lobby upon arrival. Without Rogan’s input, we would have never known that Miguel represented the Chilean alpine skiing team at the 1984 Sarajevo Olympics or summited K2, among his many accomplishments.

Rogan continued talking about the generous Purcell family, who continue to house employees on-site and provide them with four meals daily, including the important siesta meal. Today, he spends his North American summers running operations at Portillo and winters instructing at Heavenly.

We spoke about the 2024 season, including his highlights. The season started in late June with a massive five-meter (16 feet) snowstorm, leaving the road impassible for two weeks. This large storm left plenty of snow for the dry season, which allowed the windy mountain road to be passable for guests throughout the season.

When guests wanted to skip the road, he remembered a day when the on-site helicopter made 10 trips down to Santiago to bring them up. He also hosted some of the top skiers in the world including Marco Odermatt who reached skiing speeds of 135 kilometers per hour (84 mph).

Once the hour passed, a few lifts began to open despite low visibility. The snowfall had picked up, and the wind had died down. The border crossing to Argentina had already closed that morning at 6 a.m. We lapped Las Lomas chair with about 4” of fresh snow before we decided it was now or a two-day wait—which we would have preferred except for a 9 p.m. flight back north. Over the next few days, the border was expected to remain closed as a meter (three-foot) storm passed through.

We slowly made our way down the snow-covered switchbacks, following a Gendarmerie truck back to Santiago.

Despite the limited skiing during our short stay at Portillo, we cannot wait to return and explore the legendary slopes, including the famous exit to Lake Run.

Thank you, Mike and Ski Portillo; we can’t wait to return in 2025!

Ski Portillo, located in the Chilean Andes near the border with Argentina, is one of the most iconic and historic ski resorts in South America. The hotel sits at around 9,450 feet and offers breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains and the picturesque Laguna del Inca. Known for its world-class skiing conditions, Portillo is especially favored for its dry powder, challenging slopes, and limited visitors. Its runs cater to a wide range of skill levels, from beginners to seasoned experts, with notable terrain like the Roca Jack lift.

The Resort spans a skiable area of over 1,200 acres, with 35 named runs, a vertical drop of 2,660 feet from an elevation of 10,860 feet at the summit, 14 lifts, and an average annual snowfall of 300” providing excellent powder conditions throughout the season, which runs from June to September. Typically, Brazilians come in July, North Americans in August, and Chileans in September, which aligns with their national holiday week, although Rogan noted more North Americans are beginning to come in late July. With a lift capacity of 4,500 skiers per hour and a hotel capacity of ~450, Portillo maintains a low skier density, allowing guests to enjoy wide-open runs and short lift lines, contributing to its exclusive, uncrowded atmosphere.

The history of Ski Portillo dates back to the 1940s, when a group of European engineers, initially focused on building a railroad connecting Chile and Argentina, recognized the region’s potential as a ski destination. One of its most historic moments came in 1966 when it hosted the Alpine Ski World Championships, the first and only time the event had been held in South America.

Today, Ski Portillo remains a family-owned resort, maintaining its classic charm with a single iconic yellow hotel that houses most guests. Its unique all-inclusive model creates a close-knit, intimate environment for visitors who come for the skiing and the resort’s welcoming atmosphere and rich history. The limited number of accommodations ensures a peaceful, communal experience, focusing on relaxation and off-piste adventure, making it a top destination for skiers seeking a blend of thrilling mountain runs and serene natural beauty.

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