Ski Apache runs 100 percent open

By: Jim Kalvelage jkalvelage@ruidosonews.com

Ski Apache is at 100 percent. All runs are open. All lifts and the gondola are operating. So far this winter the ski mountain has received 63 inches of snow despite a La Niña forecast for below-average winter precipitation.

“You never trust a weatherman,” Justin Rowland, Ski Apache’s director of operations, said Thursday. “The only people that predict the weather are magicians and fools. I never listen to the weatherman. They tell us, ‘It’s a great year,’ and it’s bad. And they tell us, ‘It’s just OK,’ and it’s stellar. They don’t know. They can tell you if it’s going to snow tomorrow or the next day, but that long-range stuff I don’t trust yet.”

The average full season at Ski Apache sees 180 inches of snow, both natural and manmade. A year ago at this time there were 52 inches of snow on the trails north of Sierra Blanca peak.

The pre-Christmas snowstorm was tops for the mountains, with Ski Apache graced with 24 inches of snow. Three other storms in preceding weeks also weighed in.

“We’re better just in a month,” Rowland said of December.

Rowland said the crowds have been big and skiers and snowboarders have been having a great time.

“We’re 100 percent open and we’re rocking,” Rowland said. “Skiing has been exceptional. The amount, the quality (of snow), the grooming that’s been done on it. We’re able to get on it and make sure it’s groomed out. The weather’s just beautiful. We’ve been busy, really busy. It’s been crowded up there but we’ve been able to get to everybody and take care of them,” Rowland said of the past two weeks.

The pace at Ski Apache is being duplicated the business community.

“It’s unbelievable how many people are up there and how many people are in town,” said Gina Kelley, Ruidoso’s tourism director. “The sidewalks are jammed. I see lots of big families. I see a lot of people carrying a lot of bags. Hopefully our Midtown merchants are seeing the kind of success that it looks like.”

Kelley said people are asking about other things to do in the Ruidoso area, such as snow tubing at Ruidoso Winter Park.

“We’re always a popular Christmas destination but I think that these kinds of conditions we have up at Ski Apache, all it can do is help. I think that’s why we’re seeing so many last-minute people because a lot of people are calling saying the conditions are so perfect.”

Kelley said the feeling from lodgers and Ski Apache is that this Christmas has turned out to be better than a year ago.

Ruidoso Valley Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Marla Lewis agreed. She noted there are a plenty of people in town and more continue to come in.

“From talking with merchants, they’re saying people not only are shopping but they’re also purchasing,” Lewis said. “It could be, from the indications, that there’s an up-tick in the economy and people are starting to feel a little more like spending more money now.”

The lodging sector also has seen a great week.

“The Visitors Center (located in the chamber) has had an incredible amount of phone calls for lodging,” Lewis said Thursday. “By this afternoon, the lodgers will probably be full except for a few that are small condos. We’ve had requests for a number of large parties. They just keep coming in.”

Woooohoooo!!!!! Click here for a current snow report…