The Homestead Ski Area Profile

Pajarito was originally established by workers and soldiers at the Los Alamos Laboratory, who during World War II found themselves stuck in the area while working on the Manhattan Project. They formed the Los Alamos Ski Club in 1944. This member-driven operation first started on a nearby hill but moved to 10,441-foot Pajarito Mountain in 1957.

Pajarito is open Friday through Sunday, Federal holidays, and throughout the Christmas holiday period except for Christmas itself. The broad profile of the mountain encompasses about 280 acres of terrain and 37 named trails. A quad, a triple, three doubles, and a rope tow serve up to 1410 vertical feet.

The skiing and riding are mostly in the upper intermediate to advanced vein, with a few long green trails that will delight solid beginners who would like a long and satisfying run. True novices had best stick to the learning terrain above the lodge. The black diamond terrain lies in the center of the mountain on either side of the Aspen Lift where a steep fold harbors favorites like Wildcat, Lumberyard, and Mal"s Run. Much of the black diamond stuff is allowed to get bumped up.

The base lodge features the Pajarito Cafe, the rental shop and a retail store with Pajarito logo gear and ski and snowboard accessories. There"s also an outdoor grill that runs when the weather is good, and the ski school and ski patrol.

Pajarito"s member volunteers do a lot of work to keep the place spruced up and the trails and lift lines cleared. A couple of years ago the Cerro Grande forest fire which devastated the surrounding forest did relatively little damage to the area itself. Firefighters made a stand on Evershine Ridge, a broad trail on the eastern periphery of Pajarito, and most of the fire damage was confined to a few hot spots. Since then Pajarito"s hard-working volunteer crews have essentially mitigated any effects of the fire.

The closest town is Los Alamos, just a few miles away. Albuquerque is 80 miles south. Los Alamos is fairly quiet but you"ll find varied lodging and a few good restaurants, although not much in the way of night life.