Veteran Guide Shares 3 Awesome Ski Portillo Heli-Ski Tips

SNOW got a chance to ride a chairlift and chat with Portillo Instructor, Lifetime visitor and Heli Guide Carlos Liendo to get some Ski Portillo heli-ski tips. Having spent several years skiing the resort and now as a guide for the heli skiing operation, Carlos has the inside scoop on how to heli in Portillo.

His top 3 heli skiing tips – Portillo, Chile

  1. You don’t need to book the helicopter for the day. If you are unsure if heli skiing is for you or spent too many hours in the discotheque and don’t think you keep up, don’t worry. In Portillo, heli skiing is priced per run with most people doing as few as 2 or as many as their legs will hold.
  2. Ask to be dropped off in Tio Bob’s. After a long day skiing fields of untracked powder, you will have quite the appetite which is why a drop off at Tio Bob’s for a Portillo Burger is the best way to end the day. On the way back, just ask the pilot to drop off there instead of the hotel garage and watch him nosedive the empty helicopter down to the hotel as you celebrate the day sipping a Pisco Sour under the Portillo Sun.
  3. Lookout for Aconcagua. Keep your eyes open for the highest peak of the Americas, which at 22,838 ft towers over the Andes Mountains and can be seen from the helicopter during flight and from many of the runs. Just look for the iconic lenticular cloud circling the top of the peak.