SnoNews

With 2018 quickly coming to a close, several areas across the U.S. and Canada will get final bursts of snow and cold for the year. Here’s the breakdown…

Over the years, the free lift ticket has been a rite of passage for skiers and snowboarders who still hit the slopes in their golden years.

Periods of heavy, concentrated snowfall and consistently cold temperatures this past winter brought more than 900,000 skiers and snowboarders to the New Mexico mountains.

The West will continue a season-long a pattern of localized storms that have yet to significantly inundate any particular region, even as the Northeast gets knee-high powder.

Better late than never. A south-arcing storm system this week put enough snow down at Pajarito Mountain Ski Area to get the lifts finally spinning for the 2015 season.

Here’s a New Year’s resolution to work on: Take to the slopes to learn to ski or ride at any of dozens of winter resorts in the Rockies, Sierras and Cascades.

Sipapu Resort in Vadito New Mexico will open Saturday, Nov. 16, marking the small northern ski area’s earliest opening in the resort’s more than 60-year history.

Ask any West Texan coming from the high plains to the New Mexico Mountains about Ski Run Road, the 12-mile windy, sometimes legitimately treacherous route to Ski Apache. You’ll hear a grown.

The Little Bear Fire surrounding Ruidoso, N.M., took out nearly 250 homes and structures in June. But, it certainly scared, if largely spared, Ski Apache . The ski area, extremely popular in the West Texas market, still plans its regular Thanksgiving opening and will debut three new lifts and $15 million in improvements.

You won’t reach anyone at Ski Apache, high above Ruidoso, N.M., by phone and you can't drive up the long, winding access road to see for yourself. But, you will get a cryptic message that begs for more details that are not forthcoming.

What began as a small wildfire in rugged terrain just north of Ski Apache in southern New Mexico, mushroomed over the weekend into a wind-propelled blaze that threatened not only the ski area, but the popular resort community of Ruidoso.