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Cheap skiing in Chile or Argentina

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nebratu
Posts: 156 - Karma: 10
Anyone know what would be a good place for skiing in Chile or Argentina, that is cheaper then the main ones, or is it all roughly the same? Is it worth it to do a package deal or just do accomidations and everything all separate?

Is it cheaper to ski in chile or argentina?

How come there's no regional forum for South America?
May 9 2007 4:04PM
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papasteeze
Posts: 12055 - Karma: 915
go with a group,  shop around, see if they will let you tag along.
May 9 2007 4:15PM
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yelsel
Posts: 12967 - Karma: 3,451
if you can get a group to go scope out alpineadventures.com
May 9 2007 5:28PM
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NicoChile
Posts: 690 - Karma: 199
well in chile it depends on the ski resort, but if you wanna go to a decent one the lift ticket is around 40 dollars. in some places like villarrica and others is cheaper but they are not as good as the others.. i think that in argentina is a little bit more expensive but only like 5 dollars, but i'm not sure
May 9 2007 5:37PM
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STACKS
Posts: 1938 - Karma: 42
sketchy people around there
May 9 2007 8:19PM
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*monsterskier*
Posts: 2671 - Karma: 61
i hear that in argentina u can buy beer for like..$1 or something and get cheap hotel rooms
May 9 2007 8:23PM
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Roy
Posts: 1982 - Karma: 1,240
^^^A guy I work with goes there all the time cuz his wife is from there and he said that you can get a liter of beer made by a company owned by molson for about 40 cents cad
May 9 2007 8:38PM
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NicoChile
Posts: 690 - Karma: 199
well a six pack of bear like regular beer like not the best it's like 2 dollars
May 9 2007 8:51PM
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khyber.pass
Posts: 519 - Karma: 13
Portillo, Chile, is the best resort down there with challenging terrain, though depending on conditions and cost many of the others are quite excellent. There are 3 main areas: the North (high Andes, Chile), the South (Patagonia range, lower) and Argentina (more inland, central). Unless you have someone to go with, go with a (guided) group or at least use a tourist agency if you have never been to South America before. Hit Google, you will immediately find a number of established agencies. Call, confirm, double-check, and shop around.
May 9 2007 10:01PM
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STAUSS
Posts: 8232 - Karma: 3,311
sasnowsessions.com

its the best thing around. if you're over 18 check out the bare bones package.. its cheaper and will be a fucking sick introduction to south america. I'm a rep and a counclier... if you want more detail PM me. I gotta lotta shit abuot it and can hook you up with info and contact shit for the camp director and what not.
May 9 2007 10:02PM
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NicoChile
Posts: 690 - Karma: 199
if you are talking about chile you are totally wrong, a day pass is no way over 50 dollars and i would say food it's almost as the same prize here in chile as in the states, i just went to work to colorado in the us for january and february and i live here in chile so you would pay almost the same for food here than in the us. well transportation it's a little bit more expensive and in terms of where to stay you can always find cheap places...
May 9 2007 10:22PM
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NicoChile
Posts: 690 - Karma: 199
yeah and they are like a little bit more exclusive i think.. well on thing owrth saying is that the vibe here in winter is great good parties everybody is pretty nice hot girls and also they do anything for the tourists
May 9 2007 11:05PM
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EVAN.F
Posts: 895 - Karma: 2,820
any parks down there?
May 10 2007 11:52PM
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Campeador
Posts: 7516 - Karma: -1,227
Cheapest way you will do it

http://www.skiportillo.com/html-eng/rates.html

$600 for a week of lodging, lift tickets, 4 meals a day, and a big heated pool.

This is the lodging
http://www.skiportillo.com/html-eng/hotel-inca.html

If you want to go to Chile you can't go wrong with this deal.

The only downside is there is no park at Portillo but the terrain makes up for it completely, the only park I believe is at Valle Nevado. If you're going to go, decide soon so you don't overpay on airfare.

God damn, I should have given up going to Scotland to go back to Chile.
May 11 2007 12:47AM
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Campeador
Posts: 7516 - Karma: -1,227
Don't go by yourself, go with at least 1-3 other people. That way you can split the price of the shuttle to get there. And besides that you'll have a better time.
May 11 2007 12:49AM
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NicoChile
Posts: 690 - Karma: 199
villarrica valle nevado la parva and el colorado have parks but the best one is the one in el colorado, also valle nevado has a pipe
May 11 2007 10:16AM
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Campeador
Posts: 7516 - Karma: -1,227
Thats what I was thinking, the only pipe is at valle. La parva is quite nice as well, an old friend of mine has a place there.
May 11 2007 11:03AM
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nebratu
Posts: 156 - Karma: 10
Definitly going with 2 other people, but we arent planning to go until august 08, gotta save up some money, and give us plenty of time for airfare. Thanks for all the info. Park really isn't important as terrain i think for this trip.

The other concern is getting my gear. Anyone ever shipped there stuff separately (I might be down there already travelling around). I'm guessing it aint cheap
May 11 2007 12:26PM
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nebratu
Posts: 156 - Karma: 10
august 2008. I'm guessin the snow is still really good in August? July looks like it gets more crowded and expensive, when all the S.A. kids have break
May 11 2007 4:01PM
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NicoChile
Posts: 690 - Karma: 199
well july and augus is the best time, with the best snow, july yeas it is more crowded but the parties are like crazy in the same ski resorts in july, trust me because i work there and ski there so any month the two months would be a good choice
May 11 2007 4:58PM
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Kornn101
Posts: 3534 - Karma: 25
i was born there and havent been back since =(

and i am JUST a bit too broke to go this summer, hopefully enxt year!

where could i find the cheapest airfare?
May 11 2007 5:16PM
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NicoChile
Posts: 690 - Karma: 199
i think it's like 1000 dollars the cheapest one
May 11 2007 5:36PM
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llyon
Posts: 153 - Karma: 18
Honestly, I would ignore almost all the advice given so far, I dont know where people are getting this info, but it is all wrong.
First, Argentina is way cheaper than Chile. Argentina's economy crashed in '02 and they are till recovering. Most things are cheap (wine, food, lodging), but imports are expensive (skis, beacons, that kinda stuff).
If you want to do it super cheap, I think basing yourself in Bariloche would be a good bet. You can stay in a hostel there for under $10 a night, and the touring in the area is so good, you wouldnt even need to buy a ticket most days. Also, the scene in Bariloche is cool, great food for cheap, cool clubs, hot girls.
If you want to checkout other resorts around, there are very cheap buses that you can catch from Bariloche to just about anywhere.
You could dirtbag it down there for about $500/month, and then add a little over a grand for a roundtrip plane ticket.
This stuff is all fact, not random specualtion and rumors like almost all the other posts so far.
Hope that helps.
May 11 2007 5:44PM
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NicoChile
Posts: 690 - Karma: 199
well i live here in chile so i know
May 11 2007 6:28PM
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NicoChile
Posts: 690 - Karma: 199
bariloche is nice but is in the south so i would recommend going to the middle and then you can see where to go, because chile and argentina are very centralized, so you can do everything like planning trips and stuff from there
May 11 2007 6:40PM
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inthewoods
Posts: 1074 - Karma: 111
http://www.lastrancas.cl/pacha.htm

http://powderchile.cl/

and u can get many more men..just do some research
May 11 2007 11:01PM
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khyber.pass
Posts: 519 - Karma: 13
Most of the posts here have links to back them up, so perhaps you're being a little silly. The others, ignore 'em, sure, but a few dudes here live in Chile.
May 14 2007 1:17PM
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skifree919
Posts: 5842 - Karma: 35
Yea dude i was about to post this link. I almost hit this deal up, but i had a change of plans. 600 for a bed, lift tickets, food, and a pool? That is CHEAP as hell. Go for it. You can go there for 1500 dollars for a week of sick skiing including everything. That is cheap. You can't do that in america
May 14 2007 2:49PM
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nebratu
Posts: 156 - Karma: 10
Damn, that Portillo deal is looking pretty good. Hell, can get a ticket for $1,000 or less. You know how many beds they cram in each room?
May 15 2007 12:51PM
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nebratu
Posts: 156 - Karma: 10
yea, I just started, there is def. loads of options.
May 15 2007 12:52PM
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nebratu
Posts: 156 - Karma: 10
dammit, can I edit my previous posts? Anyways, is it more common for the places to have villages like the european spots, or is it more like north america?
May 15 2007 1:02PM
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NicoChile
Posts: 690 - Karma: 199
well at least in chile the ski resorts don't have villages ljust like in the us they are way smaller or they just dont have, but usually there is a town near the ski resort like an hour away. for example the ski resorts near santiago they have santiago as the town one hour away and they have a little village called farellones, portillo doesn't have a village just the hotel, like 3 more places where they rent rooms and a few houses, and in the south like villarrica and chillan there is also a town like an hour away maybe less...
May 15 2007 2:20PM
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Notorious_LMP
Posts: 145 - Karma: 30
wheres the BEST park and is la pavas good cause im goin there this summer and i have to know
May 16 2007 6:09PM
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inthewoods
Posts: 1074 - Karma: 111

mm I would say the best park is in El Colorado, but dont expect that much since its nearly the only park.. (others are in the south and were built more recently) and it doesnt have a pipe.
But if where u r going is "La parva" then El Colorado and Valle Nevado, where the is a pipe, are very close. They are, overall, the same mountain but work independently...so, once there u{ll be fine-

May 17 2007 10:52PM
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mckeeman
Posts: 2674 - Karma: 122
go to southamericaski.com and book your trip through there...my guy mark lasseter runs the company and will hook you up with super cheap accom.

i went to las lenas two summers ago and stayed for $120 a week...ended up staying for 3 weeks. it was sick. check out some of my pics to check out the terrain. definatley a worthwhile trip
May 19 2007 1:29PM
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japie99
Posts: 2128 - Karma: 20
yeah when i read all this i was like whaaat... coz like u said the dollar pesos is like so cheap nowadays. But with those countries u can make it as expensive as uself want. Like u can go to these international hotels and only eat there. But u can also go and eat at the local restraunts and find some really nice local hotels and save like 500 dollars. Its up to you...
May 19 2007 2:14PM
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*T-Hobbs*
Posts: 718 - Karma: 193
yea im going to argentina for august w/ SASS!! i'm sooooo stoked
May 19 2007 8:23PM
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freeskiin1080
Posts: 129 - Karma: 10
May 19 2007 8:34PM
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Giv_Clothing
Posts: 312 - Karma: 13
not much to add but Whatver you do research more than just here...both Argentina and Chile are great places for a summer ski trip. And really you can go to either country for a decent price... just make sure you appreciate the culture and the people in the countries too. Take time to travel if you can.
May 22 2007 6:11PM
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kykelly05
Posts: 1295 - Karma: 11
Im in Chile right now... Most the resorts are right around the same prices.. on the weekends ur gunna spend around 25,000 pesos ( like 47$ )
But there are cheap ways to do it.. Certain resorts have 2 for one lifts tickets... also staying in hostals will save you a lot.. some resorts have hostals in town.. and if you wanna stay in santiago.. there are plently of dirt cheap hostals.. you can take a bus from certain ski rental places in town for 6-8 mil ( 12-16 $ )
ESQUITOTAL off the escuela militar exit on the red line metro has a lot of ski shops and rental joints to cetch buses up.. which is the best way to do it.. bc u have to rent chains for ur tires to drive up the mtns.. which is sketchy.. Take a bus..
If anyone is headed out to Chile before July 23rd... shoot me an e-mail chandlck@muc.edu
Jul 9 2007 2:57PM
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llyon
Posts: 153 - Karma: 18
Im down here at Las Lenas at the moment, things are good. Ive been here nearly a month now. Skiing pow on Marte the past 3 days, there is no one here its pretty incredible.
To get an idea on prices, I am paying $500 us a month for the apartment I am staying in, and $1000 us for a season pass. This is probably the most expensive place to ski in argentina though.
Jul 9 2007 9:18PM
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chickenwang
Posts: 5639 - Karma: 40
my friend went there last summer and got that deal
but the plane ticket is what killed him it was like 1500 or sum bs price like that
Jul 9 2007 9:40PM
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llyon
Posts: 153 - Karma: 18
Portillo is ok... its basically an american resort culture wise... everyone speaks english and there is nothing but rich americans and some rich chileans there.
The lift accessed terrain isnt that great, its probably worth going there to bag the super C ad then move on.
Jul 9 2007 9:52PM
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