what to pack for a chilean winter

Students wear what students wear nearly everywhere in the world: jeans during the day and maybe a pair of black trousers/pants at night if going dancing.
Chile has a varied climate and the weather in the north is not the same as the center or south. The warmest weather starts at the top of the country and gets colder and wetter as you move down. Layers are the best. Be sure to have a good fleece jacket and something wind/waterproof for over the top. Good waterproof shoes if you will be in the south. You can pick up anything you need here if you need more layers. In high altitudes you will find days pleasantly warm during the day but very cold at night.
Skitotal runs vans every morning to the ski slopes with a return in the afternoon. They have quite a few services, including a backpacker's special with shared dorms and some meals up at the slopes. You can rent all your gear from them. They also rent jackets and trousers or skisuits. It is a good idea to stop by the day before if you can to choose what you want if you think size might be an issue. Chileans aren't very big. The season usually starts the last third of June.
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No, Santiago has a relatively mild winter. Snow is uncommon. It freezes at night a few times during the winter, but mainly stays at around 3-5 C at night. During the day the range is probably between 10-13 Centigrade. We get quite a few sunny days even in winter. It rains but not excessively. The view of the snow covered Andes surrounding Santiago is very beautiful after the rain. Clothes are the usual: jeans, sweater, boots or shoes, fleece top or jacket, umbrella when needed (they sell them at the main metro exits when it rains). If it doesn't rain in a while the pollution builds up downtown. You might look into lodging in Providencia which is a bit better for air quality. Trouble is most budget lodging is downtown.
The slopes are a lot less crowded on weekdays. Reply to this