In the past month, Portillo has hosted a true variety of clientele. Websites have been exclaiming the company of international ski teams ( ) training for the 2010 Olympics , as well as individuals such as Chris Davenport and Lindsey Vonn.
While August and September have been big months for Portillo’s international presence, Portillo has been doing something really wonderful locally. Teletón, a Chilean advocacy group founded to promote the lives of physically and mentally challenged children, brought in groups of skiers during the month of August.
A variety of instructors worked with kids of each skill level, helping them achieve feats such as skiing down Portillo’s famous Plateau run and medaling in races. The kids brought such a sense of accomplishment to the dinning hall, as they were so anxious to tell their success stories to anyone who happened to sit with them at their table. At one point, during the last week in August, I had a fall that gave me a very attractive bruise covering my left leg. The fall didn’t bode well for my dancing either. I retold this story to a little girl during tea, and she laughed and said “[I didn’t fall today- I am better than you now!]” Her enthusiasm and gaiety was contagious, and this girl was just the tip of the iceberg. It was obvious that the other staff and guests enjoyed having Teletón there, the kids inadvertently serving as reminders of the good that comes out of the bad. 
