Portillo, Chile

Infobox ski area
name= Ski Portillo Chile

picture= Laguna del Inca.jpg
caption= Laguna del Inca
location= Andes, Chile
nearest_city= Los Andes, Chile
lat_degrees=
lat_minutes=
lat_seconds=
lat_direction=
long_degrees=
long_minutes=
long_seconds=
long_direction=
vertical= 1810 m
top_elevation= 4020 m
base_elevation= 2210 m
skiable_area= ? km²
number_trails=
longest_run= 2.6 km (1.6 miles)
liftsystem= 5 chairlifts, 8 surface lifts
lift_capacity=
terrainparks=
snowfall= 5 m (20 ft)
snowmaking= yes
nightskiing= weekly
external_link= http://www.skiportillo.com|

Ski Portillo Chile (usually known simply as Portillo) is a ski resort located about 2 hours drive northeast of Santiago, Chile. It is one of the largest ski areas in South America and is located entirely above the tree line. The ski season typically runs from mid-June to early-October, depending on the length and depth of snowfall regionally. It is also the oldest Chilean resort that maintains its conservative grandeur; there is a 450 person limit to the skiers per day. [http://www.visitlatam.com/latin-america/south-america/chile/2008/07/ski-season-in-chile.html]

Plans to build the ski area were drawn up in the 1930s, construction began in 1942 and the ski area was opened in 1949. Several of the ski lifts on the west side of the valley were destroyed by massive avalanches in 1965, but were successfully rebuilt in time for Portillo to host the alpine skiing World Championships in 1966. The area has since grown into one of the principal destinations for ski racers to train during the Northern Hemisphere summer and it has a reputation for offering some of the best powder snow anywhere.

The town was once served by the now disused Transandine Railway which ran from Mendoza in Argentina to Los Andes in Chile.

References

*
*cite book | last = Lange | first = Serge| authorlink = | title = 21 Years of World Cup Ski Racing | publisher = Johnson Books / James Wotton | year = 1986
isbn = 1-55566-009-6 Also available under ISBN 0-246-13116-0.

External links

* [http://www.skiportillo.com/ Ski Portillo Chile] official site
* [http://www.geographia.com/chile/portillo/ Chile - Portillo Ski Resort / Overview]
* [http://www.visitlatam.com/latin-america/south-america/chile/2008/07/portillo-ski-resort-geography.html Portillo resort geography]
* [http://www.chileanski.com/eng/portillo/photos.htm Chile - Portillo Ski Resort / Photo Gallery at ChileanSki.com]