Skiing in Chile & Argentina

La Cultura – Unidad 3

The Andes Mountains• Skiing in the middle of summer is possible in

Chile and Argentina.

– Go visit the many resorts in the Andes mountains.

– The attraction of the Andes for most skiers is their breathtaking remoteness, the scattering of exotic volcanic peaks, and the charm of the Chilean and Argentinean people.

Skiing in Chile & Argentina• There are a dozen or more ski areas on each side of

the cordillera which perseveres for ever along the Chilean-Argentinean border.

• Unfortunately you can’t just drift, as it were, from Chilean slopes to those in Argentina at will.

– So if you’re interested in skiing in both countries, it’s best to stay in one country’s resort and then head for the other.

El Portillo in Chile• Portillo, Chile’s most famous ski resort, is 100 miles from Santiago.

• Portillo is the oldest ski area in South America.

• The only significant hotel, the yellow and blue Hotel Portillo, clings to the edge of the Laguna del Inca.

Las Leñas in Argentina• Most well known ski resort in South America.• There are no trees in Las Leñas.• You cannot ski anything beyond a beginner

run while it is snowing (because conditions are severe) and it snows quite often.