Portillo Skifield, Chile

Portillo is the oldest ski area in South America and the history of the field holds an important place in the history of snow sports. The base of the ski area is at 8241 feet (2512m). The top of the area is at 10905 feet with a vertical drop of 2664 feet. The longest run is a two mile run. The average annual snowfall is 24.7 feet.

What a fantastic place to snowboard, this field boasts 80% sunny days. They have a hotel at 9350 feet with ski-in, ski-out access from the hotel to the ski slopes. Portillo is 102 miles (2 hours) from Santiago.

Portillo began with the railroads in the late 19th Century. English engineers were contracted to study the feasibility of a railway through the Andes, through Mendoza and on to Buenos Aires. The English engineers then contracted two Norwegian engineers, Elmar Rosenquist and Michel Hermundsen, to conduct winter studies of the proposed line. The Norwegians spent two winters in 1887 and 1888 traversing the region on skis. They were surely the first skiers to cross the slopes of the Portillo ski area. During the construction of the railroad, skiing was common among the engineers in charge. Following the inauguration of the international railroad in 1910, these pioneers were followed by recreational skiers who used the train to get to the top of the mountain at Caracoles so they could ski down to the Juncal crossing - an area that is now within the Portillo ski resort. The Transandean Railway became the first ski lift in Chile...