For some people winter isn’t long enough to fulfill their addiction for skiing or snowboarding. A few years ago I was so busy at work that I could only manage one week skiing in the Alps in early March. That week was spent in springtime conditions, skiing piles of heavy slush. Needless to say, in May I found myself searching intensively for southern hemisphere topographic maps and such…

Photo: Antti Zetterberg

After a few meetings with a couple friends, we decided that South America was the best bet for summer skiing and powder snow. There are some summer skiing possibilities in Europe too, but generally speaking you must head to the glaciers and stick to the relatively limited skiing they offer. This is not necessarily a bad thing, it just doesn’t compare to real winter conditions.

At first the obvious choice seemed to be to hit the biggest resorts in the High Andes near the capital of Chile, Santiago de Chile, resorts like Valle Nevado or Portillo. Or, alternatively, we could choose the Argentine side of the Andes and the resort of Las Lenas. However, we consulted with a Finnish snowboarder friend of ours who had been travelling to Chile for years for summertime training. We ended up with superb hints for a “secret spot” in the south: a relatively small resort called Termas del Chillan.

The Skiing Conditions in Chile

Photo: Antti Zetterberg

The weather in Chile can vary a lot. The resorts located completely above the tree line are worthless when the massive storms hit. This is the case with high Andean resorts. While they have the highest and largest terrain, visitors can miss many valuable days because of low visibility and storms.

Luckily Chile is a long country. Some five hundred kilometers to the south, the mountains get a bit lower and rounder, but at the same time the snow level starts at the significantly lower altitudes. This all means tree skiing lower in the mountains when the snow clouds come rolling in.

For us this logic worked really well: the two first days at the resort were spent skiing spring-like slush snow, but after that it started raining heavily in the valley for couple of days, which turned into a nice, light snow even at the lower mountain. All in all it snowed some 10 days in a row with only small pauses. We got about a meter of fresh powder – for a fanatic skier like me nothing beats floating, deep turns in the middle of July!

The Ski Resort Termas de Chillan

Photo: Antti Zetterberg

Termas de Chillan kind of puts a spell on you. I don’t know if it is the trees (weird ones for a Scandinavian), the smell in the air (I have honestly never felt the air so fresh anywhere else), the luxurious powder we had, or the people, who are warm hearted and friendly. Or the odd ski bum travelers we met suddenly, with whom that faraway feeling made us feel like immediate friends. Or perhaps it was the Andean Condors flying above when we were on the chair lift…

As a resort, Termas de Chillan might not be in the same league with the biggest and most famous ski resorts around the world. However, if the conditions are right the terrain just screams pure, unadulterated fun. You are not skiing high mountain couloirs found in places like Chamonix but nice mellow bowls, natural half pipes and other natural formations. This is the kind of skiing I like the most. I’ve had my share of steep couloirs and while that is a totally different form of skiing, I’ve always liked a more variable, forgiving terrain more. I am no Eric Pollard but the terrain in Termas de Chillan lets you imagine you can ski like the guys in the movies.

The condors themselves are one reason to travel that far. Patagonia is also relatively close, although in the winter (northern hemisphere summer) travel possibilities to it are extremely limited.

A very filling Chilean after-skiing meal                                                    Photo: Antti Zetterberg

Here is a carbon footprint hint: if you like to compensate for the environmental impact of flying or are just uncomfortable driving in foreign countries, then we recommend the local long distance buses. They are relatively comfy, cheap and seem to have a wide network of lines. We did not hire a car in Chile and the busses served us well.

All in all, I wholeheartedly recommend Chile, a beautiful, interesting country with lots of activities and very friendly people.

Go further: Read more about skiing in stormy conditions and find out about Wagrain's secret oasis.