Schuss! New Mexico’s 3 Secrets

With runs named Geronimo and Ambush, you might think Ski Apache is a fierce, difficult mountain.

Not so. The snow is soft and the terrain reasonably gentle. The fiercest thing here on my inaugural trip to Ski Apache, one of a trio of unusual ski resorts in an unusual state, was the New Mexico sunshine.

New Mexico does not have an abundance of ski areas, but those it does have are distinctive. Besides the legendary Taos Ski Valley, there’s Ski Apache, a ski and snowboard resort owned and operated by Native Americans; Ski Santa Fe, a family-size snow playground only a 30-minute drive from the city; and Pajarito, a hidden skiing and boarding gem high above the national nuclear laboratory at Los Alamos.

Last winter, when we New Mexico ski fanatics were finally rewarded with abundant snowfall, I skied all of them. Visions of the Old West, art galleries and rocket scientists danced in my head when I made my forays, using my Santa Fe home as a base.

Ski Apache is one of the southernmost major ski areas in the United States. It sits on the northern flank of 12,000-foot Sierra Blanca Peak, which crowns the White Mountains, a sudden burst of alpine wilderness in the middle of the desert. Ruidoso, the town next to the Mescalero reservation, is a 21/2-hour drive north from El Paso and three-plus hours south from Santa Fe. Because of its location, Ruidoso has long been the not-so-secret preserve of Texans and Mexicans. Locals joke about Ski Apache being Texas’ biggest ski hill, so I was prepared for Longhorn bumper stickers and Amarillo twang.

“Don’t judge us by our accents,” said a Texas A&M; student on a snow break in Farley’s, a popular pub where I stopped for lunch. “You sound just as funny as I do in these parts.” (He was right; I’m originally from Brooklyn.)

Because I arrived on a weekday late in the season, there was a sparse crowd at the base of the ski area. Yet even late in March, under the state’s signature skies--cornflower blue with Georgia O’Keeffe clouds--the mountain was well covered with loads of freshly groomed snow.

The trail maps for Ski Apache’s 750 acres were my first clue that this is not your usual ski hill. There were two versions of the brochure, one in English, the other in Spanish. My guide, a tribal member named Bart Garcia, said that during Semana Santa (Holy Week), the parking lot had more license plates from Chihuahua, Mexico, the state just south of the border, than from the U.S. Many of Ski Apache’s instructors are bilingual.

Bart introduced me to Travis Cochise, another Mescalero, who was one of the ace ski technicians in the rental shop. Was he related to the storied Apache chief Cochise?

“Grandfather with a couple of greats in there,” he replied with a smile.

Ski Apache is not about spanking-new lifts, spiffy trail signs or other accouterments like those that abound on slopes around Lake Tahoe or at Vail, Colo. Bart, a 16-year veteran lift operator and ski technician, Rich Davidson, a ski patrolman, and I climbed into a funky yellow gondola car with wood slats that seated four and looked as though it should be in a ski museum. The gondola is, they said, 40 years old.

Elderly though it might be, the gondola efficiently lifted us from the base at 9,400 feet to the top, 11,400 feet. We paused to admire the view: The desert and White Sands missile range spread out for miles to the west, and the glistening summit of Sierra Blanca, a peak sacred to the Mescaleros, stood directly south.

The gondola divides the mountain into two distinct regions. On the side closer to Sierra Blanca Peak, I followed Bart down an expansive bowl lightly gladed with trees. Because this is a wide-open sector with lofty elevation, the snow stays powdery, making it a lovely place to slalom the evergreens.

A triple chairlift serves this higher ground. After a few runs we headed for two intermediate trails, Upper Deep Freeze and Bull Run, which led to Quad Chair 8, on the edge of the ski area boundary.

The runs on the opposite side of the gondola offer a different, varied terrain, including bump runs and short but steep slopes. The names of the toughest ones were a giveaway: Incredible, Terrible, Dead End. But novices and intermediates need not be nervous; there are also plenty of more mellow choices.

What does the ski patrol do about first- or second-time skiers or boarders who set off on their own, ride a chair up, yet don’t really know what they’re doing?

“When we find these people out on the hill floundering around, a lot of times we’ll give them a snowmobile ride right straight down to the ski school desk,” Bart said. They can trade in their day ticket for a free lesson and access to the lifts in the beginners’ corner.

A short drive from Ski Apache are two other major Mescalero ventures, the Inn of the Mountain Gods and Casino Apache. I ate dinner at the Dan Li Ka dining room in the Inn of the Mountain Gods, one of the earliest resorts built by an Indian tribe. From its dramatic lobby, dominated by a copper chimney soaring above a huge fireplace front and center, to the quiet dining room overlooking an outdoor pool, to a meal of perfectly grilled salmon and an extensive wine list, the inn exudes upscale quality in a region that does not have many deluxe spots.

Thanks to a tip from Ruidoso’s helpful chamber of commerce, I was booked in a log cabin. Back in the 1930s, weekenders from Texas began building clusters of quaint cabins in the woods along Upper Canyon Road. I found mine, a newly minted luxury version with a big fireplace and an indoor hot tub at the Story Book Cabins complex, to be a charming, piney alternative to typical ski accommodations.

Ruidoso is unlike other gussied-up ghost towns such as Aspen or Park City. During the summer season it’s a favorite spot for horseback wagering (at Ruidoso Downs) and horseback riding. Town boosters like to remind visitors that it’s part of Lincoln County, the history of which is infused with the spirit of its best-known desperado, Billy the Kid. Most of all, what gives Ruidoso a raffish charm are the throngs of Texans and Chihuahuans, especially on weekends. You can join them at popular steak restaurants like K-Bob’s, and at the numerous barbecue, Mexican and Italian restaurants along Mechem and Sudderth Drives, the two main drags.

Ruidoso is hardly the only New Mexico destination for altitude addicts. How about Santa Fe? During winter the city is as attractive as in summer, but lodging prices are lower and activities less frantic. And you can carve a few turns in the bargain.

Staring down at the capital city from a 12,053-foot peak, Ski Santa Fe is a 550-acre snow park, mostly frequented by locals, just a 30-minute drive from this world-class art, music and culinary capital city.

The last few miles of the drive up to the ski basin are usually still icy early in the morning. It gets crowded on weekends, and it’s mainly a novice and intermediate hill. Still, it’s hard to quibble when you can ski or ride in the Sangre de Cristo mountains all morning, then go gallery- and museum-hopping in the afternoon.

One weekday morning in January, my cousin Laura Lichtenstein, a co-worker of hers, Ed Reid, and I squinted at the sapphire sky, ditched work and headed for the hills. The place was uncrowded.

We swept along Upper Midland, one of Ski Santa Fe’s inviting intermediate runs, to the area’s lone triple chair. This lift deposits skiers along a treeless slab that makes the mountaintop a chilling challenge on windy days. But there is a remarkable variety of runs just below it.

We cruised Gay Way, Parachute and neighboring intermediate trails, carving turns in grooming-machine corduroy that was still much in evidence by midmorning.

Around 12:30 p.m., we drove back into Santa Fe for a half-day at the office. So what if Santa Fe is not a monster resort like Snowmass in Colorado, or Killington in Vermont? So what if we didn’t bother that particular morning with bumps or blacks? It’s all about access to the culture and shopping that await you in Santa Fe.

A few days later, skies were brightening after a major snowstorm. Ski suit on, cell phone off, I headed alone to the ski area. This time I pointed my tips toward the bump and glade runs--hard and harder--that lie just below the top of the triple chair.

Runs such as Wizard, Tequila Sunrise, Columbine and Road Runner might not be as long as the great advanced-level black diamond runs of Taos, but the bumps are almost as big, the pitch is as steep and the trees are just as close.

An hour’s drive from Santa Fe is what many New Mexicans consider the real secret of Los Alamos--Pajarito Mountain, just a few miles from the atomic city and its historic, still controversial nuclear laboratories. The ski hill is so retro that you feel as if you’re stepping back a quarter century: no high-speed six-pack lifts, no fees for parking, no $60 lift tickets, no glitzy base areas, no crowds.

Pajarito is owned and operated by a nonprofit organization, the almost-3,000-member Los Alamos Ski Club. It is open only on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. With only 280 skiable acres, it sounds tiny, but it isn’t. It skis big. It draws an older crowd of skiers and snowboarders. They are generally skilled or taking lessons to get there. And you really can chat on the lifts with rocket scientists.

Don’t expect perfectly groomed corduroy--grooming is not Pajarito’s strong suit. Don’t come without checking conditions--the club has no snowmaking machinery because it has no water supply.

Do come when there is up to 60 inches of Mother Nature’s flakes, as there was last year. Do bring chains for your car unless you have four-wheel drive: The last four miles of the road to the ski area can get hairy.

And do come if you love a bargain: An adult lift ticket is $33 on Saturday or Sunday, $26 on Friday. Those 75 and older ski free.

Most of all, make the trip after a storm, when you can revel in pure powder on even blue-rated intermediate runs and when relatively easy black diamond bump runs, such as Challenger and Porcupine, test your knees and your heart. If you’re really fit, head for the Mother double chairlift (1,180 feet of vertical rise), where such tough runs as Nuther Mother, Sidewinder and Precious will either pound you into submission or make you feel like an Olympian.

If you’re nowhere near qualifying for the Salt Lake Olympics, don’t let these warnings deter you. A solid intermediate skier or rider can have a ball on such lovely blue-rated slopes as Pussycat, Daisy May and Li’l Abner.

It took World War II, along with a huge, mostly volunteer, labor-of-love effort, to create Pajarito. The first local area, Sawyer’s Hill, was a single trail, cut in 1938 for Los Alamos Ranch School, that preceded the laboratory. During the war, Los Alamos National Laboratory employees raised $600 to pay a few GIs to construct and maintain a rope tow. The Sawyer’s Hill Tow Assn. began operations Dec. 24, 1944. Among the skiers there: Nobel Prize-winning physicist Enrico Fermi.

In the summer of 1957 the Los Alamos Ski Club moved its entire operation from Sawyer’s to Pajarito Mountain, where the base terminal elevation is at 9,200 feet and the top is a hefty 10,330.

A wall of photos at the base lodge commemorates the area’s unique history. To me, it’s a more welcoming place than the town of Los Alamos, which was never meant to be a tourist attraction. For this season, Pajarito ski area has refurbished its base lodge, added a coffee bar (there is already a cafeteria) and expanded its rental and retail shops. But its rock-bottom rates haven’t changed, nor has its “Greatest Generation” aura. Like Ski Apache and Ski Santa Fe--indeed, like New Mexico itself--Pajarito is an unmistakable slice of the Southwest.

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Guidebook: New Mexico Slalom

Getting there: From Albuquerque, Ruidoso is a three-hour drive, Pajarito two hours and Santa Fe 11/2 hours. From LAX, Southwest has nonstop and direct service to Albuquerque. Connecting service is available on Delta, America West, United, American, Frontier and Northwest; restricted round-trip fares begin at $198.

Ski resorts: A basic full-day lift ticket for adults is $43 at Ski Apache ($46 during Christmas week), (505) 336-4356, snow report (505) 257-9001, www.skiapache.com, and $43 at Ski Santa Fe, (505) 982-4429, snow report (505) 983-9155, www.skisantafe.com. It costs $33 at Pajarito, (505) 662-5725, snow report (888) 662-SNOW (7669), www.skipajarito.com. Combination tickets can bring prices down, and there are discounts for teens and seniors.

Where to stay: I enjoyed Story Book Cabins, 410 Main Road, Ruidoso, NM 99345, (888) 257-2115, www.ruidoso.net/cabins, where rates begin at $98 double.

Inn of the Mountain Gods, Carrizo Canyon Road, Mescalero, NM 88340, (800) 545-9011, www.innofthemountaingods.com, is a full-service hotel owned and operated by the Mescalero Apaches. Rates begin at $95, double.

In Santa Fe, a good condo choice is Fort Marcy Hotel Suites, 320 Artist Road, Santa Fe, NM 87501, (800) 745-9910 or (505) 982-6636, fax (505) 984-8682, www.fortmarcy.com.

For ski-and-stay packages, check Santa Fe Central Reservations, (800) 776-7669, www.santafecentralres.com.

For lodgings in Los Alamos, try visit.losalamos.com.

Where to eat: In Ruidoso, the Inn of the Mountain Gods’ Dan Li Ka restaurant, (505) 464-7555, is a fine dining choice. Dinner entrees $17-43.

Farley’s, 1200 Meacham Drive, (505) 258-5676, is a popular place for burgers and beer, costing $5-$12.

Santa Fe is known for wonderful restaurants. The Zia Diner, 326 S. Guadalupe St., (505) 988-7008, has comfort food $6-$20 for dinner.

Geronimo, 724 Canyon Road, (505) 982-1500, serves nouvelle haute Southwestern, with dinners starting at $30.

For casual but terrific Mexican food, try Bert’s La Taqueria, in a shopping center at 1620 St. Michaels Drive, (505) 474-0791. Entrees $10-$30.

For more information: New Mexico Department of Tourism, 491 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87501; (800) 545-2070 or (505) 827-7400, fax (505) 827-7402, www.newmexico.org.

Ski New Mexico, www.skinewmexico.com, has information about ski areas.

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Grace Lichtenstein is a writer who lives in New York and Santa Fe.