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S6E50 – Why Every Ski Lover Should Drive the Carretera Caracoles to Ski Portillo, Chile
S6E50 – Why Every Ski Lover Should Drive the Carretera Caracoles to Ski Portillo, Chile
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About this episode
Driving the Carretera Caracoles to Ski Portillo, Chile, offers a unique experience for ski lovers, blending breathtaking scenery with thrilling slopes. Local skiers share their passion for Portillo, emphasizing its tight-knit community and the challenges of navigating its steep terrain. Guests recount their adventures, including helicopter rides and the camaraderie built over years of skiing together. The episode also touches on the importance of choosing the right vehicle for the journey, with discussions on all-wheel drive options and the necessity of snow chains. Discover why Portillo is a must-visit for any serious skier.
Topics:
skiing in chile
carretera caracoles
portillo resort
electric vehicles
community and camaraderie
vehicle recommendations
helicopter rides
steep terrain challenges
ski culture
travel tips
In this episode, we are at Ski Portillo, Chile, a legendary resort known for its old-school hospitality, world-class Andes slopes like Roca Jack and Cara Cara, and the breathtaking views of Laguna del Inca. To get there, you’ll drive the iconic Carretera Caracoles, one of the most winding and dramatic mountain roads in the world—an unforgettable journey for every ski enthusiast.
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Welcome to the Total Car Score Podcast, bringing you the world of cars from inside the car.
And now your hosts, Carl Brower, Lauren Ficks, and Javier Mota.
Well, today I'm not inside the car because I have one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight passengers.
So we will need a big man. But I drove up with Eddie here in an electric car.
How was your impression here to come to Portillo in an electric car?
It was kind of scary, but...
Why?
The driver...
Oh, the driver, me?
No.
I get that.
No, he did really well once we find out that the mileage was slowing or going too fast.
The range, yeah.
The range got a little shorter, so he slowed down in the speed, so it was good. After that, it was good.
So you're from here, Chile?
I am from Chile.
But you live in California now?
That's correct. I live in Santa Barbara, California, and I'm married with an American.
But we love Chile, so we come once a year.
So you're going to help me here because since you're local and you live in the U.S.
and I've been trying to convince Americans to come to Portillo.
Now, here we have a group that are already here, so we're going to convince others.
So we're going to go around. Everybody's going to introduce themselves.
Excellent.
And talk about how do you come here? Very short, like two, three minutes because we have a lot of people.
But we're going to start here with another Javier.
More important, Javier is a lawyer in New York, so you're the lawyer in New York?
Yes, I am.
Yes, I think for you to want to come to Portillo, it starts with a passion for skiing.
If you're not passionate about skiing, don't come, okay?
It's very, very different than skiing in the United States.
But this resort, particularly Portillo, is wonderful because the hotel is like an extended family.
You come here and you meet people, you see people year after year after year.
Many have become 20, 30 and more years.
So that's the beauty about Portillo.
What about the drive-up, those little turns on the beginning?
Well, it's often closed. And it was closed on Saturday when I was coming up.
So the option was either take a helicopter or wait until the next day.
So I chose to take the helicopter.
Well, Leah, who has been coming here for more than 20 years, I met her in 2002 here.
You also took the helicopter, right?
Yeah, I finally got to take the helicopter up the hill.
We got the car from Santiago to Rio Blanco.
And then Portillo arranged the helicopter.
It was really cool. You stood around, you gave the guy your name.
And he wrote everything down on a piece of paper.
There was no liability waiver. There was no nothing.
Well, you had a lawyer.
I know.
That's a passenger.
You left all your luggage behind.
You got to take a little bag with your ski clothes for the day.
And so we came up in the helicopter.
We went skiing for the day.
And by 6 o'clock, our luggage arrived by truck.
That's cool.
Jeff, we also met here about five, six years ago.
Before the pandemic, I think, right?
Before the pandemic.
So you found out here because of Leah?
Right. She told me.
Because you used to work together.
But how would you tell people or convince more people to come?
So the reason you fell in love with skiing is here.
This is why I fell in love with skiing.
The vibe, everything, the people around it.
The reason you fell in love with skiing is right here in Portillo.
You may have lost it somewhere else in the U.S.
But here, it's perfect.
I tell people that expectation management is your friend.
Because you cannot expect the big super gondola from the Swiss Alps or anything like that, right?
No, you can't expect all that stuff.
You're not going to get the lifts that go up and down every two seconds kind of thing.
But what you're going to get is a beautiful place.
Great people.
The snow is great.
And the lifts are fun.
Everything's fun.
And it's right here.
And it's everything you ever wanted.
It's like when you started all over again.
And you first time here, right?
It is.
I've only been here 10 hours.
And you want to go back already?
It's amazing.
We just skied half the mountain.
Loved it.
Loved the people.
Loved the experience with the restaurant and the bar.
And meeting all of you guys.
It's just like instantly family.
It's amazing.
And you live in Colorado.
So you live in a great ski country.
We live in a great ski place.
But honestly, this could be a place we come back to every year.
And now we have...
It's becchio from Argentina.
It's becchio.
In any snow this year, right?
No.
Nothing in snow.
No.
I live in Santiago.
Oh, you live in Santiago now.
Okay.
But you're from Argentina.
Yes.
And I love Portillo.
What you don't know is that I learned to ski here when I was 3 years old.
Oh, wow.
So here I got in love with ski.
And since that time, I want to come to Portillo all the years.
Yeah.
And you're also a lawyer?
Also I am a lawyer.
What specialty?
Notary public.
Oh, okay.
Which is very different in the U.S.
Yes.
In the U.S. you will be like...
It's just like me.
I could be your secretary.
Notary just signs, papers, randomly.
I know you.
Hi, I'm Marvin Howard with marvinskis.com.
I've been coming down here for about 20 years.
Yeah.
Portillo.
Leah showed me the lovely side of Portillo.
And it's not just about the skiing.
It's the family, the friendships that you build.
Coming to Portillo, you know, we get with that large aspect of large mountain and many lifts.
You don't get that here.
But at the same time, you get a really good foundation on people with the passion of skiing.
Back in 2002, the U.S. came here to train all their Olympics.
Hope polls for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics.
And we proved that Portillo is a great training ground.
It's not uncommon to run into people like Ted Liggity, Tommy Moe, Makayla Schifrin...
Lindsay Vaughn's here.
Lindsay Vaughn's here.
I mean, this is where the pros and the true professionals come to train.
And there's a million people like me, too.
Well, they don't let him in.
He sneaks in.
But coming down here and not knowing what the conditions are, you just accept for what you get.
20 years ago, to get into the country was very difficult.
But nowadays, they have simplified it.
They have digitalized it.
And it is easy to get into the country.
So I think that if you have an old respect or an old admiration for what it took to get here,
it's a lot different nowadays.
It's easier to get into the country.
The language barrier has diminished immensely a lot of the people.
I think wine helps a lot.
Wine and whiskey helps a lot.
But, you know, my whiskey Spanish and my wine Spanish are vastly different.
But yet, everyone gets to wine.
And now we have Amy, who is also the first time here with Eric,
who just, we celebrated your honeymoon here.
Yes, absolutely.
It was actually very special.
I had no idea that was coming.
And I just feel so blessed and so grateful to have met all of you.
So how did you find out about this place?
Eric and I have been talking about it for a while.
So when Eric and I met, we talked about the places that we wanted to go on our honeymoon.
And this is kind of number one on our list, just because of it's somewhere we've never been before.
Yeah. And you love skiing, obviously.
We love to ski.
And I think what I really appreciated is not only the beautiful snow
and the wonderful hotel we're staying in, but the vistas.
Like the raw beauty of Chile.
There's no words for it, truly.
So let's do a second round about cars.
So tell me, what car would you drive off that crazy hill?
Probably a Jeep next time.
Which Jeep?
Ford will drive some...
Well, you need Ford to drive for sure, especially if it's a...
I don't know much about cars, but yeah, some kind of a...
You drive a Ford Marquis in the U.S.?
Yes.
That would be good here.
I have a Ford Marquis, but it's also electrical.
It's kind of scary with the call that the hills going up the crazy road.
I also have an F-150, so I think I would...
Oh, that would be better.
I think you put more skis in that.
Absolutely.
How would you drive up here?
No question, I'll wheel drive.
That's all. I always have an all-wheel drive car, at least.
And I would not want to have to be required to use tire chains.
Do they require tire chains to come up here?
Oh, yeah.
I know they're required.
But if the police stop you, the carabineros stop you, they're going to ask for it,
and you say, yeah, I have them in the back and you find them.
Oh, is that right?
What about you, Lea?
I have an older Audi S4 all-wheel drive with snow tires on it.
I would love to have that here.
Manual.
Manual, yes.
Manual up the hill.
Hummer. I want a Hummer.
EV or the regular?
The regular Hummer with a diesel engine.
That's the one I want.
They never made a diesel engine.
Oh, from the military.
Oh, you're talking about a serious storm, man.
That's right.
It was in the military, so that's why.
How about you, Eric?
So I drive a Subaru Ascent, and in the wintertime, we have studded snow tires.
So we drive up a tree.
I wish I had that car here, because on the rental car, we had to put on snow chains
to get up to Valle Navado.
And holy cow, was that a difficult situation?
That was Saturday or the weekend on the big storm.
On Saturday, it took us five hours to get up there.
And one of the chains fell off.
Very exciting.
And normally it only takes an hour and a half.
Yes.
Or less.
What about you?
I like my family car, the Land Rover Defender.
Oh, nice.
So we're driving a...
Eddie and I drove in the Jaecco 6, which is parked outside.
I don't know if you saw it.
What do you like, a Defender?
No car.
Yeah, it looked like it.
I'm a fan of the Chevy Tahoe.
Lots of space for clients and for guests.
And lots of room for your ski gear.
And with its all-wheel drive and four-wheel drive technology,
it's second to none in the snow country.
Yeah.
And I think I know your answer, but I'd like to say it anyway.
Yeah.
I drive an SQ5, an Audi SQ5, and I love it.
But I would love it up here.
I would think studded tires would be very helpful if the snow falls.
Yeah.
I'd also want to try a Jeep Wrangler up here with studded tires.
Oh, the Jeep Wrangler.
I think that would be kind of fun.
Yeah, I think that would be fun.
Yeah, I think that would be fun.
I don't wear it.
Yeah.
I'll take the Audi there.
Yeah.
The Audi SQ5.
That's fun.
Yeah.
You'll follow.
Yeah.
That's the vehicle you want.
Yeah.
So, Eddie, let's, I mean, again, you've been from Chile.
What else can people do here in Chile?
Because this is just one of, I don't know,
thousands of places that you can visit Chile, right?
That's right.
Chile is an open flower, if you want to say that.
And there's petals everywhere.
You can visit the mountains, the ocean, the wineries,
the back country, the glaciers, the lakes,
the deserts.
It's just unbelievable the different areas that you can visit.
I always say that it's like, you take California and stretch it
really long, and then you add a desert in the North
and Antarctic and Patagonia in the South.
Yeah.
That's what you get.
But yeah, without the politics of California.
Exactly.
Other politics.
Other politics.
As a tourist, you don't notice.
Yeah, I said, no, that's what I would always say,
like Jeff, Alia and Melvin, that when we come here,
we come into a bubble, right?
Yeah.
It's a different place, but anything you want to add,
have it?
We're getting trouble in New York.
Again, I think Portillo is a real skier's place.
There aren't any signs.
And you ski all over the world.
Yes.
Yes, I do.
I ski a lot.
I'm fortunate to be able to do it.
But I understand when you come here,
you may want to ski with somebody who knows the mountain
because there's no signs at all.
And there's some treacherous areas that you want to avoid.
Okay, let's go quickly about that.
What things that people will be surprised about?
The lake run is one of them, the first one off the bat,
because you don't realize how difficult it is to get back.
Getting down is not a problem.
Getting out of there is a problem.
And you as a lawyer are going to ask you too.
It's not a little strange.
Like, that would not fly in the U.S.
Oh, gosh.
No.
Oh, no.
There would be signs everywhere.
There would be warning signs.
And I don't think they would be able to make
something like that in the U.S.
No.
They wouldn't be able to make something like that in the U.S.
It wouldn't pass.
Yeah.
So what about, what did you explain,
rokayaca and caracara and bizcacha?
So you, Jeff, both of you.
Oh, I don't know.
Both of you.
Yeah.
So they have this thing here.
It's super steep.
And lots of couloirs.
And a lot of vert above the ski area.
So they put in these things that pull you up the mountain.
They're called slingshots.
They're designed by Poma.
And they are...
Five at a time.
What's that?
Five at a time.
Either four or five at a time.
And you stand shoulder to shoulder.
And it hauls you up the mountain at a stupid speed.
Bumpy.
And it's bumpy.
And it's lumpy.
And if you're with a snowboarder, good luck.
And when you get to the top, it stops with a jerk.
And you'll have to figure out how to get off.
So your backwards, like 37 degrees.
You're facing up the hill at 37 degree angle on rokayac.
And you also get off one by one.
And it's crazy as I'll get out.
Have we been knocked you off of that one, Jeff?
What's that?
Somebody has knocked you off of that one.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
I got knocked off.
Yeah, if people aren't careful,
they'll ski over the back of your skis
and then you fall on your ass.
Yeah.
And then you tumble down the hill
and you look like an idiot.
But other than that, it's good.
You're the first time here,
so you haven't seen anything bad yet, I guess, right?
Yeah, but they got away
to have you here to show us how to do it.
Because we had no idea.
Oh, you did?
Yeah, okay.
What about you?
What do you think?
Something that maybe people will be aware of.
Well, I mean, the thing that coming here for years
and skiing at Baidina Bado
and skiing here that you have to get used to
is the steepness of the terrain
and the largeness of the terrain.
When you get here, you look
and it doesn't seem too intimidating,
but you get on one of the slingshots
slash palmas and you start going up
and you realize, okay, this is real terrain,
real steep pitch.
I might be in trouble.
Yeah, yeah.
And then to get off,
you literally have to have the ability
to slide backwards about 10 yards
and land on your skis.
Turn around.
And turn around
and then get your skis into the ball line.
So, I mean, it's not for the pain of heart,
but it's definitely an area
that requires a certain skill set
that you'll develop when you're done.
You've been skiing here since you were two years old.
Anything that you don't like about this place?
I'm in love with this place.
I can't be objective.
Did you like the wine tonight?
Yes.
Maybe you're also new here,
but you haven't seen anything that you don't like yet?
No, I was a little intimidated
the first couple of runs
because the pitch was a little scary,
but once you get used to it,
it's not so bad.
It's beautiful.
I think it's tough
because I have to pay attention to skiing,
but all I want to do is look around at the scenery.
Well, thank you very much everybody
for being part of this group
and this conversation.
I think it was fun.
Maybe we can do it again sometime next year.
Excellent.
Yeah.
We can do another week.
We can do another week.
Yeah.
Thank you.
I would like to say that
if you could imagine
being able to drive
to the lower saddle of the Grand Teton
and have a lodge and ski from there,
it would be the equivalent of skiing
out of Portillo.
Excellent.
Well, good luck tomorrow
when you're skiing
or going back to New York,
obviously, so
I'll see you next year
and here in Portillo.
And one more thing,
there's not just skiing here.
Chile is a vibrant country
with a lot of terrain.
Oh, yeah.
It's 3,000 miles from tip to tail
and it has every kind of geology
and geography and parks
and lakes
and don't just come to the ski
and come follow the country
and visit the rest of it.
Bye.
Thank you.
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