New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Portillo vs. New Zealand

post #1 of 5
4/14/12 at 10:43am
Thread Starter 

Considering a trip this summer.  The two candidates are Portillo or New Zealand.  I've been to Portillo before and am inclined to return.  Just wondering how the skiing in New Zealand compares to Portillo.  Interested in hearing from people who have skied both.

Reply
post #2 of 5
4/14/12 at 3:33pm

I've skied several places in South America, and also had the opportunity to ski New Zealand some years ago, but unfortunately it was a very bad snow year for NZ.

 

IMO, skiing in South America is better than in New Zealand.

The mountains are higher, the resorts bigger and with more vertical. Also, SA usually gets more snow than NZ.

 

Sure SA has it's problems, dangerous mountain roads, old lifts that close frequently because of wind etc.

 

New Zealand is an amazing country, Queenstown area is just gorgeous! But comparing only the skiing, I'd choose SA.

 

If you'd already been to Portillo, maybe you should check some other places... Las Lenas, Valle Nevado, Chillan are also good options.

 

Cheers.

Reply
post #3 of 5
4/14/12 at 4:45pm

I have not skied Portillo but I have skied at Valle Nevado. I have also skied in New Zealand (North & South Island) couples of time.

 

The skis resorts in NZ are much smaller and in my opinion fairly uninteresting. I prefer South America. If you plan to go, go to South Island and use either Queenstown or Wanaka as your base.

Reply
post #4 of 5
4/15/12 at 12:59am

I've lived in Queenstown for 4 winters, last year I worked in Portillo instead, let's just say I'm not going back to NZ in a hurry! 

 

That said, Queenstown is an amazing place, and I did miss the town, but I didn't miss the drive up the hill every day, the lack of snow, the crowds and the small hills. If you get good weather it can be great, but that's relatively rare. 

Reply
post #5 of 5
4/15/12 at 7:41am
Thread Starter 

Thanks for all replies.  Sounds pretty much like a SA slam dunk.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: General Skiing Discussion