Skiing in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia
Though by no means the best place to look for skiing in the Andes there are some skiing areas in these four northern countries, a couple of tiny resorts and some good ski-mountaineering opportunities.
COLOMBIA
There is some limited skiing on the volcanoes of the Los Nevados range, particularly on the southwest side of Nevado del Ruiz, where there is a convenient access road to 4900m. Most other areas of Colombia are at present very difficult or dangerous to access.
ECUADOR
Skiing opportunities in Ecuador are limited to ski ascents of the countries four highest peaks, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Cayambe and Antisana. These are the only peaks with significant snow. Access to these peaks is easy, with huts at 4500-5000m on all but Antisana, but the peaks are not the most straightforward for skiing due to some big crevasses and often considerable avalanche danger.
PERU
There are several areas of Peru with potential for exploratory skiing, though at present there are no resorts. Every July there are plenty of people ski at Pastoruri in the southern Cordillera Blanca, and various races and championships are held. Also in the Cordillera Blanca the traverse of the 6000m peaks of Copa and Hualcan is said to make a good ski trip, although the snow-line is a long way from the valley. We can run trips to this range - see our Cordillera Blanca Ski Mountaineering page for further details
BOLIVIA
The worlds highest ski-resort at 5200m is on Chacaltaya mountain just outside La Paz, the capital of Bolivia. However it has not always known such good conditions recently and the glacier is retreating so that in ten or twenty years time no skiing may no longer be possible here. Several of the 6000m peaks in Bolivia have been skied and the volcanoes in particular can make good ski descents, including Sajama and Parinacota.
See our Bolivia Ski Explorer itinerary for further details.
Information on all these peaks is included in the guidebook by John Biggar, The Andes- A Guide for Climbers
Ski Mountaineering in Chile and Argentina
