School kids just won’t know what skiing in the Andes looks like
Chilean Ski Resort Closes Indefinitely Ahead of Forecasted 200-Inch Blizzard
Ski Portillo is battening down the hatches.
Only weeks after a lack of snow forced the Chilean ski resort to start the season later than planned, a massive winter storm is set to arrive in full on Thursday, July 16, 2026.
So massive, in fact, that Portillo has opted to close for several days, with no one leaving or entering the resort during the blizzard. The ski slopes also won’t be open for safety reasons.
According to Portillo’s website, its access roads are already closed. The resort said it would keep skiers and snowboarders updated via its website and social media, and through email, but didn’t provide a set reopening date.
The forecasts now emerging ahead of the storm are confounding, eye-watering, and absurd, all at once.
How does over 13 feet of snow before the end of the month sound? That’s how much Portillo said could arrive, according to “reliable forecasts.” Between now and July 24, OpenSnow—a forecasting service popular among skiers—put the storm total somewhere around 200 inches.
If only you had given up your use of fossil fueled vehicles this wouldn’t happen.
There are some webcams operating at the resort, looks like some great snow.
Ski resort is a tough business. It has to live in the gap between not enough snow and too much snow. Like many things, it used to be accessible to the lower middle class and now it is the exclusive domain of the wealthy.