Red River, Ski Santa Fe Debut New Lifts On New Mexico Mountains
Two of northern New Mexico's winter mountains put in chairlifts this summer to replace a pair of workhorses that had been hauling skiers and riders out of the base areas for decades.
At Red River (209 a., 1,600 vert.), the 31-year-old Copper Chair finally wore out last March but, luckily for all, the resort's ownership was planning to replace it this summer. Loading right out of town, the old two-seater that was part of Red River's eastern expansion in the 1990s.
A brand new fixed-grip triple Copper Chair will run up the same line as its predecessor -- and hopefully eliminate stoppage time. By moving the top terminal up the hill a bit, the new lift should make it easier to get off, according to managers. Management also expects it to pair more efficiently with the existing Platinum double make it easier to get onto the mountain.
Over at busy Ski Santa Fe (660 a., 1,725 vert.), the first high-speed detachable chair went up this summer in a concerted effort to move skiers and riders around the mountain more readily.
The new Santa Fe Express replaces the Super Chief Quad (aka Chair 1) that has been running since 1988. It's the first new chairlift at the high-elevation mountain (12,075 feet elevation at the summit) since 2005.
Located closest to the parking lots, the new chairlift will folks much quicker (four vs. 10 minutes) to the top of Broadway and its mellow runs or crossovers where they can get to the upper mountain chairlifts. Long lift lines have been an issue at the resort above New Mexico's capital city, and ownership hopes a faster lift will ameliorate that.
Up the road, Angel Fire (560 a., 2,077 vert.) begins its 64th season with its top-rated terrain parks -- available all over the mountain -- to go. Also, the airline Advanced Urban Delights now flies from Albuquerque to Angel Fire once day on six days of the week.
And at the largest ski and snowboard area in New Mexico, Taos Ski Valley (1,294 a., 3,281 vert.) has tweaked the design at both base restaurants to get more folks in for food and drinks -- and cut cafeteria lines.
The biggest news at Taos is the Forest Service's approval of a base-to-base gondola. Set to be built for the 2025-2026 season, the eight-seat cabins will run 7,000 feet from the main base to Phoenix base on the backside. The project will fulfill the dream on founder Ernie Blake to create a European-style resort with different base areas.
Managers hope that the new lift will reduce morning crowding on Lift 1 which is, for now, the only way out of the base. The gondola should also more widely spread skiers and riders around the mountain, especially when Lift 2 and Lift 4 on the front side get upgrades next summer.
