Show j £ Powder’s deep and steep in Chile By GERI SMITH UPI Correspondent Americans depressed by the melting of snows in the northern climes should head south for the seasons are reversed in the southern hemisphere and summer is ski time in Chile And the aficionados know the place to be is Portillo Long before the season officially opened (June 20) in this ski area nestled 9520 feet high in the Andes hundreds of skiers were on the slopes enjoying the early season snowfalls skiers as the leading Popular with world-clas- s summer training area Portillo is just 90 miles from Santiago Chile’s capital The scenic two-hodrive by car or tour bus up the winding mountain roads is almost as impressive as the skiing conditions at the top There are nine challenging runs covered each season by as much as 30 feet of fine powder snow in June and July and excellent spring snow in August and September A single snowfall can contribute 10 feet of powder on the highest slopes 11200 feet above sea level Portillo is also known for an exceptionally steep speed slope that produced the current world downhill speed record: 120 miles per hour clocked in October 1979 by Steve MacKinney of the United States Portillo hosted the 1966 World Ski Championship and serves as summer training ground for the United States and Austrian ski teams this ur “This is a very appealing place for expert skiers because we have good steep slopes’’ said Henry Purcell a Chaumont NY native who is is general manager of the family-owneHotel e Portillo which controls the ski area purchased 20 years ago from the Chilean government “But we have runs for all levels of skiers and the scenery is very special” Purcell said Unlike many US ski resorts Portillo is low d hotel key Apart from the modern which has a sauna discoteque restaurants movie theater and a hospital there is little for the non-skito do r But even the is captivated by the harsh beauty of the hotel’s surroundings: jagged rocky peaks cloaked in snow form a backdrop e to the Lake of the Incas which freezes over in August for ice skating Local legend says the lake was used thousands of years ago as a burying ground for the Incas Excavators have found ancient roads built by the Incas who frequented the mountain pass where Portillo is located to cross over to what is now Argentina Some mummies have also been ar d 625-acr- high-mounta- three-to-a-roo- m d in 495-be- er non-skie- icy-blu- found South America’s highest mountain the 22834-foo- t Mount Aconcagua is just six miles from Portillo and offers a real challenge to experienced climbers More than 6000 people spent an average of a week each in Portillo last season joined on the weekends by about 1000 skiers from Santiago similar number A August year despite ski lift tickets costing $22 a day and an unfavorable peso-dollexchange rate that more makes everything expensive Purcell said The hotel offers a variety of living arrangements from dormitory facilities $60 per person per day including board costing to eight-bechalets costing $795 a day with food or $370 a day without food during the peakv of the season Lower-cos- t “ski week” packages are available from June 21 to July 12 and from Aug 23 to Oct 4 and include lift tickets meals and ski classes The ski school featuring 35 top instructors from France Switzerland Austria and the United States is run by the man who manages the Sugarbush school in the United States Closer to Santiago are smaller ski areas like Farellones La Parva and El Colorado about 30 miles outside the capital The areas offer 16 ski runs of varying difficulty and the friendly village atmosphere attracts a younger blue jean-cla- d crowd Another spot Lagunillas is located 36 miles southeast of Santiago near the picturesque town of San Antonio The skier in search of real adventure heads further south to Chile’s lake and volcano regions Excellent skiing is available on the Chilian and Antuco Volcanoes about 350 miles south of Santiago Like all of the country’s other ski areas they offer lodging and food some also offer thermal baths The Llaima and Villarrica volcanoes about 470 miles south of Santiago are located in unspoiled national parks renowned for their imposing stands of araucarias SI Tram for skiing (OmVii ' vTki i are expected this of tourists Palm Springs is now a year-roun-d resort likin') Uyuiiiiiut CLASSIFIED FAMILY WANT ADS "the people's market place for northern Utah" BUY-SEL- L OR TRADE with a low cost od- TRY IT TODAYI PHONE 394-77- 1 1 Daily hours: 8 am till 5 pm Saturdays 6 am till 12 noon Most cut rates up to 50 percent and By MURRAY J BROWN UPI more during the hotter summer Travel Editor The famed American naturalist John Muir described the United States as “a country of wonderful contrasts of hot deserts bounded by mountains” snow-lade- n He could have been describing the scenery around Palm Springs in the Colorado desert in southern California which lies at the foot of 10831-foo- t Mt San Jacinto And it takes only planned residential development d lots in a mountain setting just you've been looking for! 15 minutes south of Ogden Club house tennis courts nature trails Protective covenants Priced below comparable property on Ogden's East bench Special financing available Living Oak-covere- OFFERED BY PAUL LISTON Call collect 766-- 1 136 to REAL ESTATE BROKER arrange your personal showing We can help with financing designing and constructing your new home Located at 25 North 2900 East in Layton (5 miles South of Weber Canyon on Highway 89) 1 15 minutes — via the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway — to be whisked from the hot desert floor with its sands and palm trees up to the snow and pines on the peak Six to 10 feet of snow blankets the San Jacinto Wilderness Park and temperatures dip to the freezing mark when winter comes There are y ski trails and a ski four center where rental equipment and instructions are available During the rest of the year temperatures range about 40 degrees cooler on the mountain than in the desert and the park is open for campers picnickers hikers and other nature-lover- s Open year round (when the weather h mounpermits) at the tain tramway station are a cafeteria gift shop cocktail lounge and observation areas Long a popular winter resort Palm Springs recently has been attracting more summer-tim- e visitors and most of the more than 200 hotels lodges and inns remain open year round They range from budget-pricecross-countr- 8500-foot-hig- d motel-typ- e inns to posh self-contain- ed resort complexes complete with private golf courses tennis courts individual pools and various other recreational facilities and amenities v months when temperatures can climb into the low 100s But it’s not too bad — virtually everything is rental cars stores shopping centers and restaurants etc And there are the pools — 7000 of them — and the cool mountains only minutes away Summer rates at the brand new Sheraton Plaza-PalSprings can range from as low as $40 per day from July 1 to Aug 31 for a double room which goes for $125 in season to $310 per day for two ($600 in season) at Ken Irwin’s elegant La Mancha for a air-condition- m villa with private tennis court and private pool three-bedroo- m Guests at the $25 million Sheraton opened last January will find the latest in fire protection measures All 250 guest rooms and public areas have sprinklers and smoke detectors and fire stations and fire extinguisher hose cabinets are located throughout the grounds Signs showing evacution routes are strategically posted in corridors and 13-ac- re rooms and alarm systems are monitored around the clock at a central control room The bellman taking me to my room pointed out the fire — for the first time in many years of traveling to all parts of the world — and called my attention to a card in the room with instructions on what to do in case of fire The three-storhotel (there are no wras built in contemporary style to blend into the desert environment Exterior walls are sand colored and textured stucco while roofs arc of coral and biege clay tiles Desert colors also arc used in the guest and public rooms throughout U exits y hi-rise- s) |