Chile Ski Resort Reporting 50+ Inches And Counting From 'Storm Of The Decade'

The "storm of the decade" -- now known as a Santa Rosa storm (storms that arrive near the start of the Santa Rosa festival, celebrated in Lima, Peru every year)  -- is delivering in South America, folks.

Yesterday, Ski Portillo, a Chilean ski resort, announced they'd received 50+ inches of snow so far, with more on the way.

How much more, you ask?

A lot more. OpenSnow, a forecasting team dedicated to providing skiers and outdoor enthusiasts with accurate snowfall reports, calls for another 76" inches this week.

Unsurprisingly, the storm has halted Ski Portillo's resort ops. As of today, August 30th, both access roads from Santiago and Mendoza are closed, and none of the lifts are spinning.

An Instagram video shared by Ski Portillo two hours ago showcases the current whiteout conditions at the resort. Here's a screengrab.

Powder contacted Ski Portillo via Instagram to get a boots-on-the-ground storm report. According to the resort, the lifts, as noted previously, are closed. The team is waiting for improvements in visibility before performing avalanche control work.

"We are hoping Thursday [to conduct avalanche control work], once the storm eases. Because of Portillo's geography, some of the avalanche work is done by snow guns and helicopter," they wrote in response to my query.

The resort hopes to offer skiing by Thursday or Friday this week, conditions dependent. To those in the area, I envy you. The getting's probably going to be incredibly good.

Stay tuned!

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