Ski at Sipapu?

I%26#39;m a veteran skier who has skied Taos, Sante Fe, Ski Apache and numerous other places outside NM. I plan to take my 2 daughters (aged 5 %26amp; 6) skiing for the first time. We will arrive in El Paso on Feb 12th and be skiing Feb 13th, 14th and 15th.

If the snow is good in the south (it isn%26#39;t right now), I may consider just going to Ruidoso. However, I%26#39;m more likely to take the drive on up to the north. My current tetative plan is to stay at the relatively new Holiday Inn in Las Vegas and drive up each day to Sipapu to ski. Based on reviews, I felt this might be a good place to take my daughters. I%26#39;d have to option to drive to Sante Fe or elsewhere if I desired.

Here are my questions:

Is this a good plan?

I%26#39;d like a relatively inexpensive place to stay - but, of course, decent and clean. Any other recommendations? (breakfast is included at HI)

What is the drive time from LV to Sipapu?

I haven%26#39;t called Sipapu, but I%26#39;m not sure about the duration of the Jr. lessons. $50 is a good price for lessons, equipment and a full day lift ticket, but I could go to one of the other places and get all of this for a full day for around $100 for my daughters - any suggestions/comments?

Any info you can pass along is appreciated?

Thanks!

Ski at Sipapu?

No idea about Sipapu or staying in Las Vegas. I know you and your kids would enjoy skiing here in Santa Fe and staying here in Santa Fe. You have quite a drive from El Paso north... probably 5-6 hours to get up here.

Ski at Sipapu?

CasaAzul,

I really appreciate the feedback. I%26#39;ve skied Santa Fe 3 times and enjoyed it and may decide to do it this time. I was just considering doing something diferent and wanted to do something suitable for my 2 girls.

The last time I was there was in %26#39;98 - so it%26#39;s been a while. Any suggestions on lodging? I%26#39;d like a relatively inexpensive place, but clean - with free breakfast!

Thank you

Ski53,

For the life of me, I can%26#39;t understand why anyone would reply to your questions if they don%26#39;t have a single pertinent answer to what you asked about.

I do have an idea about Sipapu because I%26#39;ve skied there a few times. I think it is the perfect combination of factors for a family of skiers, who:

A.) have young inexperienced skiers who might be intimidated by the enormity of a full scale mountain and operation like SkiSantaFe.

B.) Don%26#39;t want to spend a fortune introducing their kids to skiing and maybe being a little unsure if they will like it the very first time.

C.) May want a unique, family run, ski resort without a bunch of frills but plenty of good snow, good runs for all levels and a very down to earth approach by the owners.

To stay in LV is about an 1 1/2 drive from Sipapu, so you may want to consider either Taos or a lodging option north of Santa Fe but on the way. Not alot happening in LV for a family, but it is a pretty little town.

Tim Toad123,

Thank you for taking the time to respond - I really appreciate your comments.

I had looked at staying in Espanola - I figured it wold be a good central location for Santa Fe, Sipapu or Taos. On a previous trip many years back, I actually stayed in Santa Fe and skied in Taos and at the time the drive didn%26#39;t seem so bad (not that I would want to actually plan that senario).

LV may be a bit far away - I just liked the idea of a new clean Holiday Inn. An 1-1/2 hour commute may be too much..

Thanks

Ski53,

You are quite welcome, just trying to help without having you have to weed through tons of irrelevant material.

Especially with your trip less than a month away.

Another option I can wholeheartedly recommend is Pajarito Mt. just west of Los Alamos. This is a very nicely run little resort with both good beginner runs, lessons, equipment, etc.. and plenty of great terrain for you also.

A notch down in price from SkiSantaFe, Angel Fire, but a little more than Sipapu.

They are only open on the weekends and if there is a federal holiday, they also open the monday that week.

I haven%26#39;t skied there yet this year, but at just 30 minutes from my door, it has become my slopes of choice.

There are a few decent places like you%26#39;ve alluded to to stay at in Los Alamos and if it turns out the kids just don%26#39;t get into the skiing, you could take them to nearby Bandelier National Monument for a look at some ancient ruins, cliff dwellings, etc.

Tim Toad123,

Again, thank you for the feedback.

I did check the stats at Pajarito, but didn%26#39;t really delve into it any further. Based on their website, they offer group lessons for kids 6 and up - I%26#39;d have to check with them about my 5 year old (it%26#39;s going to be REAL interesting to see how she takes to skiing). If she doesn%26#39;t like skiing, I may have to go to Plan B and tour some of the areas you discuss.

I appreciate it!

To to OP... sorry if I did not have info for you and I am glad Toad could help. Since you have already skied at Ski Santa Fe, trying anywhere new would be fun. The Holiday Inn in Las Vegas is right off the highway, easy to get to.

Toad.. please be nice. The OP asked for ';any info you can pass along'; I passed along some information, just not exactly what ';you'; would say.

Plenty of places to ski, stay and enjoy in New Mexico and opinions to go with them. Enjoy your trip and where ever you end up, you will have fun.

We skied Sipapu last spring break as first time skiers and the huge upside is that it is much smaller than many of the other ski areas and not so overwhelming. The downside, however, is that the greens are pretty steep and narrow and the beginner hill is tiny. We found it to be quite a huge step up from the beginner hill to the Lower Bambi run which is the next logical step.

On the flip side, we skied Red River at Christmas and found it to be a fantastic place to learn to ski. Granted, we already had some experience but our kids ages 8 and 12 really %26#39;got it%26#39; there I think in large part because the bunny hill is decent and includes a practice lift. The beginner green, Goldrush, is nice and wide and not too steep...a perfect run to really gain confidence in skiing.

Just wanted to give you a viewpoint from some beginners who skied Sipapu recently, hope it helps if you%26#39;re still considering it!

Thank you CasaAzul amd LLMA for taking the time to reply.

I might opt for going to Sipapu for the first day and then consider whether it would be best to go back or move on. This would depend on how my 2 daughters were progressing. Based on your input, LLMA, this would seem like a logical approach (not something I%26#39;m always noted for). I%26#39;ll need to review my lodging options to allow for this....

IF there%26#39;s snowfall in the south, I might stay at Ruidoso - not much in the way of options, but a lot less driving.

Thanks again!

good fantasy name