Ski Bueno
I finally did it. I went skiing at the area outside of town. On Thanksgiving weekend, no less. There was plenty of snow -- soft skiable stuff freshly fallen on the slopes, pretty white frosting on the trees, and white blankets coating all the hillsides and bordering forests. The Sangre de Cristo mountains have been getting snow this year since October.
Last year, in the drought, it was brown and unappealing even though Ski Santa Fe made snow all winter. I was intimidated by the size of the area, the tough drive up canyon roads to get there, and I had no one to ski with. I didn't go even once.
This year is all different. There is plenty of early snow and my son came down from Denver for Thanksgiving. He is the world's best ski guide and canyon road driver. He took me there, we figured out the lifts and trails together, and now I have a good feel for this ski area. We had so much fun.
Here's my assessment of Ski Santa Fe: an old-time, unpretentious, hidden gem.
It was so much like ski areas the way they used to be: intimate, friendly, nothing fancy. There are no condos or shops or restaurants or bars, except for the the one in the lodge. There is no "scene". There is a simple lodge, and midway up the lower slopes there is a hamburger food shack, but that's it.
This is a big mountain, 12,000 feet high with a 2,000 vertical foot drop, so they run high speed quad chairs, but they also run an old fashioned double chair, slow as can be, quietly gliding through the woods. It just took me back to the way skiing was decades ago.
The slopes I ski (intermediate) were wide open, which I love. Snow was perfect. It got windy by mid morning, and the light fluffy fresh snow was starting to get skied off, and we went in. The real reason it was a short morning though, is that I am woefully out of shape, couldn't breathe at that altitude and I'm old. I was struggling a bit by mid morning. We only did a few runs.
That black shadow ripping down the open slope under a New Mexico sun is me.
I wasn't ripping really! But we had a ball and my ski guide was so patient with me. Now, having scoped out the place with him, I feel confident I might go back, even on my own or if I join a retiree ski group here in Santa Fe. It's a manageable, low key place that I would enjoy, with enough snowy wide slopes to keep me happy.
The 15 mile road out of town to the area is still a little sketchy for me to drive. Too icy even on a mild November day, and too many tight switchbacks. There's a bus that leaves from a downtown park a couple times a day and goes straight to the base lodge. I might do that.
I just can't breathe and have no cardiac stamina, so navigating the stairs up to the lodge and getting my boots on and schlepping to the lifts was a physical challenge for me -- thank goodness my son was there to help me. But once on the lift and once I found myself cruising down the open slopes, I felt great.
Then, of course, the best part of skiing is apres ski. In this case, it was a cup of coffee on the portal at Walking Rain Lodge.
What a great time I had with my son. I was happy to check out the area for the first time with someone to help me, but I was mostly just reveling in having him here for Thanksgiving and having him to play winter sports with. Years ago when he was little I buckled his boots for him; this time he helped me buckle mine.
Ski bueno.
Last year, in the drought, it was brown and unappealing even though Ski Santa Fe made snow all winter. I was intimidated by the size of the area, the tough drive up canyon roads to get there, and I had no one to ski with. I didn't go even once.
This year is all different. There is plenty of early snow and my son came down from Denver for Thanksgiving. He is the world's best ski guide and canyon road driver. He took me there, we figured out the lifts and trails together, and now I have a good feel for this ski area. We had so much fun.
Here's my assessment of Ski Santa Fe: an old-time, unpretentious, hidden gem.
It was so much like ski areas the way they used to be: intimate, friendly, nothing fancy. There are no condos or shops or restaurants or bars, except for the the one in the lodge. There is no "scene". There is a simple lodge, and midway up the lower slopes there is a hamburger food shack, but that's it.
This is a big mountain, 12,000 feet high with a 2,000 vertical foot drop, so they run high speed quad chairs, but they also run an old fashioned double chair, slow as can be, quietly gliding through the woods. It just took me back to the way skiing was decades ago.
The slopes I ski (intermediate) were wide open, which I love. Snow was perfect. It got windy by mid morning, and the light fluffy fresh snow was starting to get skied off, and we went in. The real reason it was a short morning though, is that I am woefully out of shape, couldn't breathe at that altitude and I'm old. I was struggling a bit by mid morning. We only did a few runs.
That black shadow ripping down the open slope under a New Mexico sun is me.
I wasn't ripping really! But we had a ball and my ski guide was so patient with me. Now, having scoped out the place with him, I feel confident I might go back, even on my own or if I join a retiree ski group here in Santa Fe. It's a manageable, low key place that I would enjoy, with enough snowy wide slopes to keep me happy.
The 15 mile road out of town to the area is still a little sketchy for me to drive. Too icy even on a mild November day, and too many tight switchbacks. There's a bus that leaves from a downtown park a couple times a day and goes straight to the base lodge. I might do that.
I just can't breathe and have no cardiac stamina, so navigating the stairs up to the lodge and getting my boots on and schlepping to the lifts was a physical challenge for me -- thank goodness my son was there to help me. But once on the lift and once I found myself cruising down the open slopes, I felt great.
Then, of course, the best part of skiing is apres ski. In this case, it was a cup of coffee on the portal at Walking Rain Lodge.
What a great time I had with my son. I was happy to check out the area for the first time with someone to help me, but I was mostly just reveling in having him here for Thanksgiving and having him to play winter sports with. Years ago when he was little I buckled his boots for him; this time he helped me buckle mine.
Ski bueno.
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