Corralco, Chile, Report: Skiing Down, Around, and Inside the 11th Most Active Volcano in Chile

Report from Friday-Saturday, August 21-22, 2026

Corralco is not like most ski areas. Most ski areas don’t put their lifts on the side of an active volcano with great skiing. 

It was sunny and windless on Lonquimay, the 11th most active volcano in Chile. On Friday morning, a friendly couple from Temuco picked me up hitchhiking and gave me a ride to the resort. They were stoked and full of questions about my life in America and how I viewed the skiing in Chile, to which I responded it was freaking epic. 

I started hiking from the top of the Volcán Express chair since the Cumbre t-bar to the top hadn’t opened yet. I could have waited an hour or so for it to spin, but I needed the exercise. It’s good for my head. 

• Related: Araucanía, Chile, Backcountry Report: 3 Nights and 4 Days Camping on an Alien Volcano

To my surprise, no one was climbing the volcano above or below me. At 10 in the morning, I was the only one ascending its majestic slopes in the most beautiful of conditions. No wind was blowing and the sun rays were hitting in force. It was a stunning day to be alone with no-one other than God on the mountain. 

I made it to the summit smoothly and without hiccups. A soft breeze blew. I sat up there with no beanie on, sunglasses, and took in the awe-inspiring views of the land around me:

3 volcanoes to the north, a blue-green alpine lake caused by a dam, and then a string of 8 volcanoes to the south all in a gently undulating line. It was so beautiful there I damn near teared up. I sat and took it all in for a while, just giving thanks. I thought of my buddy Alex, my greatest ski partner who passed away in 2020, and how stoked he’d be to share this view with me. In a way, I knew he was up there with me sharing it already, grinning ear to ear at the corn we were about to harvest on the sunny side of the volcano. I traversed over, found a smooth looking entry from the rime-iced summit, and let the skis sail down the soft, spring snow easy like a sail boat on smooth water. My heart soared like a condor. 

I followed the slope of the volcano down a ways before cutting back skier’s right and traversing a long ways to the ski resort, stopped at the 1600 base area to shoot a message on wifi, and then hitchhiked back down the pot-holey highway to town. I watched as Lonquimay slowly shrank and went out of view as I sat back and relaxed in the bed of an old pickup truck and cruised down through the jurassic araucaría forest.

The next day I went up with a few friends to do it all over again. But this time would be a little different: we were going to drop down into the volcano’s crater. 

Back on the summit, the conditions were as beautiful as the day before, only this time there were a few more people up there. They caught on to the gorgeous summit window and sent it up there, making the most of the epic weather.

We strapped on boards and skis amidst curious onlookers. APEX Backcountry Guides CEO Forrest Schmidt went into to the belly of the giant first, and I could tell just by the sound his snowboard made that this first line was icy as could be. Nonetheless, the 3 of us carefully dropped in and made dialed, delicate turns on the firm snow, successfully skiing into the crater.

Rime ice surrounded us. 360º of ski lines. Being in here was cool.

We walked up to the opposite side of the crater where the sun was hitting. Here the snow was much softer. When Forrest dropped in first again, I couldn’t hear his board make any sound and so I knew it was going to be good. Each of us opened it up and darted into the center of the earth at full speed.

It was quiet in the floor of the volcano. Still. Warm air surrounded us. It almost felt as if we were more so at the beach than on the top of a snowy mountain. A quick climb out with crampons and we were back on the summit, ready for the final corn harvest of the day.

We skied the sun-softened slope just skier’s left of the top t-bar of the resort like a bunch of wild horse running down a pasture, free as could be and happy. The snow was smooth as whipped cream. We skied it to our heart’s delight, filling up cups a little more with each turn, snow getting progressively splashier the further we descended.

At the bottom Cyrus and I decided to take 1 more lap on the chairlift because it was Saturday and, why not? We were back at a ski area, after all, so might as well take advantage of the lifts. Corralco’s groomers didn’t disappoint.

On the way out, we passed by the 1600 cafeteria with a big party raging on outside and a DJ playing bangers in the sunshine. You got make the most of the sun here in Chile. So eat, drink, and be merry — for it won’t be long now until the sun departs and we are once again braving the storm. It looks like it’s going to be a snowy week ahead. Time to batten down the hatches…

• Related: Inside Corralco and the New Wave of Chilean Multi-Destination Ski Tourism

Photos