Portillo is the oldest ski resort in South America . It dates back to the construction of the Trans-Andean Railway by British engineers in 1887 . The practice of skiing began performing as a means of entertainment for the British who worked in the work. Only in 1910 after the opening of the railway began arriving athletes who used the same train as the lifeline between snails and Juncal.
In 1909 he founded the first ski club (the German Excursion Club in Valparaiso ) who began to visit the area of the Laguna del Inca , called Portillo . Already in the mid- 30s , was installed the first surface lift. Europeans and Americans began to arrive and popularize the sport among Chileans. Then, build a hut for housing would lead to the origin of the current Hotel Portillo. In the 40s , a society was formed for the construction of a large hotel, but the venture failed. In 1949 , and with input from the Chilean government, finally built a modest hotel with 125 rooms. The ski center had two chair lifts for one person and one surface lift. The Mountain School of Chilean Army was in charge of the administration of the ski resort. However, the government's lack of experience in managing a resort like this led to its privatization in 1960 .
Panoramic Portillo ski resort in the summer.
On June 15 of 1961 was inaugurated the new ski resort of Portillo, now owned U.S. . Were invited important personalities of the time, and the Ski School was in charge of Olympic medalist Othmar Schneider . As a way to promote this new place of winter sports tourism, Portillo was chosen to host the World Ski Championships 1966 by the FIS . The buildings necessary for the completion of the tournament were virtually destroyed in 1965 by a typhoon in the South Pacific with winds of over 200 kph. However, the work was restarted and in August 1966 opened the only ski tournament held south of Ecuador , with the presence of President Eduardo Frei Montalva .
Today, Portillo is a
