I used direct flights from LAX and rented a car in order to maximize my time in New Mexico. Still, my Sunday flight out from Albuquerque was scheduled 4:40PM so I decided to check out nearby Sandia Peak (area #125) and its longest-in-the-US tramway. I expected a steep tram similar to the 6,000 vertical at Palm Springs, but Sandia instead climbs only 3,800 vertical but has a 1.7 mile span between the top 2 towers, overlooking the rocky west side of the mountain.
Sandia Peak is a 10,300 foot "mountain island" in the central and southern New Mexico semidesert, similar to but nearly 2,000 feet lower than Sierra Blanca, the location of Ski Apache. Thus snowfall is more erratic and there are some years Sandia does not open for skiing. In this above average year trails were well covered but a few of the areas off-trail were not, and with the east exposure and no new snow for over a week you didn't want to be out there anyway.
Despite the rugged terrain under the tram, the ski area east side of Sandia Peak is quite flat, with a couple of the slowest chair rides (7,000 feet over 1,700 vertical) I've been on in a long time. Snow on the groomers was mostly packed powder, with a few firm spots where wind exposed. The top of the tram was very windy, and it was gusting 40-60MPH at 2:30PM when I was waiting to go down. I could have missed my flight if the tram had to close. The ski area is road accessible from the eastern side, but 45 minutes farther from the airport.
The tram is a 15 minute ride top-to-bottom and I thought I was cutting it close, but my flight was delayed over an hour. This allowed me one more dinner of New Mexico's better-than-L.A. Mexican food.
Sandia Peak is a 10,300 foot "mountain island" in the central and southern New Mexico semidesert, similar to but nearly 2,000 feet lower than Sierra Blanca, the location of Ski Apache. Thus snowfall is more erratic and there are some years Sandia does not open for skiing. In this above average year trails were well covered but a few of the areas off-trail were not, and with the east exposure and no new snow for over a week you didn't want to be out there anyway.
Despite the rugged terrain under the tram, the ski area east side of Sandia Peak is quite flat, with a couple of the slowest chair rides (7,000 feet over 1,700 vertical) I've been on in a long time. Snow on the groomers was mostly packed powder, with a few firm spots where wind exposed. The top of the tram was very windy, and it was gusting 40-60MPH at 2:30PM when I was waiting to go down. I could have missed my flight if the tram had to close. The ski area is road accessible from the eastern side, but 45 minutes farther from the airport.
The tram is a 15 minute ride top-to-bottom and I thought I was cutting it close, but my flight was delayed over an hour. This allowed me one more dinner of New Mexico's better-than-L.A. Mexican food.