Ski Santa Fe extends ski season due to snow and crowds

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Ski Santa Fe usually closes the first weekend in April, but on Friday they announced they would be extending their ski season until April 16.

And while the snow is coming down at Ski Santa Fe, the season didn’t start out that way.

“We had a little bit of a slow start, but we were able to get things going with the snow making that we have, around Christmas we started getting more substantial storms,” Ski Santa Fe Mountain Manager, Jack Dant said.

Those storms kept rolling in and by mid-January, Dant says the whole mountain was open for skiing.

“I would say this is a bit of an anomaly considering it was going to be a La Niña year,” said Dant. 

Dant added this year’s ski season snowfall average is around 219 inches, close to the 20-year average of 225 inches. 

With the snow still going strong, they decided to extend the season.

“We looked at the snowfall, we looked at the crowds, and we said ‘Hey we would be doing a disservice if we didn’t let the crowds have this snowfall for the rest of the season,’” Dant said. 

So, Ski Santa Fe is open until April 16, giving visitors another week to shred the mountain.

“This week we’ve got spring break locally, as well as spring break out of Arkansas. Last week we had a really big spring break with Texas crowds, and we are getting visitors from Colorado, some of the places where the big resorts are having their really long lines,” Dant said.

All the visitors and the snow, are expected to make this ski season one to remember.

“Right now I would say that we are running ahead of our 5-year average at our ski areas across the state, I think that’s true with our snow but also our ski visits. I think all in all it’s going to end up being a very good ski season,” Executive Director for Ski New Mexico, George Brooks said.