July 31 - Aug 4, 2005, Portillo Chile

Ann and I arrived in Portillo Saturday around 3 pm after leaving Portland about 24 hours earlier.  The road just before Portillo was an adventure and had 29 switchbacks just before the ski area. For much of this trucks blocked one lane of the road leaving one lane open for travel.  Portillo is very scenic .<br><br>Sunday we skied but prior freeze-thaw cycles left the snow quality lacking.  We hadn't skied yet in July so this did allow us to get our turns in on the last day of the month.  Portillo has two 4 to 5 person poma lifts that have one set of bars attached to each side of a cable that is oriented like an isosceles triangle with the steepest point facing downhill.  The cable runs in one direction to bring one group up to the top and is reversed to bring the other group uphill.<br><br>It started snowing heavily Sunday night so most of the resort was closed on Monday.  We did get out and make a few turns on one small lift.  This also closed the road which did not reopen for about 24 hours.  The snow ended this morning leaving a little more than 2 feet of new.  After considerable delay the Plateau lift opened just after lunch.  Evidently the patrol ran out of bombs contributing to the delay.  Portillo also feels the need to have at least one groomed run and was using a winch cat to groom a path in the powder.  This was painful to watch.  We had a good day but between slide debris and uneven grooming, it was a fairly underwhelming day considering two feet had just fell.  The snow was also dense and wind affected so there wasn't a ton of ski penetration.  We heard several complaints about the density of the snow but it was fine by PNW standards.  The other side of the ski area has still not opened so there should be more freshies tomorrow. <br><br>Here is a picture of Ann just below this impressive cliff above the Plateau lift.<br><br>

Nice!<br><br>And good to hear you got July in. That was close! <br><br>Keep up the reports! It's been hot here lately.

Andy, <br><br>Great report. I just read about the Super C Couloir above Portillo in the new Summer edition of Couloir. They had 8 pages of photos and text. It certainly would dampen a diaper.<br><br>Jill and I are heading to Bariloche, in the Argentine Lake District for some spring skiing and touring and to take a Spanish Immersion course for awhile. We'll then travel further south in Patagonia and head for some adventures near the Ice Cap and into Tierra del Fuego. Are you heading south or skied there ?<br><br>Zap

Is the Super C Couloir above the Roca Jack poma lift? Right now the lift is buried. Here is a picture from last night.<br><br> maybe the super C with cool lighting <br><br>We are headed to Las Lenas next week which is south but not as far as you are going. Initially we wanted to head towards Bariloche but found out it was a 22 hour bus ride from Las Lenas. Instead we decided to work our way back to Santiago over our last week here. <br><br>I think this last storm gave more snow farther south but I'm not sure how much fell in Bariloche. It warmed up yesterday and rained a little reminding me of Oregon so the new powder is no more.<br><br>Andy<br><br>Here are some more pictures.<br><br> snowing at hotel <br><br> poma lift <br><br> switch backs on road <br><br> Steve skiing <br><br> above plateau lift <br><br> nearby peak <br><br>

According to the article in Couloir, the Super C is a boot pack above the Roca Jack lift. They describe the lift as covering 1100vf on over 40 degree terrain in 70 seconds. There have to be some Warren Miller style crashes of lift riders. Apparently the 6000vf of descent on the Super C deposits you on the apron which leads back to the Juncallilo lift. I imagine a ski patroller can probably head you in the right direction. <br><br>Your last photo of an illuminated peak is fantastic. Have a great adventure. Look forward to more trip postings.<br><br>Zap

I was in Portillo last August with my family and judging by the pictures ,you have way more snow than we had.<br>I went heli-skiing one day with the operation out of the hotel and it was corn skiing but still great fun.<br>Views of Aconcagua from helicopter were great.<br>Hotel is a blast from the past and hope you are having as much fun as we did.<br>If they have krill on the menu( yes, the whale food) don't eat it.<br>The next day approximately 50% of the guests where<br>pucking their guts up for two days, me included and my wife but not my son who wisely said he wasn't trying whale food.<br>We took our ATgear but there was little touring possibilities from the hotel.<br>Good luck in Los Lenas. Good touring oportunities there!<br>

That is a picture of the upper part of the Super C then. We rode the poma up the bottom of Roca Jack on Sunday but it is still buried by Monday's storm. On Sunday the snow did not make climbing the couloir worthwhile. <br><br>The lift is quite a ride. It is the same style as the picture I posted. It took us a little while to figure out that it stops so it was comical getting off of it.

Thanks for the pictures, Andy - it gives me a lift to see winter when it's 90 degrees here in the Northern Hemisphere. That road is a trip, too!

Anne and Andy<br><br>Glad to here you guys are having fun. Were sitting here in Portland with temps in the 90's. <br><br>Cracked a couple of the home brews last week. Mine turned out really good but yours was pretty bad........<br>Just kidding.<br><br>Have fun. Jeff and I will be hiking half way up Hood next weekend to get our August turns in.<br><br><br>Aaron <br>

Here is an update about the last part of our time in Portillo...<br><br>Much like what often happens in the PNW on Wednesday the new snow was followed by warming temps and a bit of rain. The lower Juncaillo lift opened and we had good turns in the morning. In the afternoon we skied the steeper terrain to the right of the Plateau lift. By Thursday the temperature had dropped below freezing and the off piste snow was firm and crunchy so we didn't ski much. Thursday night it started to snow, leaving about 9 inches of new by Friday morning with clearing skies. It was still possible to feel the old crust in places but overall the skiing was very good. My camera was actually stuck in my pocket so I do not have any pictures to show for the skiing this day<br><br>Here are some more pictures from Portillo<br><br> mountains across road <br><br> up the valley from the ski area <br><br> about to leave Portillo <br><br> after crossing border <br>