Skiing in South America - Chile & Argentina Guide

Summer Skiing in the Andes

For skiers in the Northern Hemisphere, South America is the answer to a recurring summer frustration: eight months between ski seasons. Chile and Argentina together form the world's premier summer skiing destination, with resorts in the Andes operating from late June through early October and offering conditions that rival the best of the European and North American Alps. The season peaks in late July and August, when the Andean snowpack is at its deepest and temperatures are cold enough to preserve light, dry snow.

South American ski terrain varies from the big, high-altitude resort skiing of Valle Nevado and Las Leñas to the intimate, historic atmosphere of Portillo and the urban convenience of Cerro Catedral above the lakeside city of Bariloche. The Andes also deliver dramatic, volcanic landscapes - the smoking cone of Villarrica above Pucón in Chile, or the jagged granite towers of the Fitz Roy range visible on clear days from Bariloche - that make skiing here a genuinely distinctive visual experience. Browse South American ski destinations on the SkiPlnr resort map or visit the South America ski region page.

Portillo - Chile's Legendary Resort

Portillo is to South American skiing what Zermatt is to European skiing: a name that carries weight far beyond its actual size. The resort sits at 2,880 m in the Andes, 160 km north of Santiago and just 5 km from the Argentine border. It covers only 35 km of piste with a vertical drop of 760 m and 14 lifts - modest numbers that tell almost nothing about the resort's character. Portillo's glory lies in its iconic Hotel Portillo, an orange lake-side building that has been at the centre of Andean skiing since 1949, and in its extraordinary terrain quality: steep, wide, consequential runs that demand proper skiing technique and reward it generously.

The Roca Jack lift - a slingshot surface lift that catapults skiers up an extreme gradient - is Portillo's signature and a rite of passage. The run below it (the Roca Jack itself) is steep, fast, and unforgiving, and is regularly cited by skiing professionals and racers - Portillo has hosted every major ski team's pre-season training camp - as one of the great runs in world skiing. The hotel's all-inclusive operation (accommodation, meals, and lift passes combined) and its policy of limiting capacity mean Portillo is genuinely uncrowded even in peak season.

Portillo's off-piste terrain is exceptional. The Super C couloir and the Garganta chutes are expert-only undertakings requiring proper avalanche equipment and a guide - see our avalanche safety guide for the full picture. But even the resort's marked terrain demands respect: thin air at 2,880 m (roughly 73 per cent of sea-level oxygen) affects skiing performance significantly, and altitude sickness is a genuine concern for arriving skiers.

Valle Nevado - Chile's Mega-Resort

Valle Nevado is Chile's largest ski resort - a purpose-built, high-altitude resort 46 km from Santiago in the Andes. The resort sits between 2,860 m and 3,670 m and covers 93 km of piste with a vertical drop of 820 m. Together with its neighbours El Colorado and La Parva (collectively known as the Tres Valles), Valle Nevado forms a combined domain of approximately 175 km of piste - the largest in South America.

The resort's high altitude guarantees reliable snow and cold temperatures throughout the July–September season, and the terrain leans advanced - Valle Nevado is a red and black resort with limited beginner terrain. The off-piste opportunities are vast, with heli-skiing operations running through the wider Andes terrain accessible from the resort. Santiago, Chile's sophisticated capital, is just over an hour by road, making Valle Nevado an excellent candidate for a ski trip combined with urban cultural exploration. Direct flights from multiple European and North American cities make Santiago (SCL) one of the easiest South American entry points.

Cerro Catedral - Patagonia's Ski Hub

Cerro Catedral, the ski resort above Bariloche in Argentina's Patagonian lake district, is the largest ski resort in South America. The mountain covers 100+ km of piste with a vertical drop of 1,070 m - remarkable for a southern hemisphere resort - and its base station at 1,030 m is served by an 11 km gondola from the city of Bariloche. The resort's cathedral-shaped granite rock formations give it its name, and on clear days the view from the summit - across Nahuel Huapi Lake to the distant Fitz Roy range - is one of the great ski panoramas anywhere.

Bariloche is a major attraction in its own right: a Swiss-influenced city of 130,000 people on the shore of Nahuel Huapi Lake, with an outstanding chocolate and craft beer culture, extensive boat and trekking infrastructure, and year-round appeal. Staying in Bariloche and commuting to Catedral is the standard approach, and the variety of Bariloche's accommodation and restaurant scene far exceeds what most ski resort villages offer. Served by its own airport (BRC) with connections to Buenos Aires, Bariloche is accessible and well-connected.

Las Leñas - Argentina's Expert Mountain

Las Leñas is Argentina's most demanding ski resort and one of the great expert mountains of the Southern Hemisphere. Located in the Mendoza province, 450 km south of Mendoza city, it sits in a remote, isolated valley with a base at 2,240 m and summit at 3,430 m. The vertical drop of 1,190 m is one of the largest in the Americas, and the terrain is relentlessly steep - approximately 60 per cent of the 60+ km of piste is rated black or double black.

What makes Las Leñas legendary is the off-piste. The Marte lift gives access to a bowl system of vast, steep, uncrowded couloirs and powder fields that, in a good year, hold untracked snow for days after a storm. Professional skiers and snowboarders have been filming in Las Leñas since the 1990s, and footage from the Marte area - deep, steep, cold-smoke powder with the jagged Andes in the background - is routinely some of the most spectacular in annual ski film productions. Las Leñas is not suitable for beginners or most intermediates. For experts willing to make the somewhat complex journey (fly to Mendoza, then 5+ hours by road), it is a once-in-a-skiing-lifetime experience.

Chapelco - Family Skiing in Patagonia

Chapelco sits above San Martín de los Andes, a charming Patagonian town in the Neuquén province of Argentina. The resort covers 29 km of piste with a 730 m vertical drop and is the most family-friendly of Argentina's major ski resorts. The terrain is well-balanced across ability levels, the ski school has excellent children's programmes, and the town of San Martín - a genuine Andean community with good restaurants and a slower pace than Bariloche - is an appealing base for a family ski holiday.

Chapelco's forest skiing is a particular pleasure: the mountain's beech forests create sheltered, beautiful terrain that holds snow well and provides character unlike the open, windswept pistes of higher-altitude Andean resorts. The resort is on the Ikon Pass, making it accessible to Ikon holders alongside its more famous neighbour, Cerro Catedral. San Martín de los Andes is served by Chapelco Airport (CPC) with connections to Buenos Aires.

South American Ski Resorts - Comparison Table

Planning Your South American Ski Trip

The South American ski season runs from late June to early October, with peak conditions in late July and August. Santiago (SCL) is the hub for Chilean resorts; Buenos Aires (EZE or AEP) for Argentine resorts. Both cities have extensive direct flight connections from North America and Europe. Allow at least a day in Santiago or Buenos Aires before heading to altitude - even Santiago's airport at 474 m gives you a partial acclimatisation day before reaching resort elevations of 2,800+ m.

Budget carefully: while Argentina's peso has weakened substantially against hard currencies in recent years (making Argentine resorts excellent value), Chile is more expensive and resort costs at Portillo and Valle Nevado are comparable to mid-range European or North American resorts. Equipment hire is widely available at all major resorts; review our ski boot sizing guide before renting to ensure you get a proper fit. For summer skiing in other regions, Japan also offers Southern Hemisphere summer skiing in limited quantities - see our guide to skiing in Japan for details.