近距离内射合集

Unseasonably warm and dry conditions made for a challenging beginning to ski season in New Mexico, but spirits remain relatively high in the community as the weather has gotten colder.

鈥淚t was definitely not what we had hoped for and a rougher start than usual. Typically, we at least have the cold temperatures where if we don鈥檛 get the natural snowfall, we can augment with our snowmaking,鈥� Christy Germscheid, Ski New Mexico executive director, said. 鈥淭his year with the warm temperatures, it definitely hampered our ability to supplement with all the snowmaking that we put in. But overall, our Christmas crowds, our holiday numbers, were still fairly strong. We did unfortunately have two resorts that weren鈥檛 open for the holidays.鈥�

Those two resorts in question 鈥� Sandia Peak Ski Area and Pajarito Mountain Ski Area 鈥� opened in early January. In some cases, the location of the resort makes all the difference when it comes to snowmaking in uncooperative weather. Sipapu Ski and Summer Resort, for example, benefits from some ideal geography.

鈥淭he thing about Sipapu that鈥檚 really cool is that we鈥檙e in a really fortunate canyon,鈥� Christiana Hudson, Sipapu and Pajarito marketing director, said. 鈥淪o when we get snow and when we make snow, it鈥檚 pretty much shaded a ton in the afternoon, so it holds snow really well. 鈥� When we make snow, thankfully, even when it got up to in the 40s, we were able to keep that snow at Sipapu. We have such a good snowmaking system that we鈥檙e kind of built for variable conditions in winter.鈥�

That wasn鈥檛 the case for Pajarito, however.

鈥淧ajarito, primarily like Sandia, relies on Mother Nature,鈥� Hudson said, 鈥渁nd with a relatively dry summer, too, we didn鈥檛 have water in our catchment pond to be able to make a little bit of snow 鈥� or at least not very much. And so we didn鈥檛 even want to make snow at Pajarito because it would have melted off. I mean, some days it was 40, 50 degrees in December.鈥�

At Ski Santa Fe, it was mostly business as usual, though an early January storm that delivered 23 inches of new snow was certainly welcome when it arrived.

鈥淕iven our location, elevation, that kind of stuff, we got super lucky,鈥� Tommy Long, Ski Santa Fe operations manager, said. 鈥淲e were still able to make the snow we needed to make. Our crews worked very, very hard to get it done.鈥�

Unpredictable weather conditions are par for the course in the Land of Enchantment, so the ski community is typically prepared with contingency plans.

鈥淲e are seeing later storm cycles consistently in New Mexico,鈥� Germscheid said. 鈥淏ut it is very cyclical and very fickle in terms of, you鈥檝e got three great seasons, and then you鈥檙e going to have one where the weather doesn鈥檛 hit you right. And it鈥檚 the same throughout the entire country.鈥�

According to Germscheid, the volume, quality and efficiency of snowmaking has improved significantly over the years. That鈥檚 especially crucial when it鈥檚 drier or warmer than normal.

鈥淵ou can buy hand guns that can make snow at warmer temperatures than you used to be able to. They have reduced water consumption, so they鈥檙e more efficient that way. They utilize less electricity,鈥� Germscheid said.

While the diehards are often out on the slopes as soon as the lifts are open, the shift to cooler weather and more frequent storms tend to attract the masses.

鈥淎s a ski resort where we鈥檙e not in Albuquerque where people see the snow, we have to convince people that 鈥榃e make snow, the conditions are good, come out,鈥欌�� Hudson said.

鈥淏ut when they can be playing golf or going for bike rides and stuff like that because it鈥檚 warm, a lot of people aren鈥檛 really thinking about skiing. So I think now that we鈥檙e seeing some colder weather and some real winter, hopefully people鈥檚 minds will more automatically think about skiing.鈥�

Even though a slow start can throw a wrench into things, interest in winter sports remains high in the state. Germscheid said that ski areas鈥� overall commitment to investing in capital improvements such as more and faster chairlifts, more available terrain and updates to overall infrastructure makes a significant difference in that regard. During the 2023-24 season, for example, New Mexico received approximately 980,000 skier visits at resorts throughout the state.

鈥淲e have incredible conditions that are competitive with our other Rocky Mountain states, but we are so much more affordable and more proximity to our core customer base that people are coming back to New Mexico,鈥� Germscheid said.

With all the ski resorts in the state now active in some capacity, it's just a matter of hoping that more winter storms improve overall conditions and allow for more runs to open.

鈥淲e鈥檙e always very happy when all of the ski areas in the state are open and operating and kind of thriving,鈥� Long said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 better for the state and skiing in general, to have all of us out doing the same thing.鈥�