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Once there was a time when you reached age 60, you'd skied for free. Then you had to be 70. And now, at a half-dozen Western resorts, 80 is the new 60.

For those that want flexibility, ski only a handful of days, or their local mountain is on the Epic or Ikon Pass, we get it. To start things off right, we’ll be completely honest with you. We have an Epic Local Pass. Heavenly is only a few minutes from our house, so we use it to get in a few laps when we don’t have a ton of time. Do we go to resorts on the Epic or Ikon Pass for vacation? Rarely.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

That’s how George Brooks, executive director of industry group Ski New Mexico, describes the 2018-19 ski season in comparison to the previous winter — one of the most dismal in years.

Bring on a snowy 2019! If your resolution is to ski/ride more, you’re in the right place - read on for the snow jackpots in our forecast. 

Sufficient November snowfall and a steady diet of cold nights across the southern tier of the Rockies assured resorts in New Mexico and Arizona that they will open on time.

Fall and the first tastes of winter continue to duke it out across North America. With occasional bursts of cold and spurts of snow continuing in this week’s forecast, it’s a reminder that winter, truly, is not far away.

64 oz. Gnar Burger at Squaw (Rocker@Squaw/Facebook)
Few foods capture the spirit of skiing and snowboarding as much as the venerable hamburgers, and resorts town eateries tout all manner of this longtime mountain favorite.

Uphiller nears summit of Sunlight (photo Sunlight Mountain Resort)

Be it to stay fit, save money or get some quiet time in the out-of-doors, ”uphill skiing” has become a staple at many U.S. resorts – requiring mountain managers to adopt rules for the activity.

The Sandia Tramway offers a different way to get to the skiing and riding. (Sandia Tramway/Facebook)

Interstate 40 is the main thoroughfare between Flagstaff and Albuquerque – and its also the route to a trio of lesser-known skiing and riding resorts along the southernmost tier of the Rocky Mountains.

Forecasters say it may take a bit for the El Niño pattern to settle into a southerly flow, but the southern-tier resorts of New Mexico and Arizona have already cranked up for this season – with upgrades all around.

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 storms in February tended to swing toward the south, putting smiles on powder hounds in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico – and finally getting Albuquerque's Sandia Peak open.

New Mexico may not be another country, but it’s definitely a world apart from the normal everyday skiing and riding found in the rest of these United States.

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.

It didn’t take long for the new ownership at Taos Ski Valley to makes its presence felt, as the New Mexico resort announced this week that a new chairlift will be erected on iconic Kachina Peak.

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.

No worries. Indulge. Then, work it off, as nearly 200 of the nation’s ski resorts – coast to coast – will be open for skiing and riding Thanksgiving Weekend.