TL;DR
South America's 2026 ski season hasn't opened yet, but the Andes are already picking up serious early-season snow. OpenSnow's Powder Finder is showing the central Andes leading the way, with Portillo forecast at 89 cm and Valle Nevado at 69 cm through Friday. Corralco and Antillanca are also showing strong numbers further south. Lifts are still down across the region, so this is a base-building event - but it's a strong start to what could be a solid season.
South America's 2026 ski season hasn't opened yet, but the Andes are already making a statement
The lifts are still down across Chile and Argentina, but the mountains aren't waiting for opening weekend to get started. A significant early-season storm is currently moving through the Andes, with the main snow window running through Friday, June 12. OpenSnow's Powder Finder is tracking the event across the full length of the range, and the central Andes are shaping up as the standout zone.
None of this snow is rideable yet - lift-served skiing remains closed across the region - but a storm of this size this early does meaningful work on the snowpack. Valle Nevado is showing an opening date of June 19 on OpenSnow, which would put it among the first doors open in the region if the base keeps building.
Central Andes leading the way
The strongest numbers are sitting across the high central Andes. Portillo tops the OpenSnow Powder Finder at 89 cm for the next five days, with Valle Nevado at 69 cm, La Parva at 64 cm and El Colorado at 56 cm. These are the resorts clustered around and above Santiago, sitting between roughly 2,400 and 3,300 metres, and the storm is targeting exactly the elevations where snow quality tends to be at its best - snow levels during the main push are running low enough for light to moderate snow across the higher terrain.
