Valle Nevado

Andean skiing within reach of a capital

Valle Nevado, Spanish for ‘snowy valley’, is a ski resort on the foothills of El Plomo in the Andes, 46 km east of Santiago, the capital of Chile. It was founded in 1988 by French entrepreneurs and includes accommodation alongside around 900 hectares of skiing area. It is a resort built from scratch for skiing rather than a town that acquired lifts, and that shows in how it is organised: the housing and the slopes were planned together.

Altitude first

The numbers that matter here are heights. The base sits at 2,860 m and the top at 3,670 m, so even the lowest lift is higher than the summit of most European resorts, and the top station is well beyond the altitude at which snow reliability stops being a worry. Valle Nevado is tagged as snow-sure in our data, and the 810 m of vertical, while not enormous, is all skied in thin, cold air. Visitors arriving from sea level in Santiago should take the first day gently. Our data lists 40 km of pistes served by 14 lifts, with the lift system tagged as modern; there is no difficulty breakdown in our figures, and 14 lifts for 40 km is a dense enough network that queues should not be the limiting factor.

The Tres Valles

Valle Nevado is listed under the Tres Valles ski area, so the local 40 km is one part of a wider grouping of Andean ski areas. Whether a single pass covers the neighbouring valleys depends on the ticket, so check current terms before assuming the whole area is included. On its own, Valle Nevado is a compact resort with high-altitude skiing and scenic views, the third of its tagged features, and 900 hectares is a generous amount of ground for 40 km of marked piste, which hints at space between the runs.

Who it suits

Valle Nevado suits skiers chasing snow in the northern summer, and those who want the altitude of the Andes with a resort’s infrastructure: modern lifts, accommodation on site and Santiago close enough for a stopover. The 40 km will not fill a fortnight on its own, so treat it as part of a trip that takes in the capital or the neighbouring Tres Valles areas. Non-skiers get scenery at nearly 3,000 m and a short hop back to the city.

Practical

This is a Southern Hemisphere resort: the season in our data runs from June to October, which makes it a genuine summer-skiing option for Europeans and North Americans. Santiago airport (SCL) is roughly 50 km away as the crow flies. The resort’s official website carries current information.