Mountain Blog

The word Pajarito in Spanish means little bird, and if you are looking for birds at Pajarito, there are no shortages. Pajarito and the Jemez Mountains are full of wildlife! There are thousands of animals that help keep the surrounding area beautiful! They are also vital to the ecosystem. Pajarito is doing its part to balance wildlife and guest needs. Pajarito has animal proof trash cans and cleans up the slope of garbage that animals might think is food.  Here are some of our favorite photos of animals at Pajarito:

Bighorn sheep, deer, and elk are indigenous to Jemez Mountains. This ...

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 are ...

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 at ...

Dozens of New Mexico craft breweries on the deck at Pajarito.

Summer’s officially here and it’s time to kick it off right. Pajarito will be hosting its annual Summerfest all day on Saturday, June 9th, with lift access to hiking and biking trails, live music, and—of course—plenty of local craft brews. There are so many ways the whole family can enjoy the Summerfest experience. The disc golf tournament, dual slalom mountain bike race, and live music are sure to keep children—of all ages— entertained!

With the purchase of a Mountain Bike Power Pass or uplift ticket access to our extensive hiking and ...

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 ...

New! Open Every Weekend

In the summer, Pajarito Mountain is always open for hiking and cross-country biking, but lift-served hiking and biking will start every weekend from May 18th to October 28th plus:

Friday, May 18th 12pm-3pm 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.

New! Mountain Bike Power Pass

The new Mountain Bike Power Pass comes with unlimited access to Pajarito Bike Park and Purgatory Bike Park. Looking to explore some new terrain? Mountain Bike Power Pass owners can also enjoy three FREE days at ...

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 ...

Pajarito Mountain picked up 8″ of fresh snow overnight for a storm total of 10″ this week! Here are some photos from grooming this morning.

The Ski Patrol got out early to check out the conditions. The following photos were taken by our Ski Patroller, Eric Schaller this morning.

We are working on opening new terrain. Beginners’ West and Beginners’ East have been track packed.

More snow is in the forecast. Lifts start turning at 9 a.m. Wednesday–Sunday, and lift tickets are $24 for everyone. 

Grooming is an essential part of the mountain operations at Pajarito. It takes daily upkeep to keep the runs smooth and to preserve new snow. Grooming is very similar to mowing the lawn, a very steep lawn. It can take one cat two to three hours for a single run with 10-12 passes. Pajarito has three regular cats and one winch cat.  The regular cats can only groom blue and green trails while the winch cat is used to groom the steepest slopes.

Why is grooming important? Grooming the snow helps breaks up pockets of air trapped in the snow, and keeps ...

January is Learn to Ski and Snowboard month. Now, I may be a little biased, but I think and Pajarito Mountain is the best place in New Mexico to learn to ski and snowboard. Our mountain is unique for beginners because of the big increase in skill from the beginner area to the rest of the mountain. When beginners start skiing beyond the beginner area through the rest of the terrain, they can pretty much ski anywhere.

Brand New Magic Carpet Guests at Pajarito are really enjoying the brand new Magic Carpet surface lift. This fall, we said goodbye to our old ...

This week, temperatures and conditions have been ideal for snowmaking at Pajarito Mountain. And this morning, we got some extra encouragement from Mother Nature in the form of three inches of freshly fallen snow. This first snow of the winter season has us super motivated to continue working round-the-clock ensure the mountain is ready for our scheduled opening date, Saturday, December 16.

Our snowmaking crew is focusing on this terrain:

Our brand new Magic Carpet conveyor lift is on the mountain!  We have completed all the prep work for the installation of the new surface lift, and are anxious to begin the actual construction of the lift.  Dirt work, electrical work and the reshaping of our Beginners’ Area are all complete, and the whole project is coming together.

Part of the pre-installation prep work has included expanding the loading area and constructing a retaining wall near the SnowSport School, doubling the size of the area that first-time skiers have get on the snow.

Completed Magic Carpet drive terminal pitSnowSports School expansion/retaining wall

Our state-of-the-art ...