Powder Day: Take El Plateau to the Garganta chute. If the lake is frozen, ski across it back to chair. If it’s not, traverse back to the lift before descending to the lake. Ski all the way to the lake and you’ll trade 200 feet of powder for a short walk back.
Three Days Later: Find stashes days after a storm by riding Cóndor and exiting the backcountry gate to skier’s right. Rip the top part of Lake Run, a steep, wide-open shot that drops down to the water, then traverse left to get back inbounds.
Park and Pipe: There’s no pipe, but there are plenty of natural features if you’re creative. The rocks at the bottom of Plateau make prime launching pads. Or build a kicker toward the bottom of the Juncalillo lift or on the steep rollover below the Roca Jack surface tow.
Backcountry access: It’s a two-hour boot-pack to reach the Super C couloir, but it’s worth the effort. From the top of Roca Jack, boot up the couloir to the looker’s left, then drop in toward the resort for 5,000 vertical feet of light, dry turns. From the top, there’s a spectacular view of 22,841-foot Aconcagua—the highest peak in the Western Hemisphere.
Weather: Portillo sees mostly mild weather with 80 percent sunny days. But when it snows, it dumps. Storms come in from the west off the Pacific, stall over Aconcagua, and hammer Portillo.
Après: Soak in the outdoor hot tub and order a pisco sour at the bar. A blend of pisco brandy, lemon juice, and powdered sugar, the tangy, margarita-esque drink is Chile’s signature alcoholic beverage.
Fuel: An all-inclusive week at Portillo includes four meals each day. Dinner might be king-crab salad, filet mignon with merlot sauce, and mil hojas (cake with layers of creamy dulce de leche). La Posada, across the parking lot, is the local hangout for churrascos (beef sandwiches) and salsa music.
Up All Night: Have a beer and chill to live piano music at the bar across from the dining room in the main lodge, which is open till midnight. When it shuts down, move downstairs to the disco, where DJs fire up the underground beats every night at 11. You can rage until the early morning.
Digs: The Portillo Lodge is a huge, sun-colored ski-in, ski-out building at midmountain. Rooms have warm duvets and views of the slopes ($1,450 to $5,300 per week, all-inclusive). For a cheaper option, the neighboring Octagon Lodge is a dorm-style alternative starting at $199 a night.
Elevation: 10,900 feet
Vertical Drop: 2,500 feet
Snowfall: 276 inches
Acres: 1,235
Info: skiportillo.com
