Heliskiing in Portillo

Terrain
The heliski terrain in the high Andes surrounding Portillo is unsurpassed. We fly in a Lama helicopter which enables us to land at elevations of up to 14,000 feet/5,000 meters where the snow quality is consistently good to excellent. Runs average 2,400 vertical feet/730 meters and many runs are over 4,000 vertical feet/1,215 meters. We fly in six different valleys that are characterized by alpine bowls, couloirs, and big mountain faces. Each day heliski guests are rewarded with views of some beautiful glaciers and the highest peaks in the Andes including Aconcagua, the highest summit in the Americas at 22,841 feet/6,950 meters.

 

Safety
Your safety is our number one priority.  The lead guides are either certified mountain guides or certified ski guides.  Lead guides have passed the Canadian Avalanche Association Level 2 Technical Professional Avalanche Course, Canada’s highest avalanche certification.  Guides and assistant guides have passed ski guide courses and avalanche courses in the US, Canada, and Europe.  Simply stated,
Portillo has the most experienced and trained heliski guides in South America
.

 

Staff

Frank Coffey is the Director of Heli Skiing and is the Snow Safety Director at Ski Portillo Chile.  He worked seven seasons for Chugach Powder Guides in Girdwood, Alaska as a heli ski guide and operations manager.  He is an American Mountain Guides Association certified alpine guide and the Snow Safety Director in Crested Butte, Colorado in the North American winter.

Matt Wylie shares lead guiding responsibilities with Frank.  He is a Level 2 certified guide with The Canadian Ski Guides Association, Level 2 certified Canadian Avalanche Association Avalanche Forecaster and a fully certified Canadian Ski Instructor Level 4.  Matt worked for seven years as a heli ski guide for Mike Weigele Helicopter skiing in Blue River, British Colombia and has worked for Portillo for the last ten seasons.

Our other guides are from Canada, Switzerland, and Chile.  Combined they have worked and skied in Europe, Asia, North and South America