Chile's Famous Ski Resort Begs Public To Stop Snow Dances: "We Want To Ski!"

How much snow is too much snow? The folks at Ski Portillo, Chile, are finding out the answer the hard way.

One of the strongest winter storms in the continent’s history has finally parted, but not before dumping a mind-melting 466cm (183 inches) of snow over the last seven days. In other words, it has snowed 15 feet in seven days, which is too much to operate a ski resort safely.

The slopes of Ski Portillo have been closed for most of the week, except for a few windows of calmer weather, and the resort’s access road remains closed. Chile’s government has issued a state of emergency as flood waters rage at lower elevations. At least ten people have died.

The weather was mostly calm yesterday, July 23, 2026, but snow has started falling again, and it isn’t expected to stop anytime soon. OpenSnow is predicting that another 150 inches (381cm) could fall on Ski Portillo between now and August 7, 2026.

Powder hounds are salivating, but Ski Portillo is hoping the snow eases up enough to allow for regular operations. In fact, the resort asked the public to help out in a recent statement.

“Everyone who was doing snow dances, please stop,” wrote Ski Portillo on Thursday, July 23, 2026. “We want to ski!”

Lake Tahoe, Utah, and the Pacific Northwest are no strangers to monster snowstorms like the one Ski Portillo just experienced, but there’s a major difference—Ski Portillo averages only about 200 inches (508cm) for an entire season, while many of the deepest U.S. resorts average 300, 400, or even 500 inches of snow per season.

In other words, this most recent storm dumped nearly an entire winter’s worth of snow on Ski Portillo in just seven days.

The upcoming storm systems don’t appear as strong as the one that just walloped the resort with 15 feet of snow, but consistent, heavy snowfall could make clearing the winding access road to Ski Portillo challenging.

We’re keeping our friends in Ski Portillo in mind, and hoping the snow lets up a little bit. The people want to ski, but Mother Nature will always have the final say.

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