Portillo Packed Powder

Continuing from the last entry, Portillo Ski was kind enough to invite the surfingchile.blogspot.com up for a weekend on the slopes,
while staying in the Inca Lodge.

First things first
the Snow

Packed powder, beautiful long runs, almost no one else there, let alone crowds.
Clear blue skies, good fast Poma lifts, and tows on the very steep and challenging runs that Portillo is famous for.

The Inca Lagoon was completely covered in snow, normally you can always see at least some of the water, and it's big, it's beautiful, and you can see it from just about anywhere, except the Juncalillo runs that go below the level of the hotel.

Both days were fantastic, cutting through the packed powder, unlike anything.

Apres ski was the heated outdoor pool, dinner, then hot tub, drinks and live music in the bar, partying it up in the disco.

Definitely a fantastic trip, and a top recommend for skiing in June, July, August, and September

Portillo Ski Season 2008

This last weekend I was invited by Portillo for a weekend of snowboarding.

I had never experienced the Portillo hotel experience and I must say, very different from the day trip.

Service is great, everyone on the staff ends up recognizing the guests, and its a rare trait these days. On the lifts, you just let them know you're with the hotel and you feel a little extra special treatment even here. For instance, they'll only need to see you ski pass once, and they'll remember for the length of your stay.

We left a grey and cloudy Santiago to arrive to the perfect blue skies of the Portillo area. There had been a very heavy snowfall the previous Friday and the powder was packed, and very nice.

In the next installment, more on the snow, runs, and pool!