Day by day itinerary
Day 1: Santiago – Colorado.
A KL Expeditions guide will meet you at Santiago’s airport . Following an optional stop at KL Ski Rental Shop for equipment supply, we drive up to the vicinity of Valle Nevado and La Parva ski resorts, approximately 1½ hours. After reviewing touring techniques and making final adjustments to our equipment, we ascend and descend the Cerro Pintor 13,713 feet (4,180m). We prep plans for the tour with our guides and return to Santiago and settle into our hotel.
Maximum Alt: 13,713 feet (4,180m) – Min Alt: 9,022 feet (2,750m) –Vertical Drop: 4,101 feet (1,250m) / Skin up: 2½ hours – Ski down: 1 hour
Day 2: Santiago – Vineyard – Termas de Chillán.
Today we drive south to our destination at the Termas de Chillán resort. We’ll travel through Chile’s wide, fertile Central Valley, planted with orchards and vineyards, a spectacular backdrop provided by the snowy peaks of the Andes mountain range to the east. We’ll break our journey with a visit to the famous Colchagua Valley, voted the world’s best wine region of 2005, with its neat vineyards, picturesque colonial architecture, and impressive mountain vistas. We’ll visit the Hacienda Los Lingues, have lunch, relax, and watch a horse show. Continuing on to the Chillán area, we’ll reach our hotel and settle in.
Day 3: Ski Touring Chillán Volcano.
We’ll use the Termas de Chillán ski lifts to reach the ski area’s highest point at 7,874 feet (2,400m). Here we set out for the summit, a spectacular excursion with views of steaming fumaroles, the Andes range visible on the skyline. Following a full day of ski touring we return to our hotel.
Max Altitude: 10,242 feet (3,122m) – Min Alt: 5,577 feet (1,700m) – Vertical Drop: 4,465 feet (1,422m) / Skin up: 1 ½ hours – Ski down: 45 min
Day 4: Ski Touring Nevados de Chillán Volcano.
We’ll ride the Termas de Chillán ski lifts up to the ski area’s highest point at 7,874 feet (2,400m) where we’ll begin our ascent of the beautiful glaciated summit of Nevados de Chillán. We descend through the lovely Shangri La Valley with over 6 miles (10 km) of superb back-country skiing and breathtaking views, finishing at the Las Trancas valley. We stay overnight in our hotel.
Max Altitude: 10,452 feet (3,186m) – Min Alt: 5,577 feet (1,700m) – Vertical Drop: 4,875 feet (1,486m) / Skin up: 3 hours – Ski down: 1 hour
Day 5: Termas de Chillán – Manzanares.
We drive 6 hours south towards Curacautín in the Araucanía region. On the way we stop to visit and photograph the majestic “Salto del Laja” waterfall. We settle into the Manzanar Hot Springs Hotel and then visit two more beautiful nearby waterfalls, “Salto del Indio” and “Salto de la Princesa”. Returning to the Manzanar resort, we’ll relax in the hot springs.
Day 6: Ski Touring Lonquimay Volcano.
We drive 15 miles (25 km) to the base of the Corralco ski area, located on the Lonquimay Volcano. In the Mapudungun language of the Mapuche people, the name Lonquimay means ‘dense forest’. We ride the chairlift up to the ski area’s highest point and then make an ascent of this beautiful and accessible peak. At the summit we’ll admire panoramic views of the region’s other stunning volcanoes and then make our long, long descent. We return to the Manzanar Hot Springs Hotel.
Max Altitude: 9,009 feet (2,746m) – Min Alt: 4,790 feet (1,460m) – Vertical Drop: 4,219 feet (1,286m) / Skin up: 4-5 hours – Ski down: 2 hours
Day 7: Ski Touring Tolhuaca Volcano.
The Tolhuaca Volcano, so called because of its cow head shape, is located in the Tolhuaca National Park, a pristine wilderness area of outstanding natural beauty. We will ski tour the Tolhuaca Volcano with breath-taking views over the beautiful Malleco Lagoon, an important waterfowl refuge. At the end of the day we return to the Manzanar Hot Springs Hotel.
Max Altitude: 9,206 feet (2,806m) / Skin up: 4 hours- Ski down: 2 hours
Day 8: Ski Touring Llaima Volcano – Pucón.
We’ll make an early transfer to Las Araucarias Ski Resort at the base of the Llaima Volcano. Considered one of the three most active volcanoes in South America, Llaima—which means ‘come back to life’ in the Mapudungun language of the Mapuche people—has had more than forty eruptions over the past 150 years, the most recent in 1994. We will ascend and then ski down this impressive volcano with its vast crater, twin peaks with spectacular smoking fumaroles, and araucaria forests. At the end of the day we transfer to the Hotel Mallahue in Pucón.
Max Altitude: 10,252 feet (3,125m) – Min Alt: 5,085 feet (1,550m) – Vertical Drop: 5,167 feet (1,575m) / Skin up: 4-5 hours – Ski down: 1 hour
Day 9: Ski Touring Villarrica Volcano.
We set out for Villarica Volcano National Park, with its picture-book smoking volcano—one of the most active in South America—and its rushing rivers, volcanic caves, and emerald-coloured lagoons. On our 5-hour ski tour, we’ll enjoy privileged views of this outstanding wilderness area. At the end of the day we’ll have dinner at one of Pucón’s celebrated restaurants and stay overnight at the Hotel Mallahue.
Max Altitude: 9,340 feet (2,847m) – Min Alt: 4,625 feet (1,410m) – Vertical Drop: 4,625 feet (1,437m) / Skin up: 4 hours – Ski down: 1 hour
Day 10: Pucón – Huilo-Huilo Biological Reserve.
We visit this private wilderness conservation area and ecotourism project created in 1999 to protect 231 square miles (600 km2) of native forest, home to the elusive pudú, the world’s smallest deer, and a wide range of other fauna. We visit the scenic Salto Huilo-Huilo and Salto el Puma waterfalls and settle into the Montaña Magica Hotel.
Day 11: Ski Touring Mocho Volcano.
We ski this beautiful volcano located in the Mocho-Choshuenco reserve, a wilderness area of more than 29,000 square miles (7,537 hectares). Its twin cones tower above native forest intersected by tumbling rivers and dotted with Andean lakes. We return to the Montaña Magica Hotel for the night.
Max Altitude: 7,946 feet (2,422m) – Min Alt: 2,296 feet (700m) – Vertical Drop: 5,649 feet (1,722m) / Skin up: 3.5 hours – Ski down: 1 hour
Day 12: Huilo-Huilo – Antillanca.
We drive to the Antillanca resort on the slopes of the Casablanca Volcano in Puyehue Nacional Park. This beautiful wilderness area is characterized by dense native forest on volcanic terrain, and a wide variety of fauna including puma, grey foxes, quiques, coipos, güiñas and vizcachas, and extensive bird life including condors, bandurrias, and slender-billed parakeets On the way we stop at Puyehue Hot Springs to relax and have lunch. We stay overnight at our hotel in Antillanca.
Day 13: Ski Touring Casablanca Volcano.
We’ll ride Antillanca´s lifts to the ski area’s highest point, where we’ll set out for the summit. The views over the surrounding landscape are spectacular: the volcanoe’s lower slopes, thickly forested with coigue, manio, ulmo, and tepa, are dotted with emerald lakes, and the snow-covered cone of the Osorno Volcano rises majestically on the skyline. We return to our hotel in Antillanca.
Maximum Alt: 6,528 feet (1,990m) – Min Alt: 3,412 feet (1,040m) – Vertical Drop: 3,116 feet (950m) / Skin up 1½ hours – Ski down 45 minutes
Day 14: Antillanca – Osorno Volcano.
We drive to the picturesque southern Chilean city of Puerto Varas, on the shores of the beautiful Lake Llanquihue, and then on to the rustic Refugio Teski, on the Osorno Volcanoe’s lower slopes. We stay overnight at the Teski Hut.
Day 15: Ski Touring Volcano Osorno.
We make an early start to begin our ascent of Osorno, an iconic Chilean volcano noted for its similarity to Japan’s Mt. Fuji. An active volcano with a glaciated summit, Osorno towers over the beautiful Llanquihue and Todos los Santos lakes. We return to the Melia Patagonia Hotel in Puerto Varas for a spa and dinner.
Maximum Altitude: 8,700 feet (2,652m) – Min Alt: 4,068 feet (1,240m) – Vertical Drop: 4,632 feet (1,412m) / Skin up 4-5 hours – Ski down 1½ hours
Day 16: Puerto Varas – Puerto Montt – Santiago.
Transfer to the airport in Puerto Montt for the flight back to Santiago. End of Ski Touring Chile’s Volcanoes from the Central Andes to Patagonia.
Custom trip builder.
Difficulty:
This tour is open to intermediate to advance skiers. There is no major difficulty. If you are a good skier, with good fitness and wish to experience ski touring for the first time this is a great tour.
Tour Dates:
- Best time from end of august until the end of September.
- Design your own tour at your own dates
Cost:
Base on group size, length of tour and service provided.