Skiing, Trip planning resources, Chile

Ski Touring in Chile

We went ski touring in Chile for the third year in a row over the past ten days. True to our style we went with a small group of clients (four) and one guide. Over the years, we’ve found a small groups provide the best client experience.

Standing on the summit of Lonquimay

After meeting the group at the Araucaniá airport (ZCO), we headed to Malalcahuello on the 25th of September. Mid-September-mid October generally provides the best conditions for skiing volcanoes; the weather is more stable and the snowpack has had time to settle out. Treeline at this latitude is relatively low~1700-1800m, thus storm skiing is challenging on the volcanoes with reduced visibility.

The weather looked good for our first couple of days in Malalcahuello, so we headed for the summit of Lonquimay on day one. Moderate temperatures and moderate ridge top winds made for a great summit day and ski descent down the east face.

Lonquimay ski descent

The group was keen to harvest some of the fabled Chilean corn, so the next day we headed into the Reserva Bíosfera Araucarias to chase some sheltered corn runs. We filled our boots with 600-700m corn cruisers while soaking in leisurely transitions amidst araucaria groves.

A significant low was bearing down on us so we skied two big days at the start of the trip. The third day we headed east to an old ski area that is now run by local Mapuche people (the largest indigenous nation in Chile) as a backcountry ski area. We made the most of challenging conditions and the approaching low and got a some skiing in before the weather deteriorated too much. The highlight of the day was hanging with Pedro (a local guy who runs the ski area) in the “ruka” (Mapuche for house) by a fire.

With two days of precipitation ahead of us, we made a break for Pucón the following day and visited a hot spring along the way. The riverside thermal pools made for an incredible soak on a rainy day.

After the soak, we stopped into a local feria for a steaming hot bowl of cazuela de carne.

The skies cleared for the second half of the trip and provided optimal conditions for skiing the volcanoes around Pucón. Some companies choose to jump from one volcano to another, which is an awesome, but unsettled trip format.

Personally, I prefer to auger into a couple of different zones and explore them more extensively. IMO, it makes for a more relaxed pace and the chance to get to know a couple of zones better than skimming through numerous zones in a short period of time. Thus we settled into our accommodations on an estancia outside of Pucón and skied four days on Quetrupillán and Rukapillán.

The low exited Pucón cold making for a breezy and glazed day on Rukapillán. The low pressure had come with significant winds, thus we had to seek out sheltered east and northeast aspects to find soft and smooth snow. Unfortunately, the summit was closed due to recent volcanic activity this year and we had to stop our ascents at 2600m. That still left 1400m to ski, so there was no shortage of fall line.

Lomo vetado for the win

Quetrupillán is one of my favourite tours in the area as it’s an incredibly varied adventure. The sinuous dirt road up the valley is just the beginning. It’s not a short day, but the juice is worth the squeeze as a hike through old growth coihue trees leads up to expansive views, summit and incredible ski descent.

We spent the last two days of our trip exploring the expansive flanks of Rukapillán. The massive volcano offers 360 degrees of skiing, some glaciated and all of it is outstanding. The classic approach is great, but busy. If you’re willing to go off the beaten path, there are plenty of fresh and engaging lines to explore.

Throughout the Pucón area, Rukapillán stands out. Downtown Pucón offers an exceptional view of the volcano —perfect for scoping potential descents. There are also countless restaurants and bars to enjoy a meal on a sunny terrace.

I like to squeeze as much skiing in as possible on these trips, so I get everyone to schedule their flights for the evening of our final day. This allows for a half day on the skis before we head back to the airport.

We woke up to another spectacular spring day with the clouds sitting over the lake.

The windy dirt road led us up to the boarder of the national park. The snow line was a short walk above the parking lot. Once again the approach brought us through a grove of ancient coihue and araucaria trees (some of which are over 1000 years old).

I’ve settled on 4wd extended cab pickup trucks for these trips. The roads are often rough and a high clearance 4wd vehicle is best suited for the approaches. However it requires strategic and diligent packing. Packing light is highly encouraged. Feel free to reach out for a packing list, mine is quite honed at this point. We’ll be offering a variety of South American trips in 2025 including hut to hut traverses, powder skiing and volcanoes, drop a line if you’re interested.