The Portillo Experience

Sunday morning there was a glorious blue sky. Almost everyone starts the day out on the Juncalillo side, then moves to the plateau side later in the afternoon to follow the movement of the sun. I did a quick warm-up run, then decided to brave the Roca Jack Va-Et-Vient Poma (also often called the Slingshot) for my next run. It's definitely something for advanced/expert people only. It's also much easier to go up on with skis than a snowboard. If you want a taste of the Slingshot, or want to work up to Roca Jack, the Condor Slingshot on the plateau side is easier. It's less steep, half the length, and slightly slower.

Roca Jack had fabulous virgin powder, and I got to make first tracks in so many fluffy fields. There are numerous traverses off Roca Jack as well, and if conditions permit, they're worth exploring. The powder was superb, especially considering it was late in the season. Juncalillo is a great cruiser run (it's the longest run on the mountain), especially the top half. In the afternoon I moved over to the plateau side and did Condor several times. Again, there are some nice traverses to be found there. If conditions allow it, head over and do the Lake run, which is steep and fast. The first day I did it, it was again full of virgin power and I just about floated down it. The only problem is you'll have to walk back out to the lifts at the bottom, about 500m away. The lake itself was frozen this year, which it apparently hadn't done for several years.

The rest of the week there was picture-perfect weather. We had a few clouds on a few days, but for the most part it was blue skies and warmish temperatures. At night it did get cold, reaching -10 to -18C, but during the day it warmed to about 4 to 5C. We had a big wind day on Monday, and when that happened, Juncalillo and Plateau chairs were closed, as were the Slingshots. We didn't get any new snow the rest of the week, but because so much had fallen already, there was never a problem of coverage. Your only chances of dinging your new skis would have been on some of the high traverses or narrow chutes.

Quick Tips:

There's no need to carry your wallet around with you all week. I put my cards/money/passport into the safe in the manager's office. With your ski pass you can charge anything and everything to your room and then settle your accounts when you check out. It could be dangerous in the wrong hands, but I found it much more convenient than having to worry about money all the time. Instead of paying at the end of the night, you'd just sign a form. This was available everywhere I needed it, from the dining room to the gift shop and ski shop.

Be sure to drop off your skis/board and boots when coming back at the end of the day (or even during your lunch break). Your boots will be warm and dry for you in the morning. All guests, even those staying at the Inca Lodge, can take advantage of this service.

Also, after your meals, adjourn to the living room upstairs in the hotel for a coffee or tea, and relax on the sofas or outside on the balcony. Again, all guests are welcome (something that many Inca lodgers didn't know about).

Best Way To Get Around:

I had arranged a shuttle directly with the resort for US return, and at the airport, was greeted by the driver with my name on the sign. As there were only two other people, I ended up sharing a car with them. Once we got just past Los Andes, we joined a convoy of minibuses, cars, and vans making our way up the rather windy road with snow pouring down. At one point we had to stop to chain up to make it up the road. We got into Portillo later than anticipated, about 5:30pm. It took about 4 hours, instead of the normal 2.5, to get to Portillo from the airport. Just be prepared for delays such as this when planning your trip. Occasionally, the highway is closed to all traffic and guests will have to spend a night or so in Santiago waiting for the road to reopen.

Some other people I met arranged rides with private bus companies. Costs were lower but required you, in many cases, to catch the bus from Santiago itself. Others caught buses from other resorts. All in all, the transportation system to get to Portillo is efficient and not overpriced. For convenience, if you are flying into SCL and heading straight to the resort from there, it is far easier to arrange transportation directly with the resort.

As for food, staying at the Inca Lodge means you get a meal card valid for use in the staff cafeteria. It covers 4 meals a day and the food itself isn't fancy. As a vegetarian, my choices were far more limited, usually to a combination of mashed potatoes, rice, soup, bread, and vegetables, depending on the day and meal. For a meat eater, there were almost always two selections of meat/fish for most meals. Yes, it's not gourmet food, but given that we were paying $500 each for a week's worth of skiing/riding, accommodation, and food, it was definitely the best deal to be found in Chile, and there were occasional flourishes with yummy desserts. The cafeteria was a great place to get together during the day to meet people, catch up with friends you'd just made, and swap stories with guests and staff.

If you don't fancy eating at the cafeteria for every meal, there is still the option of going up to the dining room. I did this a couple of times for dinner, joining some people I'd met on the ride up. The food there is superb and the menu changes every day, and each table is attended to by at least two people. The important thing to do if you do want to eat a meal in the dining room, though, is to check with Juan, the maitre d', earlier in the day to see if there's space. There are two sittings for each meal. The later sitting will usually have more free space, as the early sitting will be full of families with kids. Obviously, there is an additional charge for the privilege of eating in the dining room. I don't remember the costs for all the various meals, but for dinner I had to pay 12,000 pesos, or about US$22 (drinks are extra). If you stay at the Inca, definitely splurge for the dining room for at least one dinner.

For those staying at either the Octagon Lodge or the hotel, all your meals will be taken in the dining room (although there is always the option of sitting in the cafeteria instead).

There is a bar in the hotel that is quite cosy and comfortable, with a range of Chilean beers and drinks on offer. They also have a limited food menu. All drinks are extra, but they are reasonably priced, at least by Western standards. There is live music every night of the week, with a couple of different bands coming up during that time. Almost every song is a cover, so don't expect great virtuosity. There's a good laid-back atmosphere, with a mix of hotel and lodge guests, along with off-duty employees.

The disco downstairs also serves drinks. It doesn't really get started until later in the night. Again, there's nothing too special about the music, but then again, people don't come up to Portillo for the nightlife. When those two places close, many guests and employees will head to the staff bar, La Posada, across the highway (which also has way cheaper beers and drinks than the hotel bar) for more drinking and dancing.

There were a lot of families the week I was there, so there wasn't as much of a party atmosphere. It's a good thing I wasn't there to party. If you're into partying, Portillo isn't the mountain to do it. There are apparently a few weeks where it does get crazier, like the singles and friends week, but other times it only flares up on certain evenings. If you want late-night happenings, check out the staff bar.

Area-wise, it's not a big mountain by any stretch of the imagination, but there's plenty of off-piste stuff to entertain and keep you occupied. I hooked up with several telemarketers from Alaska, and they were pretty happy during the week, heading off on crazy traverses and way, way off-piste. Definitely bring your avy gear if you're planning on doing a lot of off off-piste, though, as it is definitely avalanche country in many areas. Portillo and the army do do avalanche control as well.

Terrain-wise, it's not really set up for freestylers or boarders. Portillo is definitely a skier's mountain, and when I say skier, I mean the euro-type skier. There were plenty of incredible technique skiers but very few freestyle-oriented ones. I would say that there was at least a 90-10 split for skiers/boarders, which was crazy for me coming from Canada, where it's usually 50-50, or even 40-60 on some mountains. Plus me and some other riders I hooked up with got the vibe that a lot of people didn't really like boarders. It kinda felt like when I first started riding over a decade ago and it was still a fringe activity. There aren't any big jumps, and no park or pipe, so if you're a freestyler, you might be better off going somewhere else, but if you're into lots of cruisers, off-piste, and steep chutes, then this is a great mountain. And besides, the scenery is to die for. It is one of the most beautiful settings for a mountain I've ever come across. You feel like you're in a different world when you spend that week in Portillo. You lose all sense of time and place.

It was very nice to come in during lunchtime, check the board and boots, put on shoes, have lunch, and and then "retire" to the living room for some coffee or tea and relaxation on the couches. It's a different kind of lifestyle and riding at Portillo. There aren't any lift lines, so even though the chairs aren't high speed at all, you don't mind.

Communications-wise, there is an Internet room, but rates are pretty pricey. A half-hour will cost ya 2,500 pesos. However, if you have a laptop with a wireless card, your cost becomes 0 pesos. Yeah, the mountain has Wifi installed, so if you absolutely have to stay connected, just head to the living room with your laptop and connect.

One big caveat: theft is apparently more common there than the mountain will let on, and from talking to some staff, it's other staff that tend to do the stealing. so lock up your valuables, hide your expensive gear, and don't just leave things (even stuff like jackets and gloves) lying around unattended. I actually had a fleece taken from the fitness room while I was in another section of the room, but luckily it was recovered (too long a story to get into here). Other people have had cameras and whatnot taken, so just be aware and be careful.

Smaller caveat: Since the mountain is pretty high up, you may encounter some mild altitude sickness. For me and some others, it was trouble sleeping, or sleeping deeply, as well as some shortness of breath. Take it easy your first few days and it should be gone by day 3 or so. The Portillo experience itself is something you won't find at any other resort, in my opinion. The description of it being like in a cruise ship in the mountains is quite apt.