Santiago´s incredible proximity to the world famous resorts and home to international flights aplenty makes Chile the country most immediately associated with Southern Hemisphere riding. The mountains are big, the roads are crazy, and – when you hit it right – the most incredible spot on earth for snowboarding. Read on and find out why from the real globetrotting experts.
- Capital: Santiago
- Google earth digits: - 33.433333, - 70.666667
- Pop: 16,432,674
- Mayor Resorts in Chile: Portillo, Valle Nevado, Termas de Chillán, La Parva, El Colorado, Villarrica/Pucon.
- Mountain Range: The Andes
- Local poison: Pisco, a local brandy notorious for its ability to turn normal humans into a cross between a zombie and a PCP user.
- Season goes from mid June to mid October.
Snowboarding Valle Nevado:
“When there´s good snow Valle Nevado has fun runs, windlips, and hikeable big mountain terrain. There is also a heli operation that makes a special treat – plus good nightlife if your timing is good. All this does come at a price as Valle Nevado is Chile´s most high-end resort.” – Shin Campos, PRO“When I first arrived, it hadn´t snowed in weeks and the resort was shiny, like a mirror. The it dumped and turned it into a playground. There are a lot of rocks and natural jumps scattered over this resort. There is also a bitchin´ pizza place if memory serves me right…” – Todd Richards, PRO
Snowboarding Pucon:
“This is a cool volcano ski area with great gullies and possibilities for jumps. You can also hike up to the top of the volcano and see the steam and rocks coming out of the top!” – Shin Campos, PRO
“I´ve been there once, for four days… never rode. Windy as hell – seriously, we couldn´t ride… Limited terrain with good windlips, similar to Mt. Hood.” Jeff Curtes, Burton Photographer
Snowboarding Portillo:
“This is an off the beat, high-end style resort with crazy highway access that splits Chile and Argentina. You can have good powder runs here but if the snow isn’t very god the piste runs are kind of limited. Beautiful scenery.” – Shin Campos, PRO
Termas de Chillan:
Termas is 300 miles from Santiago, offers the longest run in South America (eight miles), and boasts 3,600 feet of vertical. Plus, says pro Jon Cartwright – himself the Canadian product of Chilean parents: “The hot springs at Termas are a great way to relax after the hill and they even have some on the hill that are literally mud baths. Watching Shandy Campos strip down in the middle of the run to jump in one is something I will never forget”. – Jon Cartwright, PRO
Snowboarding Argentina
Enfant terrible of the International Monetary Fund and home to such amazing culture legends as Eva “Evita” Perón and soccer star Diego Maradona, Argentina is also a snowboarder´s paradise. As the economy is still sketchy, your U.S. dollars will make you feel like a king here. Regal mountains will make you feel like a peasant, unworthy of all this goodness. And if wine, women, song – and steak – are your thing, you might end up joining the many “expatriates” in Argentina right away – every single pro we talked to mentioned the hot ladies and great steak. Weird.
- Capital: Buenos Aires. By the way the most incredible city. Very European and beautiful. If you are snowboarding Las Lenas you have to take at least 2 or 3 days to visit the city, it´s a must.
- Google earth digits: -34.61, -58.369997
- Pop: 40,060,000
- Mayor Resorts: Las Lenas, Bariloche, Cerro Bayo, Caviahue, Chapelco, La Hoya.
- Mountain Range: The Andes
- Say what? Argentina is home to the most southern city in the world, Ushuahia. There are two resorts down there too.
- Local´s poison: Fernet Branca is an Italian herbal drink. Just one argentinian city (Córdoba) drinks more than the whole Italy… (Real Statistic)
- Don´t miss: If you have time, book a few days in Buenos Aires. “the Paris of the South” to enjoy great architecture, fashion, and food. And, before you go, check out Nine Queens, a clever Buenos Aires movie (that Hollywood insisted on remaking as ho-hum Maggie Gyllenhaal vehicle, Criminal).
- Season goes from mid June to mid October.
Las Lenas snowboarding:
Hands down, this is the most revered resort in all of South America., but Las Lenas is a heartbreaker: When it´s good, you´ll experience the most pulse-pounding freeriding in the world; when it´s bad, you could be stuck in a windstorm, sleeping underneath invisible cornices the size of freight trains in this avalanche-plagued paradise. Las Lenas is no secret either and, according to Francey, “you hear more English than Spanish there these days; it´s overrun”. Oh well, the nightlife in Las Lenas is legendary – especially if you show up during the annual Snow Fashion Show every August.
“I showed up on a bluebird day with no wind and 40 degree weather after two feet had fallen the night before. Then it snowed for six days straight with 100 mph winds… the storm produced over nine feet and then broke. We shredded everything in sight and I heli´d to some of the deepest runs of my life… and far into the Andes. Three of my first seven runs were true first descents… with up to 4500 foot vertical. – Matt Murray, Oakley
“I remember spinning laps on the sketchy Marte chair and only crossing our own tracks in the main Eduardo chute. I will always remember a heel edge turn on a bank near the top. I turned to the riders I was shooting and said, “this one is mine!” It was the perfect pitch to haul into the left wall at full speed and the snow was light enough not to bog you down but not to light that you were buried. It´s an indelible turn etched into my brain”. – Dano Pendygrasse, FSM Photo Editor
Bariloche and Cerro Bayo Snowboarding:
“Bariloche is the epicenter of nightlife in the Argentina mountains… not to mention the most beautiful landscape in the southern world. Cerro Bayo is so much fun I don´t even want to get into it! Just trust me: go there!” – Spencer Francey
Know Before you go to South America:
- South America´s snowboarding season goes from mid June to mid October.
- Argentina and Chile pretty much have all of the resorts. The exception is Bolivia, which boasts Chacaltaya, the highest resort in the world at 17,785 feet. See “Deadliest Destinations” in Future Snowboarding Magazine 2,1.
- Your best bet is to fly to Santiago if you are going to Chile or the southern resort´s in Argentina. If you are snowboarding Las Lenas fly to Buenos Aires and don´t miss this amazing city. Don´t miss Buenos Aires if you are snowboarding South America. Arrive with no less than $ 150 USD in your wallet, Visas and tax are charged for certain airlines and nationalities.
- Bring extra binding parts a.k.a. “organ donors” because name brand parts are scarce. And don´t think you can come down here and get set up with the same kind of product as in North America, Europe or Japan.
- Bring a phrase book and highlight your most important ones on the flight to South America.
- The highest mountain in South America is Aconcagua at 22,864 feet and is in Argentina.
South America ´s winter has coastal temperatures mostly – but come prepared for all kinds of weather and snow. - Leave your expectations about how a resort should be run at home. Thins run at a different pace. Oakley´s Matt Murray puts the general slowness this way: “If you are from the East Coast, like me… it will take a while for you to get used to it…”
- The nightlife doesn´t get rocking until about 1:30 a.m. This is a perfect formula for a) Bleary eyed first chairs or b) amazing powder mornings with nobody in sight.
- Just because the taxis in Buenos Aires or Santiago are small doesn’t mean it won´t take you and your buddies plus boards and gear anywhere you want to go.
- You can snowboard and surf Chile with a mountain-to-break distance of 180 miles.
- Carrying your own toilet paper is a good idea on a road trip.
- When someone asks you if you need help at a bus station this means that they want you to pay them.
- A “lomito” is a delicious sandwich in Argentina. Called “churrasco” in Chile. Everyone who eats meat should eat at least one – or 20!
- In South America wearing a transceiver and using backcountry smarts on big powder days in-bounds is not a bad idea.
- Patagonia, namesake to the legendary enviro-brand, is the southernmost region of Argentina and Chile. It is one of the most sparsely populated places on the planet.
- If you eat meat, Argentina is your place. You will have the best steak in your life, always being able to enjoy it even more if you add some malbec wine to your meal.
