Pajarito, NM 02/13/09

Tony Crocker":3l4ic6ym said:
reported 125-inch average (...) This is not a recipe for a reliable ski area, especially since New Mexico also has higher snowfall volatility than most of the Rockies.
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Tony can fact check, but when I was there in Feb 2009, they were in a lower than average snow year (was it a mild La Nina?); however, I hit a week-long storm cycle that refreshed things nicely, including a 20-inch dump at Santa Fe. General Manager Tom Long claimed that Pajarito's long-term average was in the 150s. For all I know, they may have a gun or two at the base, but other than that, Pajarito is 100% natural snow. Given the altitude, rain isn't an issue, rather it's brutal La Nina years like this one. He mentioned snowmaking as their big upcoming plan.

In the making-lemonade-out-of-lemons bucket, one of the complaints I've heard is that Pajarito skis like a tree-lined East-Coast hill (it felt very similar in vert and layout to Belleayre in the Catskills, but with stunning desert views), so if the fire took out a bunch of trees, maybe that would open the terrain up a bit, similar to what the pine beetles did to Brian Head?
:-k
 
jamesdeluxe":2l1hyiwr said:
if the fire took out a bunch of trees, maybe that would open the terrain up a bit
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That burned out west side of Baldy at Sun Valley is reputedly now a prime sidecountry stash on powder days.

jamesdeluxe":2l1hyiwr said:
when I was there in Feb 2009, they were in a lower than average snow year (was it a mild La Nina?)
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No, neutral year. Taos had 94% of normal snowfall but December was the big month, so qualitatively probably an above average season in New Mexico. Taos was also 94% in 2006-07, the last time I was in New Mexico. The La Nina effect is not cut and dried. Taos was 118% in 2007-08 including 104 inches in December.

150 inches is more than Mt. High average but less than Baldy/Waterman. In terms of coverage it's probably just as well Pajarito looks fairly intermediate pitched, as New Mexico's snow is fluff while SoCal's is usually very cement-like.
 
Great updates by Admin.

That level of damage looks to be quite survivable should they not receive any additional damage in the near future.


Tony Crocker":x1kw0iju said:
That burned out west side of Baldy at Sun Valley is reputedly now a prime sidecountry stash on powder days.
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More than reportedly. I have a long time friend who moved to SV about a year after the fire and it's some of the best skiing in the whole region now according to him.
 
Wonder how long it's been since they've had any precipitation?
pajarito_eastside_110703.jpg


Does a ski area need to have a special insurance policy covering fires (like for flooding) or does one size fit all?
 
OOKING AT OCTOBER 2010 THROUGH MAY 2011 PRECIPITATION TOTALS...
SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION DEFICITS WERE EVIDENT ESPECIALLY IN THE
RIO GRANDE VALLEY AND ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO.

STATION OCT 10 - MAY 11 DEPARTURE FM NORMAL
ALCALDE 2.56 INCHES -2.11 INCHES
SANTA FE 2.26 -4.47
ALBUQUERQUE 1.54 -2.76
SOCORRO 0.34 -4.01
LAS CRUCES 0.51 -3.18
CLOUDCROFT 2.97 -7.42
CARLSBAD 0.54 -4.81
TATUM 1.01 -5.62
GLENWOOD 1.31 -7.26

FOR THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF CALENDAR YEAR 2011...STATEWIDE
PRECIPITATION WAS JUST 35 PERCENT OF NORMAL. THE ONLY CLIMATE
DIVISION REPORTING MORE THAN 70 PERCENT OF NORMAL PRECIPITATION
DURING THE FIRST FIVE MONTHS OF 2011 WAS THE NORTHWEST PLATEAU.


June's precip
LOAN5 0.00 :LOS ALAMOS

The state is BONE DRY
 
jasoncapecod":2cw0u10q said:
The state is BONE DRY
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I loved many aspects of living in New Mexico, but having been raised in the northeast, the lack of green (outside of the mountains) was one of the reasons I bailed after 3.5 years there.
 
jamesdeluxe":3bwck4zj said:
jasoncapecod":3bwck4zj said:
The state is BONE DRY
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I loved many aspects of living in New Mexico, but having been raised in the northeast, the lack of green (outside of the mountains) was one of the reasons I bailed after 3.5 years there.
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Yea, I've only been to NM once when we vacationed in Southwestern CO a few summers ago and we flew into Albuqueque and then drove North into CO. But one thing you quickly realize about New Mexico is that much of the state is a high desert where "brown" is the predominant color. It was quite a start contrast with the green and lush New England where I live. Not sure I would want to live there year round.
 
berkshireskier":65jyk2x7 said:
But one thing you quickly realize about New Mexico is that much of the state is a high desert where "brown" is the predominant color. It was quite a start contrast with the green and lush New England where I live. Not sure I would want to live there year round.
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It's a common misconception among visitors, especially those who come from intensely green areas like NE, but there's far more green in the high desert than they realize. It's just that the green is far more subtle and takes a bit more observation - made even more difficult if you come from an area where there is the "stark contrast" you mention. Granted, the long views and overlooks do cause the green to be lost and let the red end of the spectrum show through, but on a more intimate level, the green definitely asserts itself. After living in the intermountain west for 10 years now, I find the east coast and NE overwhelmingly, oppressively, disturbingly green.
 
Marc_C":2mksrm6r said:
After living in the intermountain west for 10 years now, I find the east coast and NE overwhelmingly, oppressively, disturbingly green.
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Is there anything you do like?
 
socal":30ijn157 said:
Is there anything you do like?
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For starters...
Autumn in New England. All that green eventually gives way to hundreds of thousands of rolling acres in a riot of color.

Rain - didn't think I'd miss it as much as I do. We get so little that it often seems like a special treat.

http://www.luccabackbay.com/

http://www.kellyliken.com/

http://www.nps.gov/cany/index.htm

http://vancouver.ca/

Pissing contests between Tony, Admin, and Patrick.

...and about 800 bazillion other things.

But the excessive overabundance of green in NE, the east coast, and the wet part of the PNW does get to me now - it never used to before moving west.
 
I like the green aesthetically, but I can do without the excessive rain and especially summer humidity that usually goes along with it.
 
Tony Crocker":2ossn5qe said:
I like the green aesthetically, but I can do without the excessive rain and especially summer humidity that usually goes along with it.
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Yea, there are two things that can be said about the weather in the Northeast:
1. It sucks.
2. It sucks, but..........all the bad weather makes you appreciate the relatively small number of "good" days that we do actually get.

This Spring and early Summer have been especially wet in the Northeast which means the humidity levels have been unusually high and it looks like we are living in a tropical rain forest - the vegetation is very dense and lush this year. I'm having to mow my lawn every 3 to 4 days and the weeds are growing like crazy in my garden.

A few of the good things about receiving all of this moisture is that we, for the most part, don't have to worry about massive forest fires and there is plenty of water in the resevoirs and wells. Prolonged droughts are relatively rare in the Northeast.

However, if you like consistently warm, sunny weather, the Northeast is NOT the place to live. I'm not sure I would want to live year-round in an arid climate (like NM or Arizona) but the gray rainy days in the Northeast can be depressing, at times.
 
berkshireskier":1quteexe said:
Tony Crocker":1quteexe said:
I like the green aesthetically, but I can do without the excessive rain and especially summer humidity that usually goes along with it.
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Yea, there are two things that can be said about the weather in the Northeast:
1. It sucks.
2. It sucks, but..........all the bad weather makes you appreciate the relatively small number of "good" days that we do actually get.

This Spring and early Summer have been especially wet in the Northeast which means the humidity levels have been unusually high and it looks like we are living in a tropical rain forest - the vegetation is very dense and lush this year. I'm having to mow my lawn every 3 to 4 days and the weeds are growing like crazy in my garden.

A few of the good things about receiving all of this moisture is that we, for the most part, don't have to worry about massive forest fires and there is plenty of water in the resevoirs and wells. Prolonged droughts are relatively rare in the Northeast.

However, if you like consistently warm, sunny weather, the Northeast is NOT the place to live. I'm not sure I would want to live year-round in an arid climate (like NM or Arizona) but the gray rainy days in the Northeast can be depressing, at times.
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Just landed in Philadelphia, it was 80 and 90% humidity. There's reasons to be on the east coast, weather is not one of them. With that said i don't think i could live with weather in the desert SW either.
 
I don't mind the NE, but I think NYC has more sun than many places inland, although it does get hotter and more humid here than places further north. I just spent a weekend in the finger lakes which has a climate very favorable for Rieslings, and the farm land there is very beautiful. The beach here is great for those hot humid days, and this summer I've been a bit of a beach brat. I will say that the past 4 days have been the hottest and most humid we've had all summer with the exception of 2 days in early june.

The green certainly doesn't bother me the way it does Marc_C but of course I live in NYC.
 
rfarren":1lwfmn31 said:
The green certainly doesn't bother me the way it does Marc_C....
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And that only happened after living here for several years. It's also not that greenery is bothersome, it's just the sheer overwhelming quantity in the East et al.
 
Marc_C":36swszyb said:
It's also not that greenery is bothersome, it's just the sheer overwhelming quantity in the East et al.
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I assure you that's not an issue in NYC. :lol:
 
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