Ski Chile 2025

[Casey E]

Being Niño neutral, and all else equal, we appear to be stuck in a bad MJO phase, number 4 I believe according to the Ozzies


Chile is in the brown spot left bottom, 70W.

The phases imply a movement of convection W to E, and at phase 4 the green rainies are over Oz, and the brown lump over the SA Pacific.

Calling OZ! You getting the goods over thar across the pond?




So with a 30-60 day cycle, we may get to a 7, 8 or 1 phase by early August, which could bring a gasp of precipitation to the central zone.

The OZ MJO monitoring site has a good sim for projecting the eastward flow, Kelvin waves and more sea/atmospheric esoterica.

http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/mjo/

[Casey E]

To put numbers to the deficient grooming in VN and La Parva in particular, I did this:



Those 10 runs were spread over 8 working lifts, with several on Andes Express. Thus one run per lift.

I am told Colorado got their shite together and has pretty good grooming and management overall. No influence yet of MCP.

[robbo mcs]

Being Niño neutral, and all else equal, we appear to be stuck in a bad MJO phase, number 4 I believe according to the Ozzies Chile is in the brown spot left bottom, 70W. The phases imply a movement of convection W to E, and at phase 4 the green rainies are over Oz, and the brown lump over the SA Pacific. Calling OZ! You getting the goods over thar across the pond? So with a 30-60 day cycle, we may get to a 7, 8 or 1 phase by early August, which could bring a gasp of precipitation to the central zone. The OZ MJO monitoring site has a good sim for projecting the eastward flow, Kelvin waves and more sea/atmospheric esoterica. http://www.bom.gov.au/climate/mjo/

Hi from Oz!
We have indeed had a good start to our season, after two very poor seasons. We have had a couple of reasonable systems through, with 60cms or so last week, and all resorts are open and have virtually all areas open. New Zealand is doing ok as well I believe.

[Casey E]

Right on ya robbo!

A bit of snow is falling in Chillan



But not much going on elsewhere.

Maule still looking good

[Casey E]

That there is the usual culprit




As of today, a monster high pressure A shoves a storm B to Aysen



Alert time



Up to 100mm in places they say.

There is a ski area outside the capital of Aysen, Coyhaique, formerly know as El Fraile



But that is an old shot, and it seems to be in limbo at present, with the municipality in charge and no money to update the ancient infrastructure. No snow probably too.

As Maule got 15cm and Chillan/Corralco something similar, so that tramo is probably the best bet now





Both chairs running today!

[Casey E]

For live summiting on V Villarrica, check out the time lapse here

https://rnvv.sernageomin.cl/volcan-villarrica/

Ants zigzag up, and occasionally a blurry skier strobes down.



Aprox route in red. Nary a puff in sight.

[Casey E]

Got a last ski in at LP as the heat hit, and we rented our place for a couple of weeks.

Snow is being moved around




But the piste holds up above 3,000m








The odd workaround helps, like this one on Ballicas (VN)



It is one thing to have to deal with pebbles on the runs, and another to degrade the experience with lift breakdowns and negligent grooming.

Aside from having only 4 of the upper runs groomed, both connecting lifts to get from LP to VN were once again on the glitch.

Franciscano was shut for an hour or so, then when it opened a 20 minute line up formed, in part of people trying to get to VN




Then the final hurdle, Tortolas chair, was running at half capacity, causing a 30 min line up where normally there is none



From Tortolas, one has direct access to every lift in VN. Although there is in general a slightly better base in VN, and all the lifts were open for once, the MCP curse meant not one run packed on 3 Puntas, the highest lift. A sort of resigned indifference is rife amongst staff.

In a week we will head to Villarrica, and try to ski around there if it Is warranted. Then back to Stgo for August. Seems the lack of snow is everywhere, Argentina is particularly bad. Stay tuned.

[Casey E]

Deficits now now running 20% Central Zone and 30% in the south.



4 weeks with no new snow, but a late July comeback may be possible.



Biggest snowfall is the stretch with no ski areas (Maule).

[Casey E]

A couple of asides

Beware he who ventures on past here (LP)



Sauron is watching



Meanwhile, Paso Pehuenche is open, all the way to Real del Pehuenche.

https://www.instagram.com/pasosfronterizos/

For now….

https://www.realdelpehuenche.com/act...-invierno.html

[Casey E]

Been offline for 10 days, due to the site being inaccessible. I tried going VPN (Canada), and I guess that got me past the TGR firewall. Apps don´t work, so no photos.

An atmospheric river is pummeling the south, and heading north to Santiago by thursday. Snow conditions in the central zone have been poor, hopefully this storm will improve that. As for the south it is raining over 2,000m and whatever base the ski areas had (which was not much), is now going to be worse. This will turn to snow Wednesday sometime and clobber the south with snow until Saturday (1m+ above 1,700m). The 3 valleys could get some 60-80cm.

The local elec grid here in Villarrica is down, so this post is brief. Best I can do is copy the alert

Precipitaciones Moderadas a Fuertes con Isoterma Cero Alta
Emisión: Martes 29 de julio del 2025 a las 11:00 hrs.
Condición Sinóptica: Sistema frontal
Desde: la mañana del martes 29 de julio del 2025
Hasta: la noche del miércoles 30 de julio del 2025
Zonas que afecta: Maule (Precordillera, Cordillera)
Ñuble (Precordillera, Cordillera)
Biobío (Precordillera, Cordillera)
La Araucanía (Cordillera)
Los Ríos (Litoral, Cordillera Costa, Cordillera)
Los Lagos (Litoral, Cordillera Costa, Precordillera, Cordillera, Chiloé, Litoral Interior, Cordillera Austral, Patagonia Subandina)

Freezing levels up to 3,000m for the next 24 hours, then falling, Precipitation from 60 to 90mm.

[Shredhead]

Been offline for 10 days,

Thank you for posting your report!
Even though we will miss your photos, we appreciate your opinions of the current conditions.
I still hope to ski Chile in September.

[Casey E]

The storm continues to wreak havoc. Bariloche and adjacent ski areas in Chile (Osorno, Antillanca) do not have enough snow to open. Freezing level is dropping, and Corralco is getting snow on top of a nothing base at the bottom. This will last to saturday morning, with an accumulation of 60-90cm, Chillan something similar, on top of nothing at the bottom too.

The 3 Valleys, which had minimal dirty snow qt 3,000m, are about to get some 50-60cm.

I am told Maule got 50cm up high (3,000m) a few days ago , and will probably get the most out of this dump. Puma Lodge had a great day. For those with the $, a friend has a heli and lodge near the border in the Rio Teno watershed, just west of Las Leñas in Chile. If anyone is interested, let me know. He will be flying from now to September, and I will likely do a day sometime maybe soon. Rad terrain, great pilot.

[Shredhead]

If anyone is interested, let me know.

That is kind of what I would like to ski!

[Casey E]

I don`t know if pm works now, but give it a try. Tierras Bayas is the spot.

Still snowing from Chillan south, with a brusk 8C drop in temps. Hard to say how much has fallen, but could be 80cm in Corralco, a bit less in Chillan. 3 Valleys got some 50-60cm, heavy, mostly done for now.

Temperatures going up this week, and no new snow forecast. Could rain a bit in the south.

I will be heading back north and get a couple of ski days on the way.

[Casey E]

<p>
With TGR still glitched out, and photos impossible, my posts will be few, only on a PC and with VPN. I have been waiting until now to give a prediction for the rest of the season. This one is almost over, as high freezing levels and precipitation deficits have connived to make this a bad one just about everywhere but the higher peaks and sheltered spots. At this stage, it is extremely difficult for the central zone to improve its lower base much. More likely, it will be just the upper runs holding the fort, and with variable quality, and one should consider themselves lucky if a any more than a couple light snowfalls happen before season end, which will likely be early.</p>
<p>
The south, with a good amount of snow only above 1,700m, is also lacking. Remember the ski area bases from Chillan south are all 1,500m or lower. Villarrica south, they are 1,200m.</p>
<p>
Anyway, here I sit, broken hearted, got my ski day and it was thwarted. Liquid showers at 1.600m, with 40cm of wet snow on the ground. The Tierras Bayas refugio is a rustic lodge with 2 rooms and a common area, accommodating up to 8. It has also been called &quot;Baqueanos&quot;, which translates to &quot;experts, guides, or locals familiar with an area, particularly in the context of rural or wilderness settings. They are individuals with deep knowledge of the terrain, customs, and local lore, often acting as guides or scouts. &quot; Summer trekking and horseback riding, winter ski touring and snowshoeing, hosted by a young family, it also has good cuisine for those interested, a plunge pool, mega BBQ, and nice decks to hang out on. And finally, it is now hosting heli-skiers, a group of which arrives tomorrow.</p>
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[Casey E]

No plow for the road, so it was a slithery 4WD grind into the lodge and I got stuck 50 meters short.
Nice and warm tho, good view, and I am stocked. Will try a tour later if the it stops precipitating.

[BobMc]

No plow for the road, so it was a slithery 4WD grind into the lodge and I got stuck 50 meters short.
Nice and warm tho, good view, and I am stocked. Will try a tour later if the it stops precipitating.

Thanks for the reports. When it’s hot as fuck in my shop here in Utah it’s nice to know someone is skiing on snow somewhere.

[wordbird]

So in the near future we might get three valleys type setup in Argentina. El Azufre project had the conservation roadblocks eased to some extent by the new government, and Las Lenas is going to try to expand into Valle Hermoso. So basically the next valley over the ridge from LL(with more snow supposedly, closer to the crest), and then another ski resort south of VH. Wondering if either of these projects will open this decade, would be cool if Malargue became the ski town like Bariloche.https://www.cronista.com/negocios/ad...valle-hermoso/

edit: paywalled link
https://www.latecla.info/160495-las-...-valle-hermoso

[Casey E]

TGR back online? Here is a photo shoot of Tierras Bayas, with captions. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/16zZkeqFFP/

More info at https://www.instagram.com/tierrasbayas/

Sorry about this facebook instagram BS, but such is life

[Casey E]

Looks like pics can once again be loaded up. So a view of the 3 valleys from cerro San Cristobal yesterday



Ski areas run from the middle tower, right.

Heading up for a ski-about tomorrow. Had high temps these last days so the last snowfall has been warmed off the prior bare spots.

A chance of flurries Friday, diminishing.

I understand the heli crews have been finding powder, at least up until last weekend.

[Casey E]

Mixed bag today. I expected bad at 2,700m, but…



Manzanito needs a bit of cariño

At 3,000m things change



Went straight to 3 Puntas and lo and behold it was running and Shake was groomed (although the liftee assured me it wasn’t)



From a different perspective



Some nice tracks were visible below the SE flank of Cerro La Parva



El Pintor to the right.

Shake



Momia



A loner braves the main chute of Cerro LP



And converges with a not so fortunate skier on the right

[Casey E]

[Shredhead]

I was hoping to use a Delta Buddy pass, where you get best available seat. Lots of empty first/ business class seats coming out of SCL.
But I found out they use PLO, Payload optimization.
They ship tons of fish and don't let any non revs on the plane.

[Casey E]

What started as a bluebird



Was slowly engulfed





Let’s hope for some windless condensation…. temps hovering at +2-3C.

[Casey E]

Better than nothing?