NM Ski Hall of Fame to recognize three individuals
A former Taos News Land Water People Time editor and two others, one deceased, will be receiving awards from the New Mexico Ski Hall of Fame on Saturday (Oct. 22) at the annual banquet dinner held in the Sid Cutter Pavilion just north of the Balloon Museum.
Daniel Gibson will be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award for “his writing and reporting on the regional snowsports scene.” In addition to being the founding editor of the annual Land Water People Time publication, Gibson has been writing a self-described “southern Rockies-focused snowsports and travel column” called “Snow Trax” since 1992.
In one of his columns in 2015 he takes time to talk about the overlooked Angel Fire Ski Resort.
“You won’t find huge egos hucking cliffs here; most folks are from Amarillo or other Texas locales, along with Albuquerque residents with a cabin or second home. The majority of skiers and boarders here stick to the groomers and extensive intermediate and beginner runs. But this means those who love untracked powder will find runs all to themselves and days of silent cruising through solo glades and down steep pitches.”
In another column in 2014, he provides a descriptive account of a dinner at the Hotel St. Bernard.
“It is after dinner — a delicious meal served personally by Mayer with his typical flair and style. We are sated on a light soup, grassfed, organic filet mignon topped with a shallot butter sauce and dab of fried goose pate, Portobello mushrooms stuffed with goat cheese, a smoked trout salad, a fricassee of potatoes and desert. Mayer is tired. Soon, he will make the drive down-valley to Arroyo Seco, where he now lives after spending 21 years residing at the ski area. Still the technical director of the ski school, he will serve breakfast the following day, then lead the hardest-charging skiers in the ski school out for a morning lesson. After serving lunch, he’ll [be] catching a nap before dinner; then do it all again the next day. Where does he find the energy?”
According to the New Mexico Ski Hall of Fame press release, “Cody Sheppard will be posthumously honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Sheppard first came to Santa Fe as a student at St. John’s College, and quickly gravitated to the mountains. He began working at the ski area in 1971, and his roles soon included everything from ticket sales and parking to grooming and snowmaking, before becoming a patrolman in 1973. He became patrol director in 1981, and held the position until illness forced his retirement in 2016. He succumbed to cancer in 2017.”
The curator of the NM Ski Museum, Jay Blackwood, will be receiving a Distinguished Service award at the banquet. Blackwood’s resume lists him as the assistant manager of the Sandia Peak Tram from 1966 to the present (56 years). He’s worked at Sandia Peak even longer than that. According to the press release, “Blackwood began working at Sandia Peak/La Madera Ski
Area in 1962, serving as a lift operator and in the rental shop. He went to work on the Sandia Peak Tram at its inception, first loading tram cars, checking tickets, and taking care of the building. He rose to manager, a position he held for many years.”
The public is welcome to attend. Tickets are $60. The event begins at 5:30 p.m. For tickets and details for the banquet dinner, email JFox@SandiaPeak.com or call 505-857-6335.