TR - New Mexico bc 5/11 & 5/12

**Meadow Skipper** · 05-13-2007, 05:51 PM

May's a funny month for skiing in New Mexico, it's hard to tell what you're going to get from year to year. So if you live there, you keep various spots in mind and a list of people who don't mind spending time in the high country when everyone else is thinking bikes or golf, and when it looks good, start working your lists.

This season was just okay for snowpack in NM, but a late storm or two and some unusually cool and cloudy weather has made for surprisingly good late-season conditions.

On Friday mcs, GeoMatt and I decided to give Santa Fe Baldy a try. SF Baldy is the highest peak near Santa Fe, and requires about a four mile trek in (and out). Often by this time of year, the snow is so patchy that it just isn't worth it, but this year we were thinking that it might be good.

Not much to say about the long slog in, except that there was a little rock-hopping and mud skinning required here and there and the tele'ers seemed to have to wait a lot while the AT'er fiddled with his bindings...oh, and I fell in a creek while posing for a picture.

But we finally got to the top and scoped things out. We settled on a NE facing chute that GeoMatt and I had skied a couple years ago. The chute is the narrower one that runs down the middle of the picture and has the nice rock walls on the skiers' right:

mcs (ball cap) and GeoMatt (moto look) at the top, getting ready:

mcs went first...:

...and hung some steep turns in the great corn...:

...then cut loose:

GeoMatt dropped in next and ripped the corn:

GeoMatt showing some fine Bro Model tele steeze

We boooted back out of the cirque and enjoyed some mellow turns on a south facing slope going back to the trail out to the cars. The trail out was kind of heinous, long and boring. But worth it, even though there were some nervous moments when thunderheads started piling up and booming, dropping graupel, sleet, and finally rain. Oh, and we had to wait on the AT'er, but it was his skins rather than the bindings. We got to the cars just as the rain got serious, nine and a half hours after we left.

Thinking that since the skiing was so good on Santa Fe Baldy, mcs and I made plans to ski a much more accessible shot on Saturday - the Nambé chutes. jrredho joined us and in the morning we skinned up over encouraging snow conditions through the Santa Fe ski area to Deception Peak. The weather was warm and clear, and we were a little too late for the nearby east-facing shots, so we headed right into the Nambé chutes to find...more great corn coverage.

It was so good that we took a couple of laps. mcs comes blasting out of the main chute:

jrredho is next:

Sweeping turns on silky corn:

On the way back out through the ski area, we even managed 1800 vertical ft of top to bottom sweeping corn turns, not taking the skis off until we got to the parking lot. Not bad for mid-May in New Mexico.

**Tresckow** · 05-13-2007, 06:02 PM

Nice guys, Truchas next?

**Atrain505** · 05-13-2007, 06:03 PM

Ya hometown!!
I'm back and apparently leaving my skis in Canada was a bad call. The thought of bringing all the gear back didn't even cross my mind.
Very nice.

**Meadow Skipper** · 05-14-2007, 09:35 AM

Originally Posted by Tresckow

Nice guys, Truchas next?

Funny you should mention the Truchas, there's been some talk about that. Damn place is so remote though that it's hard to tell if it'll go until after you fully commit to a big (and possibly henious) slog.

**f2f** · 05-14-2007, 09:52 AM

i was thinking the other day that there should be TRs from new mexico forthcoming, what with all the snow and whatnot

that's a good one, thanks!

**Artie Fufkin** · 05-14-2007, 10:35 AM

Nice! Here is a little more from the Taos and Santa Fe ara over the last few weekends, 4/22, 4/29 and 5/13:

Edited: This should work....some more recent photos from the NM BC, it's been great.

Nambe Basin 4/22

SF Baldy, Truchas in background

Williams Lake Basin 4/29

Skied right of the peak of Sin Nombre

del norte from Ttips

Lake Fork Peak 5/13/07

There's still a decent amount of snow back in the basin

**f2f** · 05-14-2007, 11:12 AM

Originally Posted by Artie Fufkin

artie, i don't think the board will allow you to link to these images (something to do with the ?imgmax part).

**Lani** · 05-14-2007, 11:17 AM

That's really great to see true spring skiing in New Mexico. Right on.

**skier666** · 05-14-2007, 11:35 AM

Doesn't look like flatbread to me!

**fullers2oh** · 05-14-2007, 11:49 AM

Originally Posted by Meadow Skipper

oh, and I fell in a creek while posing for a picture.

dont listen to a friend behind a camera.....just one more step back please...ok one more loosk good.....oh just one more step back....perfect...splash!

nice pix way to get after it in may i really didnt think there was much snowpack still in your area this late but shows how much i know.

**uglymoney** · 05-14-2007, 12:40 PM

Appreciate the shed spread NM stoke! Nicely done.

**Artie Fufkin** · 05-14-2007, 04:23 PM

Originally Posted by f2f

artie, i don't think the board will allow you to link to these images (something to do with the ?imgmax part).

Thanks, I don't know what I did. I have never had problems linking from photobucket. I am trying to link these from picasa, I will try to figure it out.

**Artie Fufkin** · 05-14-2007, 04:48 PM

^

Photos should be there now......

**f2f** · 05-14-2007, 05:40 PM

it works now for me, thanks! it's quite pretty there this season. last year it was miserable.

**Meadow Skipper** · 05-14-2007, 09:24 PM

Originally Posted by Artie Fufkin

^

Photos should be there now......

They are. Nice ones, homes. I especially like the ones around Deception/Nambé - they're kind of...atmosperic.

Originally Posted by Lani

That's really great to see true spring skiing in New Mexico. Right on.

Yeah, it's looking a lot better than that time you and I were up there:

**clarnitty** · 05-16-2007, 12:19 PM

this TR makes me really fuckin happy!!!! que viva new mexico really stoked to see the home turf getting shredded. a train, too bad!

**GeoMatt** · 05-16-2007, 12:36 PM

Bump for a few more pictures from Santa Fe Baldy.....

Meadow Skipper waiting on mcs. I though AT was supposed to be much more efficient. This wasn't the only time us tele folks were waiting.....

Santa Fe Baldy. Mcs and MS silhouetted on top. The run skied started just behind me.

MS dropping in after taking some great shots of mcs and I.

**IridePow** · 05-16-2007, 12:37 PM

Nice New Mexico stoke!

**2turntables** · 05-16-2007, 02:08 PM

DelNorte had a good time on that weekend. He looks forward to a good one this weekend too. Any takers for Saturday if the weather is OK? Suday is off for me.

**Artie Fufkin** · 05-16-2007, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by 2turntables

DelNorte had a good time on that weekend. He looks forward to a good one this weekend too. Any takers for Saturday if the weather is OK? Suday is off for me.

Peter??????

I am looking to get out both days this weekend, as I will be stuck in ABQ the next couple weekends. I could probably do either Santa Fe or Taos. What were you looking to do?

**Meadow Skipper** · 05-16-2007, 07:16 PM

Originally Posted by GeoMatt

...Meadow Skipper waiting on mcs. I though AT was supposed to be much more efficient. This wasn't the only time us tele folks were waiting.....

Heh. "Lock your heels, lose your friends" I always say.

**Cyber Cop** · 05-16-2007, 07:51 PM

Nice!!!....

**2turntables** · 05-17-2007, 03:06 PM

Originally Posted by Artie Fufkin

Peter??????

I am looking to get out both days this weekend, as I will be stuck in ABQ the next couple weekends. I could probably do either Santa Fe or Taos. What were you looking to do?

It's DelNorte. I'll almost for sure be hitting Toas with a couple buddies on Sat. Sun in the Nambe Chutes, since I have to be at work at 4pm. Let me know if you want to meet us. We will firm things up by Friday eve. I'll PM my # to you.

**Artie Fufkin** · 05-22-2007, 08:26 AM

For anyone in the area interested, I made a quick trip to the Williams Lake Basin on 5/19 and here are a couple photos of the Sin Nombre area. The day started out pretty nice:

And it was snowing by noon. I was going to ski one of the chutes to looker's left of the peak, but as I was solo and I started to hear some thunder in the distance I just came down the right side. The snow had softened up enough that I was able to make some nice turns. The coverage still looked good on Lake Fork Peak. I was able to ski almost back to the Bavarian, but the coverage is getting spotty.