Pajarito Ski Area

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The Pajarito Ski area, located in the Jemez Mountains just above Los Alamos, is the best-kept ski secret in New Mexico! The tourists who head straight for Taos, Angel Fire, or Red River have never heard of it. Even the Texans who jam the lift lines on weekends at Ski Santa Fe 20 miles east for the most part don't know about it and have never skied it. But when the snow is good, there is no better place to ski in New Mexico! Pajarito, with a vertical drop of a little over 1,400 feet, is situated on a long north-facing ridge in the Jemez Mountains just above Los Alamos. The area is a couple miles wide, with 40 runs - all with vertical drops of 900 - 1200 feet - extending from the top to the bottom of the mountain. There are lots of groomed blue cruisers, especially under the Townsight and Spruce chairlifts. But there are also some very gnarly black runs, mainly served by the Aspen and Mother lifts. This is a place where there are so many runs that you can ski all day and not ski the same run twice. And you can get a lot of runs in here, because it is NEVER crowded.

This area is unusual in that it is owned and operated by a nonprofit ski club, the Los Alamos Ski Club. However, anyone can ski here - it is open to the public. Keep in mind, though, that it is only open on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, federal holidays, and during the week for a couple weeks around Christmas and New Years. Also (although this will change next year, in the 2010-11 ski season), Pajarito does not have snowmaking. Hence, if nature is not generous, conditions may be less than optimal, and the area many not be open at all if there is a major lack of snow, as during the 2005-06 ski season. But when the snow is good, as it is in the majority of years, there is no better place to ski.

Upsides: Variety of runs, no crowds or lift lines, scenery, friendly staff. Also, lift tickets here are about $9-18 less than at the better-known NM ski resorts-a real bargain!

Downsides: Not open Mon.-Thur. (except around Christmas and New Years), no snowmaking until 2010-11 season.

Info Notes: When a run here is rated black diamond, they mean it. In general, some runs that are blue or blue/black here (mostly the less-steep un-groomed ones) would be rated black at other areas such as Ski Santa Fe or Sandia Peak. There are lots of groomed cruisers, but the black runs are just that - advanced to expert skiing. Also, the cruiser runs here are groomed a bit less often than at other areas, but still a good number of runs are groomed, and with the lighter skier traffic, they don't really need to be groomed every day.

If you buy a membership/season pass here, it also entitles you to 3 free days each at Sipapu and at the Monarch Ski Resort in Colorado, and a couple other places.

Lodging: There is no slopeside lodging, but lodging is available 10 minutes away in Los Alamos. Another option is to stay in Santa Fe, about a 50-minute drive from the ski area, where lodging of every type and price range is available.

What's New The big news is that snowmaking is coming to Pajarito in the 2010-11 season. At first, at least, it will just cover the beginner area and one run from the top of the mountain - but at least it will guarantee that Pajarito will be able to open even when natural snow is lacking. And the snowmaking may well be expanded in subsequent seasons. Also new in the last year or two - an expanded terrain park (under the Mother lift) and an improved system that shortens lines in the cafeteria.

Official Web Site

This picture, from just above the bottom of the Townsight lift, shows the view looking down at Los Alamos, with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in the background. At the upper right you can also see Ski Santa Fe in the distance:

This page last updated February 28, 2010.