Ski fields in late September.... Worth the trip?

My friend and I will be visiting South America for 3 weeks, arriving 24th September this year.

At the beginning of our trip we will be spending 6 days in Chile and were looking at spending 2 nights at a ski field close to Santiago somewhere.

Would we be wasting our time visiting the ski fields so late in September? Are there nice chalet's to stay around these area's?

Thanks in advance!

Leisa

It is unlikely that the skiing season will last that long. The ones south of Chillan might. You need to check in August to see what is happening. The Santiago ski resorts have flats but not chalets. There are some places with cabins on the road up to Chillan and lots of them all over the south. You need to look for 'cabañas'.

I went skiing in Portillo in late september or early october last year. It was the last weekend, and there was still tons of snow. By the end of the day it was a little slushy, but I was actually impressed how much snow there was that late into the season. I also went to Valle Nevado in late August of 2004 and most of snow was melted and there were rocks everywhere. But you can probably check snow conditions on the internet before you go to see what resorts have more snow.

In Central Chile you will arrive almost too late, normally ski resorts (La Parva, Valle Nevado, El Colorado) close by Sept. 18-19, but you can also head south to Pucon ands still enjoy the best time of the year donw there. Pucon is 400 miles south of Santiago and its a nature wonder area with volcanoes, hot springs, nature, trekking, etc.

Try
Villarical Pucon Skiing

Here are some links to the ski resorts in cetrnal Chile, 30 miles away from Santiago:

www.laparva.cl<BR>www.elcolorado.cl<BR>www.vallenevado.cl