SANTA THERESA, CHILE: The Ultimate Slack-Country experience
Near the resort of Valle Nevado in Chile I found the most convenient back country skiing I have ever seen: Santa Theresa. This area has been a local's secret for years but is now attracting attention of North American travelers chasing powder during the summer.
You can access Santa Theresa via the adjacent resorts of either Valle Nevado or El Colorado. A short traverse brings you to the numerous cornice entrances, where you pick your line varying from rolling cruiser bowls to super steep chutes with 60-foot cliffs. All lines exit to the road between the town of Farellones and Valle Nevado. And here is the convenient part: you hitch back up to Valle Nevado, take El Cono T-Bar up and you can do it all over again. No expensive cats or helis and no time consuming touring and whole lot of terrain with only a handful of locals skiing it. Your only fee is the lift ticket for the resorts that you paid for anyway.
The best time to ski Santa Theresa is before lunch. Majority of traffic is heading up to Valle Nevado allowing a minimal wait for your ride. Don't be deterred if you have a cre--pick-up trucks are a popular vehicle around here and more often than not the driver will be cool with your group climbing into the tray with your gear. Afternoons have less traffic, meaning you should have a fall back plan to avoid waiting for hours into the night to get back to the resort
When you see this remarkable terrain you'll wonder why neither resort has bothered to expand and put in a chairlift here. The answer to that is South America and such ideas can take decades to actually come to fruition. So rest assured that the only people skiing Santa Theresa for the next few years will be the ones who don't mind an uncomfortable ride for 20 minutes.