Ski Chile 2025

While we await the arrival of this front, some shots from Maule early August.

On the ruta 5, I took some shots of the front range, south to north, on the way to Rio Teno

Starting with V Longaví, north of Chillán


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And so on until the Rio Maule watershed
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To Curicó and the Rio Teno watershed
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Romeral, the entrance town

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And Los Queñes, the last hurrah for civilization, here the school with its Araucaria angustifolia trees

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We’ll, unless you count La Picá del Puma, by the miners monument

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That truck was one of many barreling up and down the road, which is well maintained until the mine, and Tierras Bayas, my destino. Forget getting to the pass, it is under repair.

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Where I blew a tire

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And was rescued by my host and ushered up the last few Km to the Refugio

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The next day dawned with a light drizzle, which continued off and on for the morning, soaking the snow. Rather than trying to ski in a swamp, I took a walk when it cleared up.

Austrocedrus chilensis, a mountain Cyprus bonsai

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The view back down the valley
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The view east, where I was to tour

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Front range

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I figured it would freeze overnight and was right, here heading out from the Refugio, while a heli group pulls in from Santiago

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More to come

The first 200 vertical meters was one layer of about 40cm compacted from the snowfall 5 days earlier. Snow looked funky near rocks up to 2,200m aprox

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But still it was beautiful. The lone pine marks the decision point

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Rather than go onto a more north facing slope, where the snow was evidently rained on

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I continued up the first bowl

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Up to the red spot

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Where I indulged in a classic ave palta

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The way down to the lodge

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Had to have one

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The home run
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The Refugio

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The link to the lodge is https://www.instagram.com/baqueanos/...on_share_sheet Macarena and Nicolas are gracious hosts with great food.

Just across the border, Las Leñas is planning on moving up valley, to "Valle Hermoso", via a 27km dirt road to some domes on a lake. Not sure where along that route they plan to put a ski area in, because the lake is the same altitude as Las Leñas. The road gets up to 2,800m then drops to 2,200m at the lake.

The lodge https://www.instagram.com/stories/hi...4734172/?hl=es

The news https://www.latecla.info/160495-las-...-valle-hermoso

Cat skiing too with a Pisten Bully 300 https://laslenas.com/actividades-invierno/

It snowed some 10cm last night but it took a whole blustery day for the real front to hit

A peak at the Cordon del Quempo

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At dusk it rolled in

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And is now snowing and blowing hard

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Snowing low in Corralco as well

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The word for the remaining 20 hours or so of the storm

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And the word for the rest of the season

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https://www.instagram.com/p/DNo-iFMs..._web_copy_link

CIERRE DE CAMINOS

La Delegacio?n Presidencial Regional Metropolitana informo? el cierre de la Ruta G-21 (Camino a Farellones) y del Camino Juan Pablo II (Pie Andino) desde hoy 21 de agosto.
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Still snowing, Farellones road closed, supposedly.

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A given that the Portillo road is closed.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Casey E

The first 200 vertical meters was one layer of about 40cm compacted from the snowfall 5 days earlier. Snow looked funky near rocks up to 2,200m aprox

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f70b049941.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...954f7d035b.jpg

But still it was beautiful. The lone pine marks the decision point

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...4e4feb00eb.jpg

Rather than go onto a more north facing slope, where the snow was evidently rained on

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...6d9dcb7d14.jpg

I continued up the first bowl

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Great series of photos Casey. Thanks for posting that up.

6am, gridlock and not even starting the switchbacks

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Lots of casualties on the way up

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The VN road was closed for avalanche control. La Parva only managed to get 2 lifts open, kinda half running, in the morning. Las Aguilas chair opened briefly but was closed again after a skier-provoked slide above the Barros Negros traverse. I guess a couple were caught but no damage. The other two slides in that area were detonated and ugly.

Got a good video of the first biggie on Manantiales which I will load up later.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f677d7b21f.jpg

Scaly powder

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But doable

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The two lifts

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About a meter, settled. Folks shredding north faces too. I took evasive action, following the hare tracks

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And crossed over to Fabres

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Looking back at Tortolas

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Back in Manantiales a few slipped through before the closure

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The slide

https://youtube.com/shorts/Vh7Ursxlw...kkInB4WDHTR47V

The slide

https://youtube.com/shorts/Vh7Ursxlw...kkInB4WDHTR47V

Still below average year in the central zone? At least Eduardo and Mercurios finally look more or less filled in Argentina side, but probably only for a week with warming temps and the sun...

Perhaps one more Santa Rosa in store to make it up?

SWEEEEEEET.

Santa Rosa bestows upon those of faith.

The original was a nun in Peru that prayed for the pirates stalking Lima to be vanquished, in a storm it turns out. 1,600’s or so, at the end of August.

Déficits still everywhere, but least in Santiago, 9%. The rest ranges from 20% in general, up to 40% in Chillan town.

Nice to see

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On all those reports of people trapped in a skier-provoked avalanche in LP, here is the official communication

“Estimados Parvinos,

El día de ayer, esquiadores ingresaron a una zona cerrada y claramente señalizada como prohibida en El Muro (Barros Negros), provocando un alud que impactó a personas en una zona cercana.
Esta acción imprudente puso en grave riesgo la seguridad de quienes se encontraban en el lugar y podríamos haber lamentado consecuencias mucho peores o incluso fatales.

El riesgo fue advertido con anticipación a través de redes sociales y el área estaba debidamente señalizada.

Activamos de inmediato nuestro protocolo de rescate con pisteros, personal del centro, drones y sondas.

Afortunadamente, luego de activar el rescate, no hubo víctimas.
Según el reglamento que todo usuario declara conocer y aceptar al comprar el ticket/pase, el Centro puede bloquear el pase a quienes con su conducta pongan en peligro a los demás usuarios del Centro o no respeten las señalizaciones del Centro.

Se considera causal de bloqueo permanente las infracciones graves a las obligaciones del cliente, al reglamento del esquiador y a las normas de seguridad de La Parva.

Algunos responsables ya fueron identificados y se procedió al bloqueo inmediato de sus pases de temporada y se hará lo mismo con nuevos infractores de este u otros hechos similares.

Hacemos un llamado enfático a respetar las señaléticas, las reglas del centro y las normas del esquiador, y a esquiar solo en pistas habilitadas.


Atentamente,
Equipo La Parva”

As I hear it (I was in Fabres), 3 or 4 yahoos climb up a bit to get a run thru some rocks above the traverse to Barros Negros when it recently opened.

A slide falls onto and below the traverse, affecting several people, one of which gets a bit trapped but is promptly dug out. Related lifts closed. This, some 100m before the provoked slide on the “Muro”.

Here (prior photo)

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Got this view of the slide from my place, my old camera is good for something. 1 is detonation, 2 is skier. The red line is the Barros Negros traverse. Not clear who set it off.

The word from 3 days ago

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Keep bringing the stoke Casey, the true winter peeps among us thrive on your thread.

Amen.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

Yep.

Sí

https://unofficialnetworks.com/2025/...do-snow-storm/

Dumpage

And the racers take over

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Lots of lines were had by those willing to hoof it, but the heat is now taking its toll

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Nowhere inbounds was untracked.

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Another little slide appeared in the zona

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MCP has been boasting about their improved lift line management. I agree

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Skiing on Nevado de Longaví, shaky video but you get the idea

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BV...ibextid=wwXIfr

Fabres, after several consultations, wishy washy answers, and a harrowing access trail, was groomed.

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Another storm coming for central zone. "Tonopah low" style, an Eastern Sierra term for rocky mountain low with eastern winds in the spring, should keep Las Lenas season going into September. With an average backloaded season it would have almost been worth going down this year. Back to the Santa Rosa topic, it's kind of crazy because it almost never storms off the coast of Peru. Back when the nun prayed it was on of the two largest cities on the Americas(the other being Mexico city). Unfortunately Lima isn't a great tourist city like CDMX these days, but definitely got great potential(I've had way more fun in Mexico city, but maybe I need to make some Lima local friends, so YMMV). Despite my dislike of Peru I might actually go to Huaraz/Northern Peru this fall, I've heard great things about it seems like it's the coolest non temperate glacier/mountain zone in the Americas.

@Casey Did that four section crown with the new slide, slide immediately after the storm, or all of it slid at once when you posted that picture? Seems like it's quite a big slide in warm weather for a few days after the storm if all of it slid at once.

Strange little storm this one

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Heaviest snowfall is on the Argentinian side, for once

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Las Leñas red dot at the bottom.

This could be flurries for the next 2 days. Drizzling and grey in Santiago, but it’s sunny above the clouds!

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Some days the clouds take over

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Except when looking down, here on Eclipse VN

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Considering that the eleventh commandment was fulfilled, with no line left untracked,


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It is concerning that the avalanche danger was notable, or considerable, as you wish

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Speaking of Valle Hermoso

https://www.instagram.com/p/DN5hmUvD..._web_copy_link

So much stoke on instagram from this last week, here are a couple of samples of heliski central Andes

Spiro

https://www.instagram.com/p/DN8-lR9D..._web_copy_link

Dos tiempos

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CwjFA..._web_copy_link

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DN2FM..._web_copy_link

Tío Bobs got a dusting today

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But Valle at a similar altitude had mostly wet so far

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“alex.blasco95
[emoji554]? A•D•V•E•N•T•U•R•E [emoji3555]
•

Spent this two pasts days with @orlanditodiazl [emoji238] in Cerro Capita?n Del Quempo above Valle del Cepo to ski a dream line [emoji1071]”

Dats some line

https://www.instagram.com/p/DN3jr3Ow..._web_copy_link

Not enough faithful and Sta Rosa fizzled out, at least in Chile. So we head into a dry September, not forgetting the old old adage “something always falls for the 18th”.