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Best Skiing South of The Equator
Thomas Kohnstamm May 16, 2008
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For most people, winter is an unavoidable downside of North American and European life. The least beloved of all seasons, winter’s cold, short days are counted down toward the preferable temperatures brought on by spring and summer.
For skiers and snowboarders, the winter has a different significance. The colder and rainier it is in town, the deeper and drier the snow is in the mountains. Winter is the time of epic descents, clean lines, fresh powder, new corduroy, big air, perfect bumps and bluebird afternoons. It is a time of the year—when aided by the right gear—that you can engage with the mountains and the outdoors in an intense and intimate way that is all but impossible in other seasons.
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Come March, you sense that nagging depression: the feeling of winter slipping away. Skiers and snowboarders make the best of it through the early spring months as the snow pack atrophies and the ski season eventually grinds to a halt. They are then left missing the mountains, the camaraderie and lively après ski at the ski resorts, and, of course, that good old jolt of gravity and speed-induced adrenaline. It is time to move on to other pursuits while you wait for the next winter… or maybe not.
Bruce Brown’s 1966 classic surfing film, "The Endless Summer," posited: “On any day of the year it is summer somewhere in the world.” Well, on the flip side of that equation, somewhere in the world it’s always winter. And somewhere in the world that it is winter there also happens to be large mountains and premium snow. As we all learned in elementary school (and many of us since forgot), the seasons are reversed south of the equator. Just as the June summer heat chases the snow-line up the peaks of the Rockies and the European Alps, the Southern Hemisphere’s winter hits its stride in June, dumping new snow in the Andes, the Australian Alps and New Zealand’s Southern Alps.
From Chile and Argentina to Australia and New Zealand, dozens of top resorts are waiting for you, your skis and your snowboard.
South America not only experiences opposite seasons from the Northern Hemisphere, it’s also home to the magnificent Andes Mountains. The range stretches the length of the continent and reaches up to nearly 23,000 feet at Aconcagua in Argentina. Although a number of countries have some makeshift ski areas, Argentina and Chile lead with a handful of highly refined resorts. Somewhat counterintuitively, the best areas are not down towards the bottom of either country in the deep south of Patagonia.
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Chile’s main ski resorts, including Termas de Chillán, are rather close to the cosmopolitan capital city of Santiago. Argentina’s top resort, Las Leñas, is in the wine-producing western state of Mendoza. Trips to either of these country’s ski areas can easily be combined with visits to the seductive cities of Santiago and Buenos Aires and some stops at Mendoza’s vineyards. Former Olympian, World Cup competitor and current ski instructor in Megève, France, André Bachelda says, “As a skier, if I had to live anywhere other than the French Alps, it would be in Chile. The country is beautiful and the skiing is unbeatable south of the equator.”
Many of Australia’s surfers swap their surfboards for snowboards June through September, and head up to the surrounding mountains, where Perisher Blue awaits them. As major international airports go, Melbourne is closer to the ski fields, and the nearby mountains tend to be colder since they are further south. The Australian season is only three to four months long, but that doesn’t take away from how fun and scenic it can be when the conditions are good. Rather than coniferous forests, these mountains are graced with eucalyptus trees, which make for an archetypal Australian experience.
Last, but not least, there’s New Zealand. Most of the biggest and best ski fields are on the South Island, although the North Island has some good offerings too, including Turoa on the the southwestern side of Mount Ruapehu. The South Island fields are spread widely throughout the Southern Alps. Generally speaking, most Kiwi ski areas are not established resorts. Rather, they are a short drive away from a town or urban area. Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city, has access to more than ten ski areas all within two-and-a-half hours of the airport.
Legendary ski writer Rob Story says, “Treble Cone exemplifies the best of New Zealand skiing, with a freewheeling attitude and mind-expanding views, where the blue waters of Lake Wanaka waft up to a series of Chamonix-like needles. If you can survive the Third World access road, the skiing is purely first world.”
The steepest and most challenging southern ski areas are to be found in Argentina and Chile, while New Zealand and Australia still offer good times, gorgeous scenery and top-notch après ski. So don’t wait for the ski season to return next winter, find it at one of the top ski resorts south of the equator.
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