| Pajarito Mountain Ski Area | |
|---|---|
 Pajarito Ski Lodge in Summer | |
  Pajarito Mountain Ski Area Location in New Mexico  Pajarito Mountain Ski Area Pajarito Mountain Ski Area (the United States) | |
| Location | Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States |
| Nearest city | Los Alamos, New Mexico |
| Coordinates | 35°53′39″N106°23′25″W / 35.89417°N 106.39028°W Coordinates: 35°53′39″N106°23′25″W / 35.89417°N 106.39028°W |
| Top elevation | 10,440 feet (3,180 m) |
| Base elevation | 9,000 feet (2,700 m) |
| Skiable area | 280 acres (1.1 km2) |
| Runs | 40 20% Beginner 50% Intermediate 30% Advanced/Expert |
| Lift system | 7 total ( 1 Quad chair, 1 Triple chairs, 3 Double chair), 1 Surface Lift |
| Terrain parks | 2 |
| Snowfall | 125 in/year (3.17 m/year) |
| Website | http://www.pajarito.ski/ |
Pajarito Mountain Ski Area (Pajarito) is located on the north face of Pajarito Mountain, one of the Jemez Mountains in north central New Mexico, west of Los Alamos. It is located on 850 acres (3.4 km2) of privately owned land. Pajarito Mountain is owned and operated by volunteers and Mountain Capital Partners. A typical season runs from Christmas to early April, but an outstanding season may run from Thanksgiving to late April. Pajarito now has a snowmaking system and it is producing snow. Season passes are available with discounts available for early season purchase.
The Jemez Mountains ([ˡhɛmɛz]) are a volcanic group of mountains in Rio Arriba, Sandoval, and Los Alamos counties, New Mexico, United States.
New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern region of the United States of America; its capital and cultural center is Santa Fe, which was founded in 1610 as capital of Nuevo México, while its largest city is Albuquerque with its accompanying metropolitan area. It is one of the Mountain States and shares the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona; its other neighboring states are Oklahoma to the northeast, Texas to the east-southeast, and the Mexican states of Chihuahua to the south and Sonora to the southwest. With a population around two million, New Mexico is the 36th state by population. With a total area of 121,592 sq mi (314,920 km2), it is the fifth-largest and sixth-least densely populated of the 50 states. Due to their geographic locations, northern and eastern New Mexico exhibit a colder, alpine climate, while western and southern New Mexico exhibit a warmer, arid climate.
Los Alamos is a town in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States that is recognized as the birthplace of the atomic bomb—the primary objective of the Manhattan Project by Los Alamos National Laboratory during World War II. The town is located on four mesas of the Pajarito Plateau, and has a population of 12,019. It is the county seat and one of two population centers in the county known as census-designated places (CDPs); the other is White Rock.
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In summer, Pajarito hosts numerous special events, many involving mountain biking. An extensive network of single and double track mountain bike trails criss-cross the mountain, including a new singletrack trail going to the summit. Pajarito hosts lift access downhill and freeride mountain biking off the Spruce chair, and has continued to do so after the Las Conchas Fire in 2011. There also are hiking trails, and horse riding is permitted everywhere except on the mountain bike trails. Adjacent to Pajarito is a Los Alamos County campground, Camp May; Santa Fe National Forest; and Valles Caldera National Preserve.
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain. Mountain biking can generally be broken down into multiple categories: cross country, trail riding, all mountain, downhill, freeride and dirt jumping.
The Las Conchas Fire was a wildfire in New Mexico, USA, in 2011. The fire started in Santa Fe National Forest and burned more than 150,000 acres, threatening Los Alamos National Laboratory and the town of Los Alamos. After five days of burning, it became the largest wildfire in New Mexico state history at the time, though it was surpassed the following year by the Whitewater-Baldy Complex Fire.
The Santa Fe National Forest is a protected national forest in northern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. It was established in 1915 and covers 1,558,452 acres (6,306.83 km2). Elevations range from 5,300 feet (1600 m) to 13,103 feet (4000 m) at the summit of Truchas Peak, located within the Pecos Wilderness. The Jemez, Coyote, and Cuba districts are located in the Jemez Mountains; the Pecos/Las Vegas district is located in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains; and the Española district is located in both mountain ranges. In descending order of land area the forest lies in parts of Rio Arriba, San Miguel, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Mora, and Los Alamos counties. Forest headquarters are located in the city of Santa Fe.
