Mountain Blog

Community Benefit Day at Pajarito Mountain will be January 26, 2020. In its first year, Community Benefit Days is a way for Pajarito to give back to the community by donating a portion of lift ticket sales to a local nonprofit. This year’s proceeds will benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters in Santa Fe. The resort pledges to donate 20 percent of lift ticket sales. 

“Providing support to a young person is very gratifying. This organization is very dear to my heart,” said Tom Long, General Manager at Pajarito. “I was once a Big Brother. Big Brothers and Big Sisters continue to ...

Pajarito Mountain Kicks Off Ski Season Friday, December 10 Come Ski the Bumps and Steeps! We begin our winter season this Friday with approximately 15 runs open. The Aspen lift, Beginner’s Lift and the magic carpet will all be running. After a record snow year last year, Pajarito is poised for another season of skiing and snowboarding in Los Alamos. “This will be one of our best openings in recent years,” said Tom Long, Pajarito General Manager, “We’re thrilled to be opening so much terrain.”

Recent cool temperatures, continued snowmaking and regular snowfall have allowed the mountain team to open plenty of runs ...

Utah-based resort joins the largest ski and outdoor collective in the Southwest

James Coleman, managing partner of Mountain Capital Partners, announced an acquisition agreement to manage and operate Brian Head Resort in Southern Utah. Mountain Capital Partners currently owns and operates seven ski and bike resorts throughout the Southwest, including Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Brian Head is the second Utah-based ski resort to join the MCP collective, alongside Nordic Valley Ski Resort in Northern Utah. 

“We’re proud to welcome Brian Head Resort and its employees to the MCP family,” said ...

Tom and Tommy Long, the Mountain Men of Pajarito

Some fathers and sons rebuild old cars, some go hunting or others hit the road for adventure. Very few have the opportunity to both work and play together – except our very own Tom and Tommy Long! Tom, a 50-year ski industry veteran, has been working at Pajarito since 2004. He’s our General Manager. Several years ago, Tom brought his son, Tommy, onboard whenever he needed an extra hand. In 2009, Tommy started full time, and is now our Snowmaking Manager.

Tommy and Tom Long on the lift

While working at ...

Thanks for a great season! Thanks to all of our pass holders,  guests, and employees for making this season a great one. Here are a couple of our favorite guest photos from the 2018-2019 ski season. 

Opening day at Pajarito.PC: @benjithethird

Zack Hill skiing through some blower snow!

PC: @carrie2426

PC: @aidan.ortizzzzzzz

PC:@chrissyqmartin

Torchlight Parade PC: @anothernmdirtbag

PC:@goodnightlosalamos

Zack Hill in deep powder!

PC:@nathan.burnside

Pup enjoying Pajarito!PC:@mtntortuga

Bluebird Day at the little bird!PC: boiimertle

Thanks for a great season. Summer operations are scheduled to start June 6th, see you ...

This is no joke – there’s 4″ of fresh snow at Pajarito and it’s still coming down. OpenSnow is calling for another 2-4″ to fall throughout the day. Stay tuned to our Facebook and Instagram for more updates on how we’re getting ready to open. Opening Day is scheduled for Friday, December 21. 

Here are some of our favorite snow day photos to get you excited for winter!

Ski Season is right around the corner! Today marks 100 days until the kickoff of the ski season for Pajarito Mountain, which will open for the 2018/19 season on Friday, December 21. El Niño is forecasted for the 2018/19 season, which means more powder days! The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is currently predicting El Niño conditions for this winter, which tend to produce a greater than average snowfall across the southern Rockies, benefiting New Mexico.

“Everyone at Pajarito is excited for ski season to begin,” stated Tom Long, general manager at Pajarito. “Our crews have been hard at work ...

Do you love seeing where your feet can take you? Pajarito is the perfect place for summer trail runs. The cool mountain breezes will wick away sweat, while you climb up to beautiful views of the Valles Calderas on trails that are just perfect for running. Looking to fuel up on your run? The Pajarito Mountain Cafe is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11am to 2pm and the perfect place to re-fuel with drinks, cookies, and bars or to replace those calories you burned after a run with juicy burgers, breakfast burritos and more!

Trail runner by Vint Miller

There ...

The relationship between father and son is one of the most unique bonds. Some rebuild old cars, some go hunting or hit the road to spend time together. Very few of them have the opportunity to both work and play together – except our very own Tom and Tommy Long! Tom, a 50-year ski industry veteran, has been working at Pajarito since 2004. He brought his son, Tommy, onboard when they needed an extra hand and in 2009, Tommy started full time. They have been working together ever since!

Tom and Tommy hard at work sampling the product (snow!)

While working ...

Summer is in sight! Lift served lift-served hiking and biking starts May 18th and will continue every weekend to October 28th plus:

Friday, May 18th 12pm-4pm for pre-riding the Rocky Mountain Race Series.  

Monday, May 28, 9am-3pm for Memorial Day.

Thursday, June 21, 4p-8 pm for Summer Solstice.

Monday, September 3, 9am-3pm for Labor Day.

In preparation for summer, crews have removed trees and branches from trails. Opening weekend will feature the Rocky Mountain Race Series. With Cross-Country, and Slalom on Saturday and Short Track and Downhill on Sunday, there is something for everyone. New this year, we’ll have Rocky Mountain Maiden downhill rental bikes. ...

Pajarito Mountain Ski Area will host the first race of the 2018 Rocky Mountain Race Series, May 18th through the 20th. The Rocky Mountain Race Series is a five-stop a multi-discipline mountain bike series in Colorado and New Mexico. The series will include downhill, cross country, short track and dual slalom.  The series will include categories for juniors ages 8 to 18, in three-year age groups and 10-year age groups for adults, in both endurance and gravity disciplines. With all of these categories, there is something for every skill level of racer.

On Friday, May 18th will include all-day registration and ...

James Coleman, Purgatory and Mountain Capital Partners managing partner, announced today that he will manage and operate Nordic Valley Ski Resort. The full release is enclosed below–here are a few things we’re really excited about:

Nordic Valley delivers the largest night skiing and snowboarding operation in Utah.

The snow–and skiing–in Utah is legendary. Located 25 miles from Ogden, Nordic Valley (and its 300 inches of snowfall every year) is right in the middle of it all.

Nordic Valley was immortalized as one of the best downhill training ski areas during the 2002 Winter Olympics.

The ski area offers lift-served mountain biking and several miles of downhill trails.

There’s a 400-foot long slip-n-slide during ...

Pajarito’s 18/19 season passes are on sale now and include more discounts and benefits than ever! Use this guide to help select the pass that’s right for you! If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at ski@pajarito.ski.

Worry-Free Payment Option: Pajarito is proud to offer no price increase over last year on select passes for the third year in a row! All Sipapu passes now include the payment plan option, regardless of which pass you purchase! With no interest and easy, automatic payments, it’s just one less thing you have to keep track of. Simply pay off your ...

Saturday, March 17 marks the 70th Skiesta Festival at Pajarito Mountain Ski Area, and we hope to see you on the mountain for the all day celebration. For all the details on spring’s most-anticipated (and FREE!) event, I’m turning this blog over to Susan Brockway, President of the Los Alamos Ski Club!

Skiesta is a long-standing tradition at Pajarito Mountain. The very first Skiesta was held in 1948 and featured music, costumes and a 50 cent hot dog lunch. Since it’s very humble beginnings, Skiesta has been a wacky spring event that celebrates the unique mountain culture of Los Alamos and the ...