Scott Hussion
Early-season snowfall spells sweetness for area skiers.
Get ready to lock and load up on the Santa Fe ski basin. Either step right into the straps, without missing a beat, as you come off the lift, or do the dirty and fall to the ground and grunt as you snap into your snowboard, your stomach the only thing standing between you and the pull of gravity.
Unless, of course, you gracefully slide off the chair on parallel skis.
The ski season is about begin on Thanksgiving, and basin operators are saying they haven't recorded as much early snow in two decades. As a result, 90 percent of the mountain and 76 of the 79 trails are scheduled to be open, courtesy of 58 inches of snowfall, Benny Abruzzo, president and general manager of Ski Santa Fe, tells SFR.
Abruzzo predicts a very powdery year and a well-attended holiday season to go along with what he says are heavy sales on pre-season passes, which exceed last year's by about 30 percent.
"The snow started out warm and dense and built its way up, so we're super excited," says Abruzzo, who not only runs the basin at 12,000 feet but also gets to make a few of the test runs, one of the perks of the job. "We will have groomed all of the trails, and I anticipate fun powder in the trees. They predicted a Godzilla El Niño year, and so far it looks like the weather service has this one pegged."
The Pajarito Mountain operators are equally hyped and plan to open the day after Thanksgiving, dubbing the big debut as "White Friday," in a press release issued early Wednesday morning. Just 16 inches of snow have fallen on the Los Alamos mountain, but that hasn't taken away from the excitement.
"This is a historical moment," says James Coleman, managing partner of Pajarito Mountain. "It's the first time Pajarito has been able to utilize a significant amount of water from the well system for snowmaking efforts and open earlier than in recent history."
Located about 40 miles from Santa Fe, Pajarito typically opens on or around Dec. 20, conditions permitting.
At the Santa Fe ski basin, Abruzzo says a bad year sees between 75 to 100 inches of snow, while an average year gets up to 200 inches. The fact that the mountain is already at nearly 60 inches, he claims, is promising.
"And the season hasn't even begun," says Abruzzo. "We could be looking at a 300-inch year."
Meantime, where Mother Nature fails, snow-making machines always come to the rescue, picking up the slack. So far, according to Abruzzo, nearly 7 million gallons of water have been converted to snow, adding to the overall base in minuscule sums at the bottom of the mountain.
"It helps to give us super coverage on most of the lower mountain and the main trails and the beginner hill," he says.
Even as locals get ready to abandon dinner tables and hit the mountain, Texans and Oklahomans, always the first on the hill from now until Christmas, will be reaping the benefits as they snow-plow down the bunny run.
"I expect a great season," Abruzzo says. "Thanksgiving is just the beginning."
