As a Chilean skier I have to say that this is probably the best, more comprehensive and accurate review I have seen of the South American ski scene. Having said that, and having ski in the US, I would 100% recomend you to visit Santiago area ski resorts. The view of the Andes and the dry powder snow are unlike in the US.
Im a ski and snowboard instructor in verbier switzerland, Im from argentina cerro bayo is my local mountain. Brother Ive never seen someone grasp in such detail the mountains in patagonia. You should also come to verbier and you would see that south america is in many ways similar to the alps (range, steepness, views, drag lifts)Great video keep it up....
I really apreciate you point to the criminal food and general prizes and how the resorts tipically operate under a "squeeze the international tourists pockets" mentality instead of building a rapport with their local community. I'm a middle-class skier from Buenos Aires, and as much as I love the patagonian mountains, I sometimes struggle saving enough money to ski in my own country. I used to live for a few years in Bariloche as well, and it's criminal how only the upper class of the city gets to enjoy a sport that, infrastructure-expensive as it may be, should at least be reachable with a middle-class wage. This year I was lucky to be invited to a ski-week in Italy and I was shocked to see how affordable and good quality, in comparison, everything was; being used to the rip-offs that these folks attempt in my countries resorts. Anyway, great video. Gracias y hasta la próxima!
Having grown up in Austria let me tell you that skiing was considered to be a popular sport, even for the lower middle class. Sure, there are some ski regions (no resorts in Austria, but traditional villages, which now are offering accommodation and catering to skiers) which are considered to be expensive, as their hotels, bars and restaurants are. But not the ski lifts nor the parking lots for the visitors which come for the day or commute from a nearby places with more affordable accommodation. And there are the local skiers, living in these villages who on weekends also ski. Attempts to exclude such skiers by excessive daily ski pass prices are generally frowned upon. The same is true for Italy. In sum the slopes are egalitarian places, any exclusivity can be found in the place one is accommodated. That is a healthy arrangement, for sure facilitated by the fact that, again, there are no artificial, complex resorts.
As chilean ski instructor that works in Chile and Europe and also has experienced one full season in the US I did laughed at the accuracy in your words 😂 Sadly, the price part is true. Most local people don't eat at all during the day, or we may bring a sandwich or something. Either way a strong brakfast is mandatory if you don't want to spend a stupid amount of money for a mediocre burger. Also, lenght of season varies from north to South. Southern ski areas stay open in most cases a month longer. They can close middle October or even in early November like Corralco. Nevados de Chillan closed the 22 of Sept with the mountain full of fresh snow. 🫠 Good video!! Following the channel now.
Something to note is that Corralco, Chile has recently installed a second hand detachable quad, making it 5 resorts in South America with detachables chairlifts or gondolas.
@PeakRankings In our experience, that website is not reliable for anything lift-related. The remontées-mecaniques forums are better for that type of stuff, if you or someone you know speaks French.
@@PeakRankings The lift is not open yet. I was there 2 weeks ago and it looked like they were almost done, but not yet. If you ever come back to Chile you should check out Corralco. Due to being further south it has better and more consistent snow than the resorts at Santiago. Also, there are few crowds except for chilean holidays. The views are amazing and the prices are somewhat cheaper than other ski resorts.
Very well put together. I'm from Argentina, i've skied in most of our resorts several times and your observations are spot on. I was amazed by how much effort and consideration was done from you while covering everything with vast detail. I hope you had a great season here!
Skiing in SA might be not as fancy and well designed as it is in the northen hemisphere but we are so proud of our resorts, we make them with big effort and hurt considering the context. I thank to god everyday for the snow and for the ski resorts that sorround my hometown
No sabía que había un centro en el Osorno! Es mi fondo de pantalla (visto desde el filo del Tronador, en el límite internacional)... Ahora lo voy a tener que visitar! Saludos desde Buenos Aires.
En este video es muy marcado el modo como tiran abajo la calidad de nuestros centros de esquí. Enfatizan los defectos , permanentemente (hasta han llegado a decir que se cruzan todo tipo de animales (?). En 20 años todo lo que vi es algún perro perteneciente a un refugio de montaña o restaurante . La imágen de alguien cayéndose de un poma y poniendo eso como ejemplo de atraso ( ¿allá no se cae nunca nadie?) me pareció de una intencionalidad patética. Sin embargo cuando hablas con la gente del hemisferio norte que viene a esquiar comprobás que quedan encantados por la calidad de todo lo que muestra la naturaleza y la oferta en los centros de esquí, tanto de Chile como de Argentina. Obviamente que no se puede competir con la tecnología y la infraestructura de ellos, pero en todo lo demás si. Y este es un aspecto que relativizan demasiado a mi parecer.
@@luisbarilo Bueno no diria que nos tira para abajo, mas bien siento que contextualiza bastante bien basado en que compara la experiencia de esquiar en Canada/USA con nuestros centros. Hacer comparaciones uno a uno es totalmente injusto pero igual hay que resaltar lo malo que nuestros resorts para tratar de arreglarlo. De donde soy el resort es pequeño y se entiende pero tampoco justifica malas practicas que se hacen tratando de contextualizar que es un centro de esqui "humilde" como servicios qu edejan a medias y un largo etc. Lo del poma si siento que hacen demasiada pelicula pero si es un sistema curioso, yo nunca me subi pero se ve complicado en los videos. Yo trato de ver el tema de nuetros resort como el vaso medio lleno agradecido de que existan y siguen creciendo. Tu de donde eres? saludos bro!
@@yaggydj not as big as you think. You would label your source material before cutting it together, thus not making it necessary to label it in its finished form.
I live in brazil and ski every year in valle nevado and in aspen during the northern hemisphere winter. I can vouch for everything you said in the video, i would just emphasize how ify the conditions are aroud here to the point in which i gave up on booking ski trips in advance, i just check the forecast and book everything a couple of days before going. Many years i skied melted ice shirtless in a 25C heat in the resorts around santiago.
Thanks for the kind words and solid point. Unfortunately when coming from the US, last minute plane travel to South America isn't the most financially feasible thing in the world, so you kind of just have to cross your fingers 😅
It seems you missed Cerro Castor, imho the best ski resort in South America, chosen by the European Teams to train. Smaller in size, but with the most reliable snow conditions.
I've skied in Argentina. Yeah not as flash as big commercial resorts in the US, but who cares when the quality of skiing is just as good and the prices are much better. Not to mention almost nobody on the slopes in off peak periods. Slower lifts mean nothing when you have almost a whole area to yourself.
Fun video. The lifts remind me of the late 60s in Colorado. There used to be a lot of unusual/unique/difficult/scary lifts. Examples: single chair at Aspen, poma lift at Breck, really high gondola at Vail, weird gondola at Crested Butte, and lots of places that had t-bar, j-bar, poma lifts for access to the expert areas. The lifts used to be half the thrill of skiing.
im not sure if this applies to every resort but in caviahue the lift are bought second hand from spain and france, most of them are from the 50s and 60s (there is even one from the 30s and is scary to say the least)
The looking glass riblet double with the center post remains the most thrilling lift I’ve ever experienced. Damn thing nearly took me out the first time. I thought it was a normal double chair!
Cerro Bayo local here, great video. Just to ad a comment, there are flights directly from Ezeiza (Buenos Aires' international airport) to the Andes, without the need to change airports.
Hello, I am Chilean and I can't believe that you haven't gone to Punta Arenas, the southernmost part, where you can ski while seeing the Strait of Magallanes, the sea. It's amazing. for the next one. Chao.
Im From Santiago and let me tell you that the prices related to amenities and slope access are set for few reasons. two of them are: Most of the tourist we get from South America(mostly Brazilian) are the filthy rich ones. The other one is to prevent the average or middle class Chilean to get up the mountains so you can get as close as possible similar vibe as skiing in a developed country.
You mean that the experience of having fun in the snow like skiing being accesible only to a few people in Chile. Very interesting sir you're a truly despicable gentleman
in europe, skiing is a middle class thing, it developped thx to the middle classes. now prices went up a bit but still affordable for a middle class family, of course u have some high class resorts (outside the ski side) but u can still ski there at a decent price, noone force u to buy things there.
the way you describe the resorts down there is how I feel about mt shasta. They even used to have a lift that went up higher on the mountain but avalanches get pretty strong and could destroy early ski lifts like they did at the old ski bowl.
Fantastic and comprehensive review of the South American scene. I’m Brazilian and I’ve been to Chilean, Argentine and Canadians resorts and in my opinion everything you said was true
I love in Arkansas and have only skied a few times. I still find these videos very interesting. You explain the differences of esthetics and geography very well.
Nice review! Very accurate, complete and helpful. (Words from and Chilean who know both parts). Could be very nice to have a similar review from skiing in Japan. Cheers
7:17 - I live in Chile and have been skiing at Valle Nevado once last year and once this year. Glad I'm not the only one who has issues with the lifts! 🤣
lol, I've been skiing twice. I originally tried snowboarding, but couldnt get up the hill on a button... That stupid little hunk of plastic defeated me. Still had a blast after I switched to some ski's.
6:36 I’m a firm believer that we need to go back to the fixed grips, high speed chairs are only good for lapping park and groomers. Lower volume makes for much better skiing conditions.
argentinian snowboarder here. I'm enjoying the video, your perspective, recognizing places I've been to on the clips, and realizing maybe I'm kinda badass considering all you say about steepness, piste and off-piste conditions, and weather, in which I have been riding for years
Fellow snowboarder, where would you recommend me going in Argentina? I'm from Brazil, so I will have to book well in advance. Snow quality, and minimal crowds (at least away from the beginners areas) are then most important criteria. (Also, avoid tow lifts, they suck for snowboarders as you probably know)
@@paial I know Catedral, Chapelco and Caviahue very well, a bit La Hoya and that's it. Catedral and Las leñas I think are similar in size. I know that Catedral has improved a lot and has almost 100% chairs and fast ones, it's very big, but the ticket is the most expensive by far. Conditions, as the video accurately says, are iffy everywhere. I've been meaning to go to Las Leñas and Valle Nevado or Corralco or somewhere else in chile, but recurrent crises make me postpone it year after year, so IDK for sure how good are the lifts in Las Leñas. Las leñas is cheaper than Catedral, though. Maybe you should seriously consider Valle Nevado, said to be the biggest in LA and linked to other two resorts. But according to the video, the lifts are sketchy. As for Chapelco, it's close to Bariloche, smaller but not so small, much cheaper, but has two or three unavoidable tow lifts, one of them super steep and hard. La Hoya has tons of snow all the time, and so does Caviahue. Both are small, though, and with tow lifts but you can avoid them. So if you're an expert/intermediate i'd go to Catedral or las leñas (or consider chile), if you want a good mountain for an expert but on a budget, chapelco, and if you're a beginner, maybe chapelco, caviahue, or even smaller ones like Perito Moreno.
Excelent video, describe it all ! Last season me and my wife did 09 ski resorts around Argentina and Chile. Totally agree with the overpriced (criminal) prices of lifts, resorts, food and beverage. Would include that usually, not so far from the mountains, you can find a lot of airbnb with affordable prices and good quality. By the way you should do another video ranking the places you visited here in South America. Waiting your next video! :)
I'm from Argentina and been to Chile's Chillan as a kid, and Las Leñas, Catedral and Chapelco in my side of the border; and I know second-hand stories from Castor in Ushuaia. I'd hardly say Las Leñas is "the best". It definitely depends on what you prioritize. It's quite smaller than others (Catedral being the largest here), and has a much more hit or miss snow accumulation than others (that is true of Catedral too, though). The resort is far from any important town and it belongs entirely to the same company, so it feels like a bubble, kinda like a theme park. So if you're not into partying and prefer a quiet dinner in your place with friends; I recommend staying in the last little village before the resort, Los Molles, 15 minutes away of the slopes by bus or car. On the plus side, yes, off-piste is amazing (I've heard, not a freerider myself), there's good elevation, the views are stunning (which is true on the other ones too) and my personal top: it's much easier and faster and cheaper to get from Buenos Aires by bus or car, since it's roughly at the same latitude. From here I can hop on an 8 p.m. bus to San Rafael, transfer to another one there at 10 a.m. and hit the slopes by noon, all for a reasonable price with no flying hassles at all...
4:45 depending on what you mean by your statement here, I know of a place that you can view a city that is slightly higher, from the top of pikes peak and you can directly see the city of Colorado springs. So a little above 14,000 ft
Was that one of you guys that made the liftie say a little prayer for patience @ 7:15? I’d need to be careful going there. It could spoil my perfect lift record. 😂
Great video for skiers heading south for a summer trip. Valle Nevado was great last August. The long flight back sucked. Almost wish I bought a first class ticket.
Great video! I will never get used to the opposite seasons on the other side of the globe. Every late march, I go for spring skiing in my favourite swedish resort of Åre and usually watch the Australian Formula One Grand Prix on TV. And in march in Melbourne, fall is starting to kick in so you see autumn leafs on the track. Thats just too much for my brain to handle; sunny spring and autumn leafs. :D
Ignoring travel difficulty and travel cost, what is the best resort that has a balance of good mountain/amenities and hotel/food cost? I am going to be driving in chile and Argentina and would like to know where the best place is for experienced skiers on a budget?
Do they only do day passes or are chraper week passes available (like in Europe)? Imagine the slower lifts are combated by smaller loft queues. Not sure if it is the same in South America but in Europe you can get bread rolls at the breakfast buffet which you can fill with cheese and meat if you want a quick cheap lunch you can eat on the lift and keep riding
Primarily for economic reasons, as many people can’t afford skiing. Additionally, both countries are far from the world's major population centers. Including both locals and tourists, Chile has about 1 million skiers annually, while Argentina sees around 1.5 million. This is relatively small compared to the 54 million in the U.S., the 18 million in Canada, or the 53 million in France each year. As a result, it becomes even more challenging to finance the installation of more expensive lifts. So smaller markets is the reason.
its mostly because of cost. There's just less money around here. There could also be a lack of vision and competition. I think things will change in Valle Nevado and la Parva now that they have an american owner but i will be very surprised if better infrastructure doesn't come with a hefty pricetag (more expensive lift tickets and a push to get season passes).
Skitotal in Santiago offers cheap day trip shuttles to la parva and valle nevado. Worth doing that and Portillo for a mini-week. Portillo great for up to four days but gets diminishing returns after that.
@@PeakRankings Ah fair enough. Or maybe just one video introducing the Cali pass and do quick reviews for the rest 3? Anyway, love the work. South America scenes very interesting!
Season passes just came our for winter 2025. And for 300usd you can get unlimited, unrestricted ski, on both Valle Nevado and La Parva. I just got me and my brother those tickets.
Are you guys planning on visiting Japan? I hear they have amazing powder in Hokkaido. I would love to see a review of some mountains there! Loved the video, greetings from Switzerland!
Prices at the Hill are Stoopid expensive.(Portillo, Valle Nevado) Getting to the hills can be very treacherous. Infrastructure sucks at Thermas de Chillan. Once you get an hour from the hill, the prices are very reasonable. I'd say Valle Nevado is the spot to go. Portillo's terrain runs outta fun quicker and the mountain is broken up in terms of access. Stay at Refugio Atreyu is my suggestion.
For those of us that have the season pass (either La Parva or Valle Nevado), we have unlimited skiing in both ski resorts. Not such a thing as a combined day pass yet. There is, however, an optional extension to the day pass that allows you to ski the three resorts of the valley (El Colorado, La Parva and Valle Nevado) that costs about 30.000 chilean pesos.
if you want to go for powder days i recomend you cerro catedral or chapelco. the issue is that being at low base elevations (3000 feet catedral and 3600 chapelco) it rains at the base sometimes, but in the upper mountain its almost always snow. The usual storm drops from 10 to 25 inches in a day or two.
I live and brazil and ski in chile and argentina almost every year, been to pretty much all the resorts in the region. The one that has the most consistant snow is cerro castor all the way in the tip of continent almost in antartica, but the snow is heavy and wet, and the actual snowfall average is pretty low. In the patagonia region ( cerro catedral, chapelco, chillan) have probably the highest amount of snowfall in SA, but the snow is heavy and wet, there are a lot of Heat spells in between the snowstorms so the snow get really icy and theres a lot of wind closing lifts often. The resorts around santiago and las lenas in good day are probably the only ones that can make a powder day in colorado a run for its money, the snow is dry and snowtorms often have high totals, the problem is that theres probably like 3/4 storms in the whole season and in between the storms it gets really hot to almost 30C/90F, so if you ski there in a powder day is awesome but in a bad day is horrible.
@@LucasF.-sw7ep well i can only imagine, but i definitely have an idea though, cuz i've myself been asked some weird questions about Chile also, hopefully with the arrival of the Internet they will get to know more about the country, and the world outside the US 🙄
C'mon bro..? Mammoth Mountain is almost in SoCal and it's an active volcano. Obsidian Dome next door, active vents and killer gas pits. How'd you miss that one? largest skiable stand alone mountain in North America.
Man this is such a load of negative impressions that I feel sorry for you, apparently nothing nice happened to you! I am chilean, I have skied most of these places, and also in the US and Europe. Sure, it eventually sucks on some checkboxes, when compared to your first world infrastructure, but hey, skiing is also an attitude, it's about being on the mountain, about sharing and having fun. If you didn't get some, well, maybe you just wasted your money, next summer go to the beach 😉
Right on the nose, looks like they didn't realize the difficulty of the terrain that gets you to these resorts, other things to consider, the amount of people that ski in both countries are way less compared to the amounts of people in the US and Canada, so it's not feasible to invest big if you're not gonna have a reasonable guaranteed return, but in one thing we definitely kicked their behinds and that's the scenery, saludos 🙋🏻♂️
Watch the other vídeo, they show a lot of positives, this is just a "heads up" on what to expect, and "expectations" make or break the experience. I only skied once in Colorado, USA, and once in Valle Nevado. Both experiences were great, but very different. The US was way easier for a first timer. The powder in Chile was the most fun!
Don’t watch his other videos, this is one of his least whiny reviews tbh. The guy seriously went to Chile expecting the signs to be in English. Que pendejo! Anyone who isn’t an influencer, who was ever going to spend the time and money to ski Chile, isn’t discouraged by any of this. Get off the groomers and you’ll be glad the lift is slow. Gives you a rest!
Don't know what it is, but some of your videos constantly lag and stall, to the point where it's borderline impossible to watch. It happens with this one and with your "post caldor fire review of Sierra at Tahoe," whatever the actual title is. Figured I'd give you a heads up, just in case I'm not the only one. Would be a real bummer if your metrics got screwed up over a technical issue. (Also not sure what I'd change if I were to have the same issue with any of my own videos. Hopefully you might with yours.)
One thing that's also worth noting, is that there are a lot of hand-me down chairlifts that come from either the U.S or Canada that operate at these resorts, which would explain why there some odd lifts that continue to operate. There are a lot of factors for these outcomes, but lack of regionalization, corruption and weak social protection systems are at fault in most Latin American countries, which affects South American ski areas.
As a Chilean skier I have to say that this is probably the best, more comprehensive and accurate review I have seen of the South American ski scene. Having said that, and having ski in the US, I would 100% recomend you to visit Santiago area ski resorts. The view of the Andes and the dry powder snow are unlike in the US.
I live in Utah and would love to ride in Chile! Take me on a trip and I will return the favor for you? I live 15 minutes from Snowbird!
Im a ski and snowboard instructor in verbier switzerland, Im from argentina cerro bayo is my local mountain. Brother Ive never seen someone grasp in such detail the mountains in patagonia. You should also come to verbier and you would see that south america is in many ways similar to the alps (range, steepness, views, drag lifts)Great video keep it up....
Haha. Verbier has alot of drag lifts!
Except that the trees look totally out of an japanese snowboard video, yes it looks like alphes.
I really apreciate you point to the criminal food and general prizes and how the resorts tipically operate under a "squeeze the international tourists pockets" mentality instead of building a rapport with their local community. I'm a middle-class skier from Buenos Aires, and as much as I love the patagonian mountains, I sometimes struggle saving enough money to ski in my own country. I used to live for a few years in Bariloche as well, and it's criminal how only the upper class of the city gets to enjoy a sport that, infrastructure-expensive as it may be, should at least be reachable with a middle-class wage.
This year I was lucky to be invited to a ski-week in Italy and I was shocked to see how affordable and good quality, in comparison, everything was; being used to the rip-offs that these folks attempt in my countries resorts.
Anyway, great video. Gracias y hasta la próxima!
Having grown up in Austria let me tell you that skiing was considered to be a popular sport, even for the lower middle class. Sure, there are some ski regions (no resorts in Austria, but traditional villages, which now are offering accommodation and catering to skiers) which are considered to be expensive, as their hotels, bars and restaurants are. But not the ski lifts nor the parking lots for the visitors which come for the day or commute from a nearby places with more affordable accommodation. And there are the local skiers, living in these villages who on weekends also ski. Attempts to exclude such skiers by excessive daily ski pass prices are generally frowned upon. The same is true for Italy. In sum the slopes are egalitarian places, any exclusivity can be found in the place one is accommodated. That is a healthy arrangement, for sure facilitated by the fact that, again, there are no artificial, complex resorts.
Argentina ski resorts lack the Brazilian moto "Se é gringo é mais caro"
Food and bev is criminally expensive at american resorts too.
How on earth can I get your job 😂 3 weeks of visiting a bunch of ski resorts in South America??? Insanely jealous
Come on a PeakHouse trip with us and live the dream! 😎
Y’all hiring?
Years of effort and building an audience, and being good at what they do.
I hear you picked a great year to go. The snow looked great. Definitely on my bucket list
you have to put it out on the line. this dude likely works for himself.
As chilean ski instructor that works in Chile and Europe and also has experienced one full season in the US I did laughed at the accuracy in your words 😂
Sadly, the price part is true.
Most local people don't eat at all during the day, or we may bring a sandwich or something. Either way a strong brakfast is mandatory if you don't want to spend a stupid amount of money for a mediocre burger.
Also, lenght of season varies from north to South. Southern ski areas stay open in most cases a month longer. They can close middle October or even in early November like Corralco. Nevados de Chillan closed the 22 of Sept with the mountain full of fresh snow. 🫠
Good video!! Following the channel now.
Something to note is that Corralco, Chile has recently installed a second hand detachable quad, making it 5 resorts in South America with detachables chairlifts or gondolas.
Thanks for mentioning this!
Is this lift for certain installed yet? This source claims it is still under construction: www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/corralco/ski-lifts/l112952/
@PeakRankings In our experience, that website is not reliable for anything lift-related. The remontées-mecaniques forums are better for that type of stuff, if you or someone you know speaks French.
@@PeakRankings The lift is not open yet. I was there 2 weeks ago and it looked like they were almost done, but not yet.
If you ever come back to Chile you should check out Corralco. Due to being further south it has better and more consistent snow than the resorts at Santiago. Also, there are few crowds except for chilean holidays. The views are amazing and the prices are somewhat cheaper than other ski resorts.
@@asdf1616 thanks for confirming, will def try to stop by next year!
Very well put together. I'm from Argentina, i've skied in most of our resorts several times and your observations are spot on.
I was amazed by how much effort and consideration was done from you while covering everything with vast detail.
I hope you had a great season here!
Where is the best place to go skiing in Argentina? Best snow, less crowds (couple from Brazil, intermediate to advanced level)
Thanks!
Great video! As a Colorado resident and having been to Patagonia in the summer, this is on my list to ski!
Skiing in SA might be not as fancy and well designed as it is in the northen hemisphere but we are so proud of our resorts, we make them with big effort and hurt considering the context. I thank to god everyday for the snow and for the ski resorts that sorround my hometown
No sabía que había un centro en el Osorno! Es mi fondo de pantalla (visto desde el filo del Tronador, en el límite internacional)... Ahora lo voy a tener que visitar! Saludos desde Buenos Aires.
@@gorsh7870 es lo mas hermoso 😍 bienvenido
Ensenada es bkn
En este video es muy marcado el modo como tiran abajo la calidad de nuestros centros de esquí. Enfatizan los defectos , permanentemente (hasta han llegado a decir que se cruzan todo tipo de animales (?). En 20 años todo lo que vi es algún perro perteneciente a un refugio de montaña o restaurante . La imágen de alguien cayéndose de un poma y poniendo eso como ejemplo de atraso ( ¿allá no se cae nunca nadie?) me pareció de una intencionalidad patética. Sin embargo cuando hablas con la gente del hemisferio norte que viene a esquiar comprobás que quedan encantados por la calidad de todo lo que muestra la naturaleza y la oferta en los centros de esquí, tanto de Chile como de Argentina. Obviamente que no se puede competir con la tecnología y la infraestructura de ellos, pero en todo lo demás si. Y este es un aspecto que relativizan demasiado a mi parecer.
@@luisbarilo Bueno no diria que nos tira para abajo, mas bien siento que contextualiza bastante bien basado en que compara la experiencia de esquiar en Canada/USA con nuestros centros. Hacer comparaciones uno a uno es totalmente injusto pero igual hay que resaltar lo malo que nuestros resorts para tratar de arreglarlo. De donde soy el resort es pequeño y se entiende pero tampoco justifica malas practicas que se hacen tratando de contextualizar que es un centro de esqui "humilde" como servicios qu edejan a medias y un largo etc. Lo del poma si siento que hacen demasiada pelicula pero si es un sistema curioso, yo nunca me subi pero se ve complicado en los videos. Yo trato de ver el tema de nuetros resort como el vaso medio lleno agradecido de que existan y siguen creciendo. Tu de donde eres? saludos bro!
it would be really sick if you could put the name of the ski resort for each clip on the screen in the corner or something
I know all argentinian resorts and I can tell you it keeps changing every 3 seconds the whole video it would be a huge task.....
@@yaggydj not as big as you think. You would label your source material before cutting it together, thus not making it necessary to label it in its finished form.
I think we need a full video of the 4-person platter at 8:00. I'd love to see that think operate in 4K, once in a lifetime ride for sure.
There is more on it in their other video on south america.
There is some very in-depth footage of these lifts in our Portillo vid: ua-cam.com/video/6m9QZ3BZABY/v-deo.html
The Roca Jack lift is harder to ride up than ski down. I think someone fell every time I rode it. Very tricky with people of different height/weight
I live in brazil and ski every year in valle nevado and in aspen during the northern hemisphere winter. I can vouch for everything you said in the video, i would just emphasize how ify the conditions are aroud here to the point in which i gave up on booking ski trips in advance, i just check the forecast and book everything a couple of days before going. Many years i skied melted ice shirtless in a 25C heat in the resorts around santiago.
Thanks for the kind words and solid point. Unfortunately when coming from the US, last minute plane travel to South America isn't the most financially feasible thing in the world, so you kind of just have to cross your fingers 😅
25 in Stgo, equals 7 n Valle Nevado, 0.6 centígrados decrease per 100 meters
A High quality video, as always.
6:27 Corralco in Chile also has a detachable chairlift.
Corralco skier here!
Noted!
It seems you missed Cerro Castor, imho the best ski resort in South America, chosen by the European Teams to train. Smaller in size, but with the most reliable snow conditions.
As a chilean…this checks. Great vid. Kudos from NC
Something about watching a bunch of army guys snowplowing into a chairlift like a starter kids ski school class tickled me
I've skied in Argentina. Yeah not as flash as big commercial resorts in the US, but who cares when the quality of skiing is just as good and the prices are much better. Not to mention almost nobody on the slopes in off peak periods. Slower lifts mean nothing when you have almost a whole area to yourself.
Do you have recommendations on where to go I Argentina? I have only skied in Valle Nevado and in the USA so far. Thanks
Fun video. The lifts remind me of the late 60s in Colorado. There used to be a lot of unusual/unique/difficult/scary lifts. Examples: single chair at Aspen, poma lift at Breck, really high gondola at Vail, weird gondola at Crested Butte, and lots of places that had t-bar, j-bar, poma lifts for access to the expert areas. The lifts used to be half the thrill of skiing.
im not sure if this applies to every resort but in caviahue the lift are bought second hand from spain and france, most of them are from the 50s and 60s (there is even one from the 30s and is scary to say the least)
The looking glass riblet double with the center post remains the most thrilling lift I’ve ever experienced. Damn thing nearly took me out the first time. I thought it was a normal double chair!
Cerro Bayo local here, great video. Just to ad a comment, there are flights directly from Ezeiza (Buenos Aires' international airport) to the Andes, without the need to change airports.
Hello, I am Chilean and I can't believe that you haven't gone to Punta Arenas, the southernmost part, where you can ski while seeing the Strait of Magallanes, the sea. It's amazing. for the next one. Chao.
Im From Santiago and let me tell you that the prices related to amenities and slope access are set for few reasons. two of them are:
Most of the tourist we get from South America(mostly Brazilian) are the filthy rich ones. The other one is to prevent the average or middle class Chilean to get up the mountains so you can get as close as possible similar vibe as skiing in a developed country.
yes thats exactly it. theres just not enough resorts for rich people to not make a huge impact on prices
You mean that the experience of having fun in the snow like skiing being accesible only to a few people in Chile.
Very interesting sir you're a truly despicable gentleman
@@juanr9446 Es real, no lo digo yo.
Si fuera accesible los centro de la zona central se saturarían de gente
Jajajajajaja your comment is priceless, it really cracked me up 🤣🤣😅
in europe, skiing is a middle class thing, it developped thx to the middle classes. now prices went up a bit but still affordable for a middle class family, of course u have some high class resorts (outside the ski side) but u can still ski there at a decent price, noone force u to buy things there.
the way you describe the resorts down there is how I feel about mt shasta. They even used to have a lift that went up higher on the mountain but avalanches get pretty strong and could destroy early ski lifts like they did at the old ski bowl.
A day with a PeakRankings video is a good day! Whats next, US vs Australia comparisons? Nice videos
Australia is a potential candidate for 2025!
@@PeakRankings So you will do Australia starting in 2025.
Fantastic and comprehensive review of the South American scene. I’m Brazilian and I’ve been to Chilean, Argentine and Canadians resorts and in my opinion everything you said was true
Your channel and content are developing nicely👏
I love in Arkansas and have only skied a few times. I still find these videos very interesting. You explain the differences of esthetics and geography very well.
You often see Marines from the base in Bridgeport learning to ski at Mammoth.
Thanks for the video, amazing information!
Nice review! Very accurate, complete and helpful. (Words from and Chilean who know both parts). Could be very nice to have a similar review from skiing in Japan. Cheers
7:17 - I live in Chile and have been skiing at Valle Nevado once last year and once this year. Glad I'm not the only one who has issues with the lifts! 🤣
lol, I've been skiing twice. I originally tried snowboarding, but couldnt get up the hill on a button... That stupid little hunk of plastic defeated me. Still had a blast after I switched to some ski's.
6:36 I’m a firm believer that we need to go back to the fixed grips, high speed chairs are only good for lapping park and groomers. Lower volume makes for much better skiing conditions.
argentinian snowboarder here. I'm enjoying the video, your perspective, recognizing places I've been to on the clips, and realizing maybe I'm kinda badass considering all you say about steepness, piste and off-piste conditions, and weather, in which I have been riding for years
Fellow snowboarder, where would you recommend me going in Argentina? I'm from Brazil, so I will have to book well in advance. Snow quality, and minimal crowds (at least away from the beginners areas) are then most important criteria. (Also, avoid tow lifts, they suck for snowboarders as you probably know)
@@paial I know Catedral, Chapelco and Caviahue very well, a bit La Hoya and that's it. Catedral and Las leñas I think are similar in size. I know that Catedral has improved a lot and has almost 100% chairs and fast ones, it's very big, but the ticket is the most expensive by far. Conditions, as the video accurately says, are iffy everywhere. I've been meaning to go to Las Leñas and Valle Nevado or Corralco or somewhere else in chile, but recurrent crises make me postpone it year after year, so IDK for sure how good are the lifts in Las Leñas. Las leñas is cheaper than Catedral, though. Maybe you should seriously consider Valle Nevado, said to be the biggest in LA and linked to other two resorts. But according to the video, the lifts are sketchy. As for Chapelco, it's close to Bariloche, smaller but not so small, much cheaper, but has two or three unavoidable tow lifts, one of them super steep and hard. La Hoya has tons of snow all the time, and so does Caviahue. Both are small, though, and with tow lifts but you can avoid them.
So if you're an expert/intermediate i'd go to Catedral or las leñas (or consider chile), if you want a good mountain for an expert but on a budget, chapelco, and if you're a beginner, maybe chapelco, caviahue, or even smaller ones like Perito Moreno.
"cows, horses, foxes, even alpacas!" You can also find all four on the road between Las Vegas and Taos.
Skied el Colorado August 2024. This video is spot on.
Excelent video, describe it all !
Last season me and my wife did 09 ski resorts around Argentina and Chile. Totally agree with the overpriced (criminal) prices of lifts, resorts, food and beverage.
Would include that usually, not so far from the mountains, you can find a lot of airbnb with affordable prices and good quality.
By the way you should do another video ranking the places you visited here in South America.
Waiting your next video! :)
I'm excited for the Las Lenas video, I've always heard that's the best?
Marte chair offers the best offpiste access in all south and north america..its top 3 in the world with aiguile du midi in chamonix
everytime i look at a webcam of that resort it has barely any snow
I'm from Argentina and been to Chile's Chillan as a kid, and Las Leñas, Catedral and Chapelco in my side of the border; and I know second-hand stories from Castor in Ushuaia. I'd hardly say Las Leñas is "the best". It definitely depends on what you prioritize. It's quite smaller than others (Catedral being the largest here), and has a much more hit or miss snow accumulation than others (that is true of Catedral too, though).
The resort is far from any important town and it belongs entirely to the same company, so it feels like a bubble, kinda like a theme park. So if you're not into partying and prefer a quiet dinner in your place with friends; I recommend staying in the last little village before the resort, Los Molles, 15 minutes away of the slopes by bus or car.
On the plus side, yes, off-piste is amazing (I've heard, not a freerider myself), there's good elevation, the views are stunning (which is true on the other ones too) and my personal top: it's much easier and faster and cheaper to get from Buenos Aires by bus or car, since it's roughly at the same latitude. From here I can hop on an 8 p.m. bus to San Rafael, transfer to another one there at 10 a.m. and hit the slopes by noon, all for a reasonable price with no flying hassles at all...
I enjoyed our ski trip to Chile more than expected. Deep soft powder
12:55 "Hey what's up?" 🤣
as someone who usually travels every year to Chile to snowboard, I absolutely hate their t bars and buttons
Bing your own Who cares
Yup! Some of the tow lifts are terrible for snowboarders, the back side of Valle Nevado is basically a no go zone...
4:45 depending on what you mean by your statement here, I know of a place that you can view a city that is slightly higher, from the top of pikes peak and you can directly see the city of Colorado springs. So a little above 14,000 ft
Great and correct overview. Good job
Was that one of you guys that made the liftie say a little prayer for patience @ 7:15? I’d need to be careful going there. It could spoil my perfect lift record. 😂
😂😂
ROFL i don't think it worked 😂😅
Great video for skiers heading south for a summer trip. Valle Nevado was great last August. The long flight back sucked. Almost wish I bought a first class ticket.
Try Australia or New Zealand, they’re also in the Southern Hemisphere.
Great video!
I will never get used to the opposite seasons on the other side of the globe.
Every late march, I go for spring skiing in my favourite swedish resort of Åre and usually watch the Australian Formula One Grand Prix on TV. And in march in Melbourne, fall is starting to kick in so you see autumn leafs on the track.
Thats just too much for my brain to handle; sunny spring and autumn leafs. :D
0:01 It's tucks!!
As a south american, this is so true... Congrats for the precise video.
Ignoring travel difficulty and travel cost, what is the best resort that has a balance of good mountain/amenities and hotel/food cost?
I am going to be driving in chile and Argentina and would like to know where the best place is for experienced skiers on a budget?
Do they only do day passes or are chraper week passes available (like in Europe)? Imagine the slower lifts are combated by smaller loft queues. Not sure if it is the same in South America but in Europe you can get bread rolls at the breakfast buffet which you can fill with cheese and meat if you want a quick cheap lunch you can eat on the lift and keep riding
This video makes me miss snow!
Please do Japan next :)
14:25 so this one mountain is just like North america?
Japan next
yes
I want to go just for the amazing experience. Coming from Alaska and Alyeska, every day is ice, fog, rocks, and powder.
i've always used those surface lifts and i remember when i found an old chair lift it was like magic 😂
any particular reason wy south america lifts r mostly fixed grip chairlifts, surface lifts or are weird?
Primarily for economic reasons, as many people can’t afford skiing. Additionally, both countries are far from the world's major population centers. Including both locals and tourists, Chile has about 1 million skiers annually, while Argentina sees around 1.5 million. This is relatively small compared to the 54 million in the U.S., the 18 million in Canada, or the 53 million in France each year. As a result, it becomes even more challenging to finance the installation of more expensive lifts. So smaller markets is the reason.
Cuz they are cheap, bought used from europe or usa
its mostly because of cost. There's just less money around here. There could also be a lack of vision and competition. I think things will change in Valle Nevado and la Parva now that they have an american owner but i will be very surprised if better infrastructure doesn't come with a hefty pricetag (more expensive lift tickets and a push to get season passes).
Skitotal in Santiago offers cheap day trip shuttles to la parva and valle nevado. Worth doing that and Portillo for a mini-week. Portillo great for up to four days but gets diminishing returns after that.
12:56 getting mighty close to that chairlift! 😯
?Which South American ski areas had to close areas due to volcanoes?
This year Pillán had some volcanoe activity
Are we getting the China Peak/Dodge Ridge videos I saw yall already ranked them😂
TBD - we need to think up some thumbnails that will attract a wide enough audience to justify turning them into videos 😅
@@PeakRankings Ah fair enough. Or maybe just one video introducing the Cali pass and do quick reviews for the rest 3? Anyway, love the work. South America scenes very interesting!
@@MacJokerDZ we'll figure out something!
Season passes just came our for winter 2025. And for 300usd you can get unlimited, unrestricted ski, on both Valle Nevado and La Parva. I just got me and my brother those tickets.
Cerro bayo doesn't have high speed lift... I love that place is small and family focused..
las dos gondolas se consideran de alta velocidad por ser desembragables
10:00 This observation is true of some U.S. resorts too 😂
Peak house Japan?
Club med hokkaido
im brazilian and what you told about us is definily true LOLLLLLLLL
Are you guys planning on visiting Japan? I hear they have amazing powder in Hokkaido. I would love to see a review of some mountains there!
Loved the video, greetings from Switzerland!
I’m so lucky to live in a location with impeccable tree skiing.
Looks like volcano
skiing in the NW, always more mountain right above you.
Villarica is also a place you can Sky. on the slopes of the Villarica volcan
Free stone grind 11:04
Prices at the Hill are Stoopid expensive.(Portillo, Valle Nevado) Getting to the hills can be very treacherous. Infrastructure sucks at Thermas de Chillan. Once you get an hour from the hill, the prices are very reasonable. I'd say Valle Nevado is the spot to go. Portillo's terrain runs outta fun quicker and the mountain is broken up in terms of access. Stay at Refugio Atreyu is my suggestion.
"Weeks long droughts" in australia we get month long snow droughts
Place from 13:11?
Portillo, Chile.
Well done! I thought Valle Nevado owners bought La Parva. But no combined lift pass?
For those of us that have the season pass (either La Parva or Valle Nevado), we have unlimited skiing in both ski resorts. Not such a thing as a combined day pass yet. There is, however, an optional extension to the day pass that allows you to ski the three resorts of the valley (El Colorado, La Parva and Valle Nevado) that costs about 30.000 chilean pesos.
Dude that's awesome. Make space, I'll go next year.
Most shocking thing about skiing in South America is that the lifts spin backwards.
That’s Australia
seeing army officers pizza in skiing wasn't on my bucket list yet here i am
We need the rankings!
0:00 -5:25-36:00
All I know is any time I tried to ask anyone about skiing in south america they tried to sell me coke
full review valle nevado!!!!
Which one gets the most snow. That's all I need to know !!!
if you want to go for powder days i recomend you cerro catedral or chapelco. the issue is that being at low base elevations (3000 feet catedral and 3600 chapelco) it rains at the base sometimes, but in the upper mountain its almost always snow. The usual storm drops from 10 to 25 inches in a day or two.
I live and brazil and ski in chile and argentina almost every year, been to pretty much all the resorts in the region. The one that has the most consistant snow is cerro castor all the way in the tip of continent almost in antartica, but the snow is heavy and wet, and the actual snowfall average is pretty low. In the patagonia region ( cerro catedral, chapelco, chillan) have probably the highest amount of snowfall in SA, but the snow is heavy and wet, there are a lot of Heat spells in between the snowstorms so the snow get really icy and theres a lot of wind closing lifts often. The resorts around santiago and las lenas in good day are probably the only ones that can make a powder day in colorado a run for its money, the snow is dry and snowtorms often have high totals, the problem is that theres probably like 3/4 storms in the whole season and in between the storms it gets really hot to almost 30C/90F, so if you ski there in a powder day is awesome but in a bad day is horrible.
"Most shocking things... coming from the USA"
They have snow?
They know what skiing is?
There are other countries?
ROFL 🤣
@@sebastians783 You wouldn't believe the questions I've been asked while visiting the US...
@@LucasF.-sw7ep well i can only imagine, but i definitely have an idea though, cuz i've myself been asked some weird questions about Chile also, hopefully with the arrival of the Internet they will get to know more about the country, and the world outside the US 🙄
C'mon bro..? Mammoth Mountain is almost in SoCal and it's an active volcano. Obsidian Dome next door, active vents and killer gas pits. How'd you miss that one? largest skiable stand alone mountain in North America.
did you meet snowboardprocamp ? he was there too
Is plug mobile down there???
whats that?
@@sigalemiri he give you that nonchalant attitude on the mountain
Man this is such a load of negative impressions that I feel sorry for you, apparently nothing nice happened to you! I am chilean, I have skied most of these places, and also in the US and Europe. Sure, it eventually sucks on some checkboxes, when compared to your first world infrastructure, but hey, skiing is also an attitude, it's about being on the mountain, about sharing and having fun. If you didn't get some, well, maybe you just wasted your money, next summer go to the beach 😉
Right on the nose, looks like they didn't realize the difficulty of the terrain that gets you to these resorts, other things to consider, the amount of people that ski in both countries are way less compared to the amounts of people in the US and Canada, so it's not feasible to invest big if you're not gonna have a reasonable guaranteed return, but in one thing we definitely kicked their behinds and that's the scenery, saludos 🙋🏻♂️
Watch the other vídeo, they show a lot of positives, this is just a "heads up" on what to expect, and "expectations" make or break the experience.
I only skied once in Colorado, USA, and once in Valle Nevado.
Both experiences were great, but very different. The US was way easier for a first timer. The powder in Chile was the most fun!
Don’t watch his other videos, this is one of his least whiny reviews tbh. The guy seriously went to Chile expecting the signs to be in English. Que pendejo!
Anyone who isn’t an influencer, who was ever going to spend the time and money to ski Chile, isn’t discouraged by any of this. Get off the groomers and you’ll be glad the lift is slow. Gives you a rest!
That shits crazy bro what a dream job
Cerro Catedral, Bariloche ! Best venue !
Mammoth's fumaroles would like to have a word lol
Newzealand Next Year?
위험한 구역이 널렸는데. . .
Don't know what it is, but some of your videos constantly lag and stall, to the point where it's borderline impossible to watch. It happens with this one and with your "post caldor fire review of Sierra at Tahoe," whatever the actual title is.
Figured I'd give you a heads up, just in case I'm not the only one. Would be a real bummer if your metrics got screwed up over a technical issue. (Also not sure what I'd change if I were to have the same issue with any of my own videos. Hopefully you might with yours.)
european hear. For me even the USA lifts are oldish... do this stuff is crazy
One thing that's also worth noting, is that there are a lot of hand-me down chairlifts that come from either the U.S or Canada that operate at these resorts, which would explain why there some odd lifts that continue to operate. There are a lot of factors for these outcomes, but lack of regionalization, corruption and weak social protection systems are at fault in most Latin American countries, which affects South American ski areas.
27:55
That’s awesome while Americans ski and snow board in nth and South America Australians ski both Australia and Japan😃
If one have to fly to South America to ski, might as well fly to Japan for the POW country
Southern hemisphere season makes Chile, Argentina, Australia, and New Zealand different to Japan.