realskiers

Chile was definitely worth it. I skied only at one resort which was Valle Nevado and I chose it for it's proximity to Santiago (it's about 1.5-2 hours from the airport).

We had no new snow when I was there, but the slopes were empty and the groomed terrain was gorgeous with cold temps and excellent conditions. When it snows down there, it usually snows a ton. They generally get 5-8 storms per season and all of them are large. Most resorts are above the tree lines and the storms have huge winds so generally the lifts are shut on storm days (and storms can last for several days). When the snow stops, I have been told it's a pretty big party for those that want to ski off piste. Generally the locals do not, so it's fresh lines for a week or more aftre the storm!!

As for the price, it was among the cheapest ski trips that I have ever taken. I used mileage for the airfare, and accomodations came with lift tickets and the package was dirt cheap. It also included meals and the food was quite good.

As one of my buddies said after someone on our trip complained about the lack of fresh snow, "It's july and you are skiing, shut up and enjoy it" which we did!!!