Valle Nevado

 

On clear Winter days in Santiago, you can see snow-capped Andes on the horizon.  Matt snapped this picture from the 17th floor from his office!  

If you squint closely in real life (near the red circle below), you can even make out some lines running down a mountain, which a friend told me were ski slopes.  There are three main ski resorts outside of Santiago: Valle Nevado, Farellones, and El Colorado.  All sites are located a 1.5-2 hour drive out of the city and into the mountains.  Hotels in the ski resort areas are sparse and EXPENSIVE.  Because of this, many people opt to stay in hotels in Santiago, which can be a fraction of the price, and then drive in for the day.  Most Chileans I know haven't bothered to visit the snow this season because it has been particularly dry.  However, that didn't stop me from checking it out.

Circled in red: ski slopes!?

I booked a shuttle bus ticket through a private company called Ski Total.  The round-trip costs about $30 USD.  Although the ride is short, it is quite windy, and I definitely got a bit nauseous at times.  The shuttle definitely caters to foreign skiers.  Other than the drivers, I don't think we had any Chileans among us.  My van had a majority of Brazilian tourists- apparently there is a wealthy Brazilian population that flocks to Santiago's ski resorts because Brazil doesn't get any snow itself.  Other than that, there were American and British tourists.  

I was the only one who didn't go skiing, and when I asked the driver for tips for activities around Valle Nevado he got worried I'd be bored all day... I guess he didn't realize I hadn't planned on skiing when I got on the shuttle.  (Then, I asked what he did while everyone was skiing, and he just hangs out too.)  Many agencies offer snow tours geared at non-skiers, but these involve lots of extra bus time to visit lookout points, restaurants, and bathrooms along the way.  So, I purposefully opted for the ski shuttle.

There really isn't much to do in Valle Nevado other than ski and eat at restaurants 5x the price of Santiago.  You can easily walk around the entire perimeter in about 20 minutes, and you can't really exit the resort without a car because it's nestled into a hillside.  I was just happy to have a full day in the snow and watch the skiers.  

I didn't make it to Farellones or El Colorado, so we'll save those for another day!  Farellones is known for having a small "amusement park" where you can participate in a number activities like tubing, mountain biking on the snow, skiing, and sledding all for the price of 1 entrance fee.  Online reviews are mixed, with the main complaint being long lines, but it's definitely an interesting concept!

Here are some pictures of the resort and slopes around Valle Nevado.

The top of the mountain in the background is capped in ice!

The was an unusually colorful strip of sky between the clouds and the mountains when I visited.