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El Colorado Hints and Tips for Skiing

Photo title:Camino a El Colorado - Chile
via Flickr

Most skiers will stay above the base lodge at Villa Colorado. Below this point the trails are mostly rated beginner except adjacent to the Embudo lift where slalom training courses are often set. The highlight of the mountain is still the Silla Colorado which ascends to the top of the mountain. It is the only lift to reach the summit and often closes in inclement weather conditions. The double-griped chairs bounce radically over each of the 23 erector-towers, but the antiquated chair still runs almost as fast as the modern triple chairs that parallel it.

Beginner skiers will find the best trails alongside the Los Zorros T-Bars although Colorado Chico, Pinguino, and the Novicios Farellones lifts provide plenty of alternatives. The El Condor runs are wide, groomed trails with a consistent pitch which will appeal to intermediate skiers. Advanced skiers should try the Cono Este run for a long and steep pitch with a broad view of Valle Nevado.

Expert skiers will find more excitement at El Colorado than at any of the neighboring resorts. Two areas should be investigated. The first is low on the mountain, just above the lowest beginner lifts. Here, the narrow and vertical Corredores chutes and walls are perched side by side between the Embudo lift and the major chute called Falsoembudo (false funnel). Access this cliff area from the top of either the Embudo lift for the lower, shorter drops, or from Zorros for longer runs and Falsoembudo. If the snow is too thin at those lower elevations, explore the chutes to the skier's right of Cono Este. Do not go too far right as these chutes soon fade into unskiable cliffs.

Good moguls are found at the top of Cornisa although they are often interrupted with traverse trails and human obstacles. The best powder at El Colorado is found in the late opening but sheltered Cono Este which also closes early (4.00pm).

There is less backcountry access from El Colorado's lifts than at either of its neighbors. An area which could be explored is the long cliff area between Cono Este and the Embudo lift. This region can be thoroughly scouted from Valle Nevado's access road where a car could be parked for escape. The chutes and bowls are controlled by Valle Nevado's avalanche protection team since many of the snowfields threaten the road.