September 5-6, 2007 Portillo, Chile

We left Stevens house about 9am and had a leisurely 2 hour drive to Portillo. It was a beautiful sunny day and we knew that the snow would be creamy. The ski resort is within a mile of the Chilean border station so you are close to the crest of the Andes. The final few miles before the resort are wide hairpin turns designed to accommodate the enormous number of trucks crossing the Andes here. It is supposedly the busiest crossing for commercial vehicles and when a snow storm arrives it can be closed for days. Just before arriving at the resort we see and drive under the Juncalillo quad chair numerous times. The ski resort is at 9450’ and the top lift will get you to 10,900’. Portillo is designed around clients arriving for a week with packages including lodging, lifts and meals. You can stay in Los Andes about 40minutes to the west for cheaper lodging and buy day tickets. That was our original plan, but we were able to get a 2 day package for $142 which included a room in the Inca Lodge - a dorm with 4 beds per room, 2 day lift ticket and 4 meals for Jill and me. These are the most spartan accommodations available at Portillo. The next upgrade is the same package in the Octagon Lodge for $286 or the same package in the main lodge for $720 a night. Our meals were served in the cafeteria with the employees, whereas the folks in the lodge eat in the dining room.

The Canadian ski team was here training and had part of one trail roped off in the morning while the slopes were still firm. The orientation of the resort has the sun hitting the slopes under the Laguna, Roca Jack and Juncalllo quad lifts in the morning, so these slopes corn up quickly and are the morning runs. The afternoon sun hits the opposite side of the valley. One of the unique things at Portillo is the “slingshot” lifts – Roca Jack, Condor and Las Vizcachas. These lifts are unique and, as Jill would learn, they can be dangerous. Below is a photo which gives you a rough idea of the lift. Picture a long bar with 4-5 short poma style platters attached to the bar. The bar is attached to a cable which is attached to a mechanism that travels uphill at a fast rate. The “slingshot” means that the mechanism alternates traveling uphill on 2 different tracks. One to five skiers/riders can hold onto the lift and then a liftee engages the cable, you zoom up the steep slope and then at the top is the tricky part. Rather then release the poma seat, you need to wait and allow the lift to stop, then the outside folks slide to the side, and the inside folks swivel their skis 90 degrees and shuffle to the side. O yeah, the place the lift stops at is neither wide nor flat. So unless you swivel your skis 90 degrees, you slide backwards on a very steep slope. Well, the worst happened to Jill at the top and she started sliding backwards, caught an edge, and began sliding on her back down the steep slope. I could only watch. She was able to get her skis below her and stopped about 50 yards down the slope near a catch fence. It was a scary slide, but it appeared that only the little finger on her right hand suffered any damage. Fast forward to our return to Seattle where her orthopedist found that she had ruptured a ligament in her hand… She had surgery on September 24 and now has a big cast and months of rehab once the cast is off. Probably would have been better if she broke it. OK back to skiing. Jill just shrugged off the fall and we continued to follow the sun and had a great day of spring skiing. Our last run of the day was down Lake Run which is an ungroomed slope with a steep pitch that deposits you onto Laguna del Inca. Then it’s a brief skate along the edge of the lake back to the ski area.

Although we had the cheapest room on the mountain, we could still enjoy all the facilities that the rich folks had available. We soaked in the big hot tub overlooking Laguna del Inca (just like in the magazine ads), attended a wine tasting, watched a movie in the theatre, used the internet and ate dinner in the cafeteria with the worker bees.

There may have been a dozen vehicles in the lot from day skiers so the lifts were really deserted. It was nearing the end of the season and the hotel was not crowded. The snow coverage was excellent. We spent another day cruising the slopes and then started our journey back across the Andes into Argentina. Portillo is a world famous resort that was fun for a couple of days, but you would have to do some touring to keep you amused for a week. The resort is above tree line so cloudy or snow days have limited visibility. The slingshot lifts are fast, but they require focus and riding them with 4 folks could be interesting. Once you get off the slingshot lifts you then traverse over rock ridges to descend chutes and slopes. The slopes accessed by these lifts are steep and natural avalanche paths (that’s why there aren’t lift towers) and in avy conditions those slopes can be closed. Once you cross over the Andes into Argentina, the terrain reminds you of crossing into eastern WA. The snow pack is smaller and things are definitely drier. Just as we were descending we caught another glimpse of Aconcagua (22,841’) in the distance.

Photo 1 Overview of Portillo, Inca Lodge is rectangular building with blue roof behind Octagon bldg with red roof
Photo 2 Roca Jack slingshot lift
Photo 3 Roca Jack lift, top of lift halfway up slope, can boot it to top of rock band