jamesdeluxe
Well-known member
- Joined
- Jul 17, 2020
With so much information floating around the internet these days, it’s tough to claim total ignorance about a ski area, but I can honestly say that I had never read any articles, trip reports, or other information about Sipapu. About all I’d gathered from its website was that Sipapu was a small, no-frills mountain aimed at local families and Texas Panhandlers, and that it offers the longest lift-served season in New Mexico. It also advertised a virtual laundry list of deals, including free skiing for kids six and under, seniors 70 and older, and fourth graders, free RV hookups for anyone who buys a lift ticket, and free lodging for guests on off-peak dates at its funky base-area motel. To keep it real (and hold down costs, I assume), there’s no in-room cell coverage, phones, or TVs at the motel.
But the most surprising offering is saved for guests who’ve recently entered their fourth decade. As the story goes, in 2007, Sipapu’s managing partner wanted to celebrate his 40th birthday by allowing others who’d recently reached that milestone to ski or ride free any day of the season. The promotion understandably became popular and Sipapu decided to continue it in the following years. While the logic of giving away your product to people in the prime of their earning years escaped me at first, I assume that these visitors will spend more money in the lodge, bring paying customers along with them, and create positive word of mouth about Sipapu. Whatever the reason, it’s good to see a ski area working outside the typical marketing box.
If you’re splitting hairs, Sipapu isn’t geographically located within the Enchanted Circle, but its location (only 20 miles south of Taos) makes it an easy choice for a warm-up day. With 1,055 vertical feet, 200 acres of skiable terrain, annual snowfall in the 190-inch neighborhood, no high-speed lifts, an old-school lodge, and narrow trails that roll through the forest, Sipapu reminded me of a classic smaller East Coast ski area. While the runs are short, they’re consistently-pitched and steeper than what you’d expect for a family hill. Sipapu also seemed to ski bigger than its vertical would suggest – making me think of it as a Sangre de Cristo version of Norquay, near Banff, Alberta, Canada.
The trails were all cut to keep the winds from scouring the snow, so they’re all narrow and rolling: very EC-esque.
Empty Trails on a Sunday
For most of the morning, general manager John Paul Bradley gave us a tour of the area, starting first on the high-speed groomers, and when the snow softened later on, the single-black tree skiing that he and his crew had developed on the upper skier’s left of the mountain. Bradley is justifiably proud of his team’s land stewardship – improving and adding to Sipapu’s terrain without clear cuts or other environmentally damaging alterations.
NM has been in high-pressure hell since the Xmas holidays, but there was plenty of cover, and by 10:30, temps had warmed up into the low 40s and everything was skiing really smoothly. By 1:30, the woods had softened up, so I made a few sweet runs on the looker’s right. I’d love to hit them on a powder day, and given the modest ski day numbers and the fact that the local hardcores would rather head up to TSV, I’m certain that there’d be untracked for many days after the storm.
Around 3:30, we called it a day and relaxed in the sun with some green chile fries on a picnic table next to the Rio Pueblo creek that gurgles through the base area:
While Sipapu is on very few destination skiers’ radar, it’s an undiluted New Mexican classic and worth a day trip. The wife and I both agreed that Sipapu skied bigger than its 1,055 vertical feet. It reminded me, at least in theory, of a New Mexican Norquay. A fun day, I’d go back.
But the most surprising offering is saved for guests who’ve recently entered their fourth decade. As the story goes, in 2007, Sipapu’s managing partner wanted to celebrate his 40th birthday by allowing others who’d recently reached that milestone to ski or ride free any day of the season. The promotion understandably became popular and Sipapu decided to continue it in the following years. While the logic of giving away your product to people in the prime of their earning years escaped me at first, I assume that these visitors will spend more money in the lodge, bring paying customers along with them, and create positive word of mouth about Sipapu. Whatever the reason, it’s good to see a ski area working outside the typical marketing box.
If you’re splitting hairs, Sipapu isn’t geographically located within the Enchanted Circle, but its location (only 20 miles south of Taos) makes it an easy choice for a warm-up day. With 1,055 vertical feet, 200 acres of skiable terrain, annual snowfall in the 190-inch neighborhood, no high-speed lifts, an old-school lodge, and narrow trails that roll through the forest, Sipapu reminded me of a classic smaller East Coast ski area. While the runs are short, they’re consistently-pitched and steeper than what you’d expect for a family hill. Sipapu also seemed to ski bigger than its vertical would suggest – making me think of it as a Sangre de Cristo version of Norquay, near Banff, Alberta, Canada.
The trails were all cut to keep the winds from scouring the snow, so they’re all narrow and rolling: very EC-esque.
Empty Trails on a Sunday
For most of the morning, general manager John Paul Bradley gave us a tour of the area, starting first on the high-speed groomers, and when the snow softened later on, the single-black tree skiing that he and his crew had developed on the upper skier’s left of the mountain. Bradley is justifiably proud of his team’s land stewardship – improving and adding to Sipapu’s terrain without clear cuts or other environmentally damaging alterations.
NM has been in high-pressure hell since the Xmas holidays, but there was plenty of cover, and by 10:30, temps had warmed up into the low 40s and everything was skiing really smoothly. By 1:30, the woods had softened up, so I made a few sweet runs on the looker’s right. I’d love to hit them on a powder day, and given the modest ski day numbers and the fact that the local hardcores would rather head up to TSV, I’m certain that there’d be untracked for many days after the storm.
Around 3:30, we called it a day and relaxed in the sun with some green chile fries on a picnic table next to the Rio Pueblo creek that gurgles through the base area:
While Sipapu is on very few destination skiers’ radar, it’s an undiluted New Mexican classic and worth a day trip. The wife and I both agreed that Sipapu skied bigger than its 1,055 vertical feet. It reminded me, at least in theory, of a New Mexican Norquay. A fun day, I’d go back.
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