Ski resorts in Argentina and Chile have been reporting snowfall totals rising at an astronomical rate through the weekend as a major snowstorm hits the Andes.
Chile’s Portillo ski area, currently closed for safety reasons due to the storm, has reported 309cm – over 10 feet – of snow over the past 72 hours, peaking at over 1.5m (five feet) on Friday-Saturday.
Valle Nevado, from where the webcam image top was captured today, reports 1.7m (nearly six feet) of snowfall from the storm. It also published this before and after picture.
Many ski areas in the region are currently cut off by closed roads and for now the emphasis on keeping safe until roads and lifts can be dug out and slopes be made as safe as possible.
It’s a remarkable change of fortune for South American ski areas which had struggled to open much terrain at all during the first month of the 2026 season. Most had had less than 50cm of snowfall over the past few months …until this weekend.
Most areas in the region are now due to see a brief lull in the snowfall before the next front is expected to move in on Tuesday.
