Portillo Skiing Tips and Strategy
Portillo’s slopes are split into two unintegrated halves. To access the Juncalillo (west) side, you need to skate over to the base of the new quad chair which will take you to the base of the Roca Jack. The Plateau chair on the east side provides the easiest and quickest access to skiing though. It loads just a few meters from the hotel and ascends to the top of a wide bench under foreboding cliffs.
The recommended way to ski Portillo is to start on the Juncalillo side in the morning. The dawn illuminates the upper east-facing slopes of the Roca Jack first, softening the pistes with the early morning sun. After lunch, explore the Plateau side as it softens and warms.
The best beginner run is Canarios. It is close enough to the hotel for security but far enough away that less successful efforts are not visible to the critical sundeck crowd. Intermediates will find their greatest pleasure on Juncalillo which rolls over shelves and through valleys. The Los Túneles section of the run passes over two long tunnels which the government had to build over the road because the ski run “was here first.” Powder and corn snow are handily tested on the sides of this run before venturing above to some of the more advanced runs.
The clear favorite at Portillo for advanced skiers is the Roca Jack. In the heart of winter, the Roca Jack is surrounded by feathery new snow. On a good spring day, the north side will have glittering corn snow, the middle slushy bumps, and the south side firm, dry wind pack. Another recommended advanced run is Garganta, a steep chute that opens into a wide bowl north of the Plateau chair.
Expert skiers will need a full week to explore Portillo’s vertical secrets. The greatest opportunities lie to the south of the Roca Jack. A high traverse left (away from the lake) leads to a series of four major ridges where numerous possibilities of varying width and pitch await. Skiers who are lulled into believing there’s no more untracked powder simply are not looking hard enough.