Some snow has finally come to New Mexico
Hallelujah! We finally had a substantial storm across the region, bringing much-needed snowfall, a renewed sense of hope and a white vista to greet eyes turned toward the mountains. Much more is needed, both to bring some semblance of normality to the ski scene, and more importantly, to avoid a potential catastrophic fire season comes May and June.
Before getting to the conditions and weekend events, here is the conclusion of the last week’s story about Jeremy and Shirlee Cole, the new owners of Santa’ Fe’s venerable ski and sports store, Alpine Sports.
Buying the store
During Jeremy Cole’s early years in the sporting goods market in Portland, Ore., he thought owning his own shop was a “pipe dream.”
The idea grew on the couple over time, and they began to search for a business to buy. They narrowed their hunt to four shops, and they eventually settled on Alpine Sports.
“To be honest, Santa Fe was not initially on our radar, as it has not really been known as a recreation destination,” Cole said. “But I did not want to live and work in a large market, even though it might be easier to run a business in a bigger city. We came to check out Santa Fe and really liked it. We also realized there was not a great deal of retail competition here, and that it is a fairly active community. Plus, the shop, having been around 55 years or so, has a great reputation and is a known entity.”
However, the Coles had their own vision for the store, which fit the business.
“The Chalkers reinvented the shop over the years and we’re doing something similar,” Colesaid. “We do not want to be known as a ski shop, rather as an outdoor store with year-round products and services. We are staking our flag on footwear fitting — be it climbing shoes, snowboard boots, ski boots, running or hiking shoes. I spent years working as a custom boot and shoe fitter. I attended many fittings.”
But, it is a tough slog against online sales, no matter how well informed you are. Cole said ski shop numbers nationally are plummeting.
“Where they are holding on is mainly through boots and boot fitting,” Cole said.
One can buy a ski or snowboard online with little chance of failure, but boot buying remains something that should best be done in person, he said.
Alpine employs some 15 full-time and part-time staff. This includes their service and rental programs, which Jeremy said “we intend to make it a much larger part of our business. We are offering a different level of service than the shop offered in the past.”
All the work has seriously cut into Cole’s ski time, which he calls a “sore subject.”
“I am looking forward to the late-season snow and getting back out skinning and skiing,” Cole said. “I really enjoy Ski Santa Fe; it skis extremely well. They’ve done a great job cutting the runs, getting the most out of the terrain. It’s got some great tree skiing, though I’d love to see them cleaning up the trees in the midmountain; there’s lots of debris in there.”
Conditions
Santa Fe picked up a foot of snow, bringing its base to 24 inches. It has opened a few more runs, including its first “expert” run, the short Slalom, and Lower Thunderbird. Dance to rock ’n’ roll, blues, country, swing and Americana of Controlled Burn from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday or sign up for the 30th annual Tony Forest telemark clinic on Saturday and Sunday. Beginners are welcome, but must have some alpine ski experience. The workshop includes four hours of lessons each day, with video analysis. Lessons for both days run $125, or $65 for a single day. To sign up, visit the ski area’s website or call 505-992-5084.
Taos enjoyed a 14-inch deposit of snow and now has a 20-inch base. On Tuesday, it opened Mucho Gusto, Lower Stauffenberg and Firlefanz, and Friday it will open Upper and Lower Totemoff and Tell Glade, providing new terrain.
Sipapu also got 14 inches of snow, and now has a 20-inch base, with 14 runs open. I visited Saturday to shadow the Santa Fe Ski Team and watch the NMXSports slopestyle comp in Don Diego terrain park and had a blast. Their snow making team has done a terrific job on both the quality of the snow and the amount of terrain they’ve covered.
Angel Fire received 7 inches of snow and now has a 12-inch base, with 32 percent of its terrain open. The resort is now offering free night skiing and boarding for the remainder of the season. The terrain includes 50 acres of groomed trails on the front-facing side of the mountain, as well as the Night Rider terrain park. The free night skiing lift ticket is available to any guest who has purchased a daytime lift ticket on the same day; by itself it runs $24.
“We know it’s been an exceptionally slow start to winter here in New Mexico,” Marketing Director Spencer Weimar said. “Things are starting to turn around with storms heading our way. We think this incentive will bring more people up as conditions improve. The free night skiing is a way we can thank our guests for coming up.”
Pajarito only gained 5 inches of snow and has just 3 runs open. Sandia Peak also received 5 inches of snow and has only its base beginner slope open.
Wolf Creek was blessed with 23 inches of snow, bumping its season total to 92 inches and its midway base to 42 inches. All runs are open on its 1,600 acres.
Monarch got 11 inches of snow, taking its base to a nice 47 inches — the most in the region.