Come to Portillo, in the midst of the Andes mountains 150 kilometers south of Santiago. It has restaurants and accommodation so that you can enjoy a few days of skiing with your family and friends.
Portillo is undoubtedly the favorite place for Americans to ski in Chile. The place is wonderful, the slopes are great, and the off-track better and the service is of international quality.
The history of Portillo dates back to the construction of the railroad between Chile and Argentina, inaugurated in 1910. For this, they brought European experts, who due to the difficulty of the terrain they moved a lot on skis and used the same train as a lift. Then for 1930 the concept of ski center is created. A group of European ski instructors arrived in Chile and stayed at "Hotel Portillo" (which was no more than a cabin where both passengers and staff were staying).
At the beginning of the decade of the 40 begins the construction of the Grand Hotel de Portillo, which ends in 1949 with 125 rooms. At that time the center had 2 lifts ski lift for one person and a tow truck. The mountain and its tracks were maintained by school staff, passengers and the Army High Mountain School. Although the center belonged to the State, it decided to sell it to private hands in 1961. It was there when Bob Purcell and Dick Aldrich bought the center and on June 15, 1961 inaugurated the first season in the hands of private, then Portillo managed to remain as host of the World Ski Championship for 1966, which involved a heavy investment in construction of New infrastructure and buildings according to the demands of the event, also had to prepare the tracks according to the requirements of the FIS, to improve the telecommunications system and to improve the accesses; However in year 65 there was a great storm that generated an avalanche of great proportions that took great part of the lifelines that had been installed for the occasion, 5 skiers died and part of the lodging was buried. Several ski teams were trapped and had to ski up to 32 kilometers to reach the nearest train station. The FIS was very worried because they did not believe it possible to get to the date, but Bob Purcell did it: he committed to the FIS with the reconstruction of the works, bought the part of Aldrich and began to work. Thanks to all the logistics and management, plus the support of the army managed to reach the goal and everything went spectacular at the time of the event. Since that memorable event Portillo has continued its tradition of hosting various ski delegations in the world, becoming a place in the heart of the vast majority of them. Today Portillo has 5 lifts and 9 ski lifts, 35 lifts and more than 5 km2 of skiable terrain. The snowfall on average skirts the 8.3 meters of annual accumulation, and the longest track has a pleasant 2.5 kilometers. The base is at 2,880 MSNM and the maximum height is at 3,310 MSN
Placed almost on the border with Argentina, to get to Portillo we must head towards Los Andes and take the international road to Paso Los Libertadores. Less than three kilometers from the integrated customs is the resort, with its imposing and classic yellow building (Be careful, if it is the first time you go, since the entrance is not well appreciated from the road, if you come from El Paso you can see clearly).
It's Saturday and you arrive in Portillo. You check in, you leave your things and you go to ski. When you reach the subsoil, a gentleman will take your shoes and give you a ticket. Already with the boots on, you head towards the tracks ... where to leave? It all depends on the time you arrive. If you arrive in the morning, Rock Jack is the place. If you arrive in the afternoon, Plateau is the choice but always after having gone to lunch to Uncle Bob's, in the middle of the mountain.
Bear in mind that Portillo is going to ski. If you are not interested in doing so, there are other activities, but there are not many. There you know that there is always a passenger who may skip a day or not ski all day; however you will find everything for everyone; there is mini school for children, kindergarten and even the option of private nanny. Out of care, the children have access to the games room, reading room, swimming pool and the traditional Sol de Portillo race for all children who have taken a class or participated in a day of kid’s camp. For the bigger ones there is the internet room and its small library, free yoga and stretching classes with the great Heidi, there is also the fitness center and the pool with its hot tub and for convenience you have your locker to leave things. There is also a beauty salon and a clinic. Here you come to spend a ski week from Saturday to Saturday and as the place has many common areas you will always see familiar faces. Many say it's like being on a cruise, all this gives you a home swell that is quite distinctive among your peers and is part of the essence of this center. For something the passengers always return.
A great plus that has this center is that as it is quite far from any city, there are not many skiers that go for the day, and therefore it will never be collapsed.
