Mike Smith
El Rito Media
msmith@currentargus.com

Visitors to Pajarito Mountain Ski Area in the northern New Mexico community of Los Alamos know it’s a great place to ski.

What a lot of them may not know is that the ski mecca was the brainchild of the very same scientists who spearheaded the Manhattan Project – the top secret program that developed the world’s first nuclear weapons in Los Alamos more than 80 years ago.

A group of scientists and soldiers launched the Los Alamos Ski Club in 1943 and the club evolved into today’s popular ski area, according to the Pajarito Mountain website.

“Many of them had immigrated to the U.S. from Europe and skiing was in their blood. Most had grown up climbing and skiing the Alps,” the website says of the club’s founders – a group that included J. Robert Oppenheimer and Nobel laureates Enrico Fermi, Hans Bethe and Niels Bohr.

“The scientists developed the first ski resort in Los Alamos called Sawyers Hill and then they moved it because they wanted more snow and they moved it to the current Pajarito (location),” explained Christiana Hudson, Pajarito Mountain’s marketing director.

Weather a concern this season

Hudson said Pajarito has been dry with above normal temperatures, although half the ski area’s trails are still open.

“We’re definitely not where we usually are this time of year. We’re at 58 inches this season,” she said.

At 3:15 p.m. Monday, Feb. 24, the National Weather Service reported a temperature of 66 degrees at the Los Alamos Airport. The weather service was predicting temperatures in the mid-50s for Saturday and Sunday, March 1-2.

Hudson said Pajarito Mountain has a snowmaking pond that helps when Mother Nature is lacking.

“Our beginner’s slope is really well-suited and groomed very well,” she said. “We really keep up with that beginner area to make it family friendly and affordable.”

More on Pajarito Mountain

Hudson said the mountain resort has 280 acres for skiing with a summit elevation of 10,000 feet.

“There are 53 trails, and the majority are intermediate or difficult. Twenty percent are beginner trails and there are six lifts,” Hudson said.

Pajarito Mountain offers ski lessons, equipment rentals, a gift shop, and a café for hungry skiers. This year’s ski season will culminate March 29 with “Skiesta.”

“We do really zany and fun races and ski competitions and snow competitions,” Hudson said. “We’ll have live music. It’s always a big party. It’s super fun.”

Here are reported New Mexico skiing conditions as of Monday, Feb. 24
(information provided by Ski New Mexico):

Pajarito Mountain had a base depth of 10 inches with 24 of 53 trails and 3 of 6 lifts open.

Angel Fire had a base depth of 21 inches with 51 of 86 trails open and 7 of 7 lifts open.

Sipapu had a base depth of 16 inches with 13 of 44 trails open and 4 of 6 lifts open.

Ski Apache had a base depth of 10 inches with 4 of 55 trails open.

Ski Santa Fe had a base depth of 36 inches with 83 of 90 trails open and 6 of 7 lifts open.

Taos Ski Valley had a base depth of 33 inches with 93 of 120 trails open and 12 of 13 lifts open.

Note: Snow conditions can change after this report is compiled.

Mike Smith can be reached at 575-308-8734 or email at msmith@currentargus.com.