Sandia Peak Ski Area, originally La Madera Ski Area, is a

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In Nort ...

located in the Sandia Mountains in northeast

Bernalillo County Bernalillo County () is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Mexico.Bernalillo ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, immediately northeast of the city of

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding i ...

. It is part of a Special Use Permit Zone in the Sandia Ranger District of the

Cibola National Forest The Cibola National Forest (pronounced SEE-bo-lah) is a 1,633,783 acre (6,611.7 km2) United States National Forest in New Mexico, USA. The name Cibola is thought to be the original Zuni Indian name for their pueblos or tribal lands. The name w ...

. It is New Mexico's first ski area, opening to skiers in 1936. It features

Sandia Peak Tramway The Sandia Peak Tramway is an aerial tramway located adjacent to Albuquerque, New Mexico. It stretches from the northeast edge of the city to Sandia Peak on the ridge line of the Sandia MountainsThe upper station of the tramway is at a point o ...

, which was until 2010 the longest tramway in the world, and remains the longest in the Americas. The resort includes 35

ski run A ''piste'' () is a marked ski run or path down a mountain for snow skiing, snowboarding, or other mountain sports. This European term is French

s and a

terrain park A terrain park or snow park is an outdoor recreation area containing terrain that allows skiers, snowboarders and snowbikers to perform tricks. Terrain parks have their roots in skateparks and many of the features are common to both. From thei ...

, and also serves as a site for summer recreation. It is one of the few ski resorts in the US that can be directly accessed from a major city.

Etymology

Sandia Peak was originally known as La Madera Ski Area, named after the nearby La Madera canyon. "''La madera''" is

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for "the wood", referring to the timber resources in the area. "Sandia Peak" is not an actual topographical peak, but rather a spur of the highpoint of the Sandia Mountains,

Sandia Crest Sandia Crest, also known locally as Sandia Peak or simply as the Crest, is a mountain ridge that, at , is the highpoint of the Sandia–Manzano Mountains, and is located in the Sandia Mountains of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, United State ...

. The name "Sandia" comes from the Spanish word for watermelon: "''sandía''". One theory suggests that this name came from the appearance of the mountains from the

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. ...

below: an inverted watermelon slice-shaped range with a ridge of green forest at the top (the "rind"). The exposed granite of the range, the

Sandia granite The Sandia granite is a pluton in central New Mexico. It has a radiometric age of 1453±12 Ma, corresponding to the Calymmian period. Description The Sandia granite is prominently exposed along the east flank of the Rio Grande rift, with almo ...

, appears pink with the setting sun. Sandia Peak Ski Area, Albuquerque AC, crop1

History

La Madera

The Albuquerque Ski Club, founded by Robert Nordhaus, a retired lawyer and father of Nobel Prize-winning economist

William Nordhaus William Dawbney Nordhaus (born May 31, 1941) is an American economist, a Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University, best known for his work in economic modeling and climate change, and one of the 2 recipients of the 2018 Nobel Memoria ...

, cleared ski runs in the Sandia Mountains at Tree Springs in 1935. The club then opened La Madera Ski Area in 1936 with a

rope tow A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-c ...

. Two trips on the rope tow costed 50 cents. The following year, a second rope tow was installed to Panoramic Point, and a

ski lodge A ski lodge or day lodge is a building located in a ski area that provides amenities such as food, beverages, seating area, restrooms, and locker rooms for skiers and snowboarders. Larger resorts have a day lodge at each base area and also at mid- ...

, Double Eagle II Day Lodge, was constructed. In 1939, La Madera hosted

's first downhill ski race. The resort closed to the public at the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and remained so until the war concluded. After the war, the upper rope tow was removed and a state-of-the-art

T-bar lift A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-c ...

, Constram Lift, was installed in 1946. With a rise of and length of , it was the longest T-bar lift in the US. The

ice skating rink An ice rink (or ice skating rink) is a frozen body of water and/or an artificial sheet of ice created using hardened chemicals where people can ice skate or play winter sports. Ice rinks are also used for exhibitions, contests and ice shows. The ...

was installed in 1947, and a bunkhouse built in 1948. During this time, a lift ticket on Constram was $3.50, and ski lessons were $3. In 1951, ownership of La Madera was transferred to the

City of Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

for the 1951-52 ski season, and subsequently lost money during the operation. The following season, ownership was transferred back to the Albuquerque Ski Club, which then turned a profit of $2,500. In 1958, Nordhaus and his business partner, balloonist

Ben Abruzzo Benjamin L. "Ben" Abruzzo (June 9, 1930 – February 11, 1985) was an American balloonist and businessman who helped make Albuquerque, New Mexico, into an international ballooning center. He was part of the balloon crews that made the first A ...

, who had helped turn Albuquerque into an international ballooning destination, purchased La Madera from the club. During this time, lift tickets were $3.50 per day and $25 for a season pass. A six-day lesson costed $12. Sandia Crest Rd, which replaced the old dirt road between Sandia Park and La Madera, was constructed in 1960. It improved access to the resort dramatically, helping turn a trip of "several hours of potholes and mud to an easy 45 minute drive". Sections of the old dirt road are still visible to the south of the new road.

Sandia Peak

In 1962 and 63, the first

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. Th ...

, aptly named Chairlift #1, was installed, and the name of the resort was changed to Sandia Peak Ski Area. Nordhaus was inspired to build an

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, sky tram, cable car, ropeway, aerial tram, telepherique, or seilbahn is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary ropes for support while a third moving rope provides propulsion. With this form of lift, the grip ...

from Albuquerque to the ski slope after seeing other trams during a trip to Europe. Bell Engineering of

Lucerne Lucerne ( , ; High Alemannic: ''Lozärn'') or Luzern ()Other languages: gsw, Lozärn, label= Lucerne German; it, Lucerna ; rm, Lucerna . is a city in central Switzerland, in the German-speaking portion of the country. Lucerne is the capital o ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, was contracted to design and construct the tramway. Construction lasted two years, and was aided by over 5,000 helicopter trips. Testing took an additional 60 days.

entered service on May 7, 1966. It is, as of 2022, the longest aerial tramway in the Americas, and remained the longest in the world until being surpassed in 2010.

Future

In 2017, the

US Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...

adopted plans outlined in the resort's 2016 master plan for a "Four Seasons Activity Area", including a food service

yurt A yurt (from the Turkic languages) or ger ( Mongolian) is a portable, round tent covered and insulated with skins or felt and traditionally used as a dwelling by several distinct nomadic groups in the steppes and mountains of Central Asia ...

, two ziplines, and a mountain coaster (a type of tracked sled ride), to be built at the summit in the summer of 2022. When finished, it will provide additional year-around recreation at the resort. The coaster will be the first mountain coaster in New Mexico and the southernmost in the US. Also included in the plan is a new mountain bike path,

climbing wall A climbing wall is an artificially constructed wall with grips for hands and feet, usually used for indoor climbing, but sometimes located outdoors. Some are brick or wooden constructions, but on most modern walls, the material most often used i ...

ropes course A ropes course is a challenging outdoor personal development and team building activity which usually consists of high and/or low elements. Low elements take place on the ground or above the ground. High elements are usually constructed in tr ...

disc golf Disc golf, also known as frisbee golf, is a flying disc sport in which players throw a disc at a target; it is played using rules similar to golf. Most disc golf discs are made out of polypropylene plastic, otherwise known as polypropene, which ...

course, tubing park, additional terrain park, and upgrades to parking, snowmaking infrastructure, and base facilities, including a concert and lecture area. Chairlift #1, one of the oldest operating chairlifts in New Mexico, will be replaced with a detachable quad chairlift to increase capacity. Chairlift #1 is a fixed-length double lift and has the lowest capacity of the resort's three summit-serving chairlifts, but is used as the primary lift due to its length and ability to operate in high winds. Chairlift #2 will be converted to foot traffic only to serve the Four Seaseons Activity Area. Chairlift #3, which provides redundant base-to-summit service, will be retained for redundancy, or eventually decommissioned. Beginner Chairlift #4 will also be retained. The Mitey Mite handle tow (#5) will be replaced with a

conveyor A conveyor system is a common piece of mechanical handling equipment that moves materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful in applications involving the transport of heavy or bulky materials. Conveyor systems allow ...

. A new chair or surface lift, Chairlift #6, will be built to serve the beginner area and tubing park.

Description

Sandia Peak is located in the main unit of the

, and is surrounded by ''Hudsonian Zone'' heavy forest of

Engelmann spruce ''Picea engelmannii'', with the common names Engelmann spruce, white spruce, mountain spruce, and silver spruce, is a species of spruce native to western North America. It is mostly a high-altitude mountain tree but also appears in watered canyon ...

white oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...

quaking aspen ''Populus tremuloides'' is a deciduous tree native to cooler areas of North America, one of several species referred to by the common name aspen. It is commonly called quaking aspen, trembling aspen, American aspen, mountain or golden aspen, tr ...

white fir ''Abies concolor'', the white fir, is a coniferous tree in the pine family Pinaceae. This tree is native to the mountains of western North America, including the Cascade Range and southern Rocky Mountains, and into the isolated mountain ranges ...

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' () of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from the Arc ...

, and

ponderosa pine ''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the ...

. The resort is accessed from the east side of the mountains via Sandia Crest Rd ( NM 536), which provides access to the base of the ski area, and from the west side via the tramway, which takes riders on a 15-minute trip from the eastern edge of Albuquerque to the summit. Sandia Crest Rd is subject to closures during difficult driving condition events.

The base lodge, Double Eagle II Day Lodge, contains a restaurant, gift shop, day rentals, a

ski patrol Ski patrols are organizations that provide medical, rescue, and hazard prevention services to the injured in ski area boundaries, or sometimes beyond into backcountry settings. Many have technical-medical certifications, such as Outdoor Emergen ...

station, and two ski instruction schools: Cubby corner, for children under 11; and the Snow Sports School, for students 10 and older. Cubby Corner has an eponymous private ski run with a

handle tow A surface lift is a type of cable transport for snow sports in which skiers and snowboarders remain on the ground as they are pulled uphill. While they were once prevalent, they have been overtaken in popularity by higher-capacity and higher-c ...

named "Mitey Mite". Scrapyard Terrain Park, located near the lodge, offers ramps, rails, and other obstacles for skiers and snowboarders. The resort includes 4 fixed-distance chairlifts, a

for Cubby Corner, and an aerial tramway. There are 35 runs, the longest of which, ''Double Eagle II'', is about long. Located at the summit is the upper terminal building of the tramway, as well as the upper termini of Chairlifts #1, #2, and #3. The visitor center of the Cibola National Forest is also located in the terminal, as well as a ski patrol station. Adjacent to the terminal, at an elevation of over , or "ten-three", is a fine-dining restaurant, TEN 3 (stylized as 10, 3), formally known as High Finance Restaurant, tagged as the "highest fine-dining experience in the nation". A mountain coaster will also be located here. The resort is patroled by the Sandia Peak Ski Patrol (SPSP), a unit of the

National Ski Patrol The nonprofit National Ski Patrol (NSP) is the largest winter education organization in the world. The NSP provides education, outreach, and credentialing related to outdoor recreation and safety. It is currently composed of more than 31,000 memb ...

. Lodging for the resort is provided at Sandia Park to the east and in Albuquerque to the west. No camping is allowed in the forest.

Activities

Winter

Sandia Peak hosts skiers of all skills and ages. Ice skating, cross country, endurance skiing, and uphill and downhill skiing and snowboarding is accommodated at the resort. No tubes or sleds are allowed at the resort; a tubing and sledding "snow play area" is provided by the Forest Service across the highway from the resort at Capulin Spring. The Snow Sports School provides ski and snowboard lessons and the Cubby Corner school provides lessons to young children on a private slope. There is a shop for renting winter sports equipment at the ski lodge; those arriving via the tramway to the summit necessarily must bring their own equipment to ski. The resort routinely hosts races and competitions. The resort grooms and maintains the snow surface, and can provide for manufacturing new snow if necessary.

Summer

There are numerous notable trails at the resort including the Grand Enchantment Trail, 10k Trail, Golden Eagle Trail, King of the Mountain, and the upper end of the popular La Luz Trail. The area hosts hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, bird-watching, fine-dining, and scenic viewing in the summer months. Chairlift #1 provides scenic rides throughout the off season, and lunches are hosted at both the base and top-of-tram restaurant. Tram rides are offered Thursday through Sunday year-around, including holidays, weather permitting. The summit serves as a jump point for

hang gliding Hang gliding is an air sport or recreational activity in which a pilot flies a light, non-motorised foot-launched heavier-than-air aircraft called a hang glider. Most modern hang gliders are made of an aluminium alloy or composite frame covered ...

. Additional planned summer activities include a climbing wall, ropes course, mountain bike trail, and the Four Seasons Activity Area.

Four Seasons Activity Area

An all seasons recreation area, dubbed the "Four Seasons Activity Area", will provide additional recreation at the resort year-around. The area will be located at the southwest part of the property, near the summit. Included will be two ziplines, one of which will closely follow Chairlift #2. The lift itself will be converted to foot traffic only, exclusively serving the activity area. A service yurt will provide additional food service. A mountain coaster is also planned for the activity area. The plans were drafted by the resort and approved by the Forest Service in 2017. Notice of Initiation was given on November 7, 2019. Public input for the project was accepted until March 31, 2021. Construction is expected to begin after the 2021-22 season, with opening in summer/fall 2022. The coaster will run year-around, as long as the tramway is open. The coaster will take riders in carts down a meandering track at speeds of up to . Speed will be limited by an

eddy current brake An eddy current brake, also known as an induction brake, electric brake or electric retarder, is a device used to slow or stop a moving object by generating eddy currents and thus dissipating its kinetic energy as heat. Unlike friction brakes, wh ...

. Riders will then ascend of uphill track. The total drop is , with an average downhill grade of 13.4%.

Sandia Peak Ski Area statistics

Elevation

*Base: *Summit: *Vertical Rise:

Developed Terrain

*Mountains: 1 (Sandia Peak) *Skiable Area: *Trails: 53 total (23% beginner, 49% intermediate, 29% advanced) *

Terrain Park A terrain park or snow park is an outdoor recreation area containing terrain that allows skiers, snowboarders and snowbikers to perform tricks. Terrain parks have their roots in skateparks and many of the features are common to both. From thei ...

s: 1 (Scrapyard Park) *Average Snowfall: annually

Lifts

As of 2021, Sandia Peak has a total of 6 lifts. 1

4 double

chairlifts An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers, carrying a series of chairs. They ...

* Chairlift #1 * Chairlift #2 * Chairlift #3 * Beginner Chairlift #4 1 surface lifts * "Mitey Mite"

(Cubby Corner students only)

List of ski runs

The named ski runs at the resort include: * Aspen * Aspen Bowl * Aspen Narrows * Burn * Cibola * Cibola Cutt-Off * Cibola Ridge * Cubby Corner (Cubby Corner students only) * Diablo * Dipsey * Do Drop In * Double Eagle II * Exhibition * Foster Murphy * Fred's Run * Greg's Run * Hups * Inhibition * La Madera * Little Suicide * Lower Slalom * Prohibition * Race Arena * Rob's Run * Sandia * Short Swing * Silver Arrow * Slalom * Suicide * To Chair 2

References

{{reflist, 30em Tourist attractions in Albuquerque, New Mexico Ski areas and resorts in New Mexico