With record breaking cold temperatures and a significant amount of snowfall, especially up the mountain at Ski Santa Fe, the city is hunkered down for a long winter nap. The high temperature on Monday was hovering around 12 degrees, which seems balmy compared to today’s predicted high of 5 degrees! There was also supposed to be a fair amount of snow to come with the cold. Thus far we have only seen about 3 inches total scattered throughout town over the past two days. However, there is more snow in the forecast for today and tonight, so totals may reach higher.

Despite the relatively low snowfall numbers in Santa Fe, surrounding areas have seen over a foot of snow and Ski Santa Fe has received a hefty 19 inches.  This is great news for hearty skiers who are willing to brave the cold temps to catch some fresh tracks.

So, what’s in the forcast for the near future? It looks like we’ll return to typical February Santa Fe weather as soon as this weekend with highs in the 40s under partly cloudy conditions. This cold snap may be short lived, but at least we were able to get a small glimpse at what winter looks like.

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All of this snow prompted me to hop out of bed extra early this morning to personally check out the snow conditions. My neighbor, Cederic, and  I left Santa Fe around 6 a.m. and made it to the area by 6:30. That’s one of the great things about Santa Fe. If you drive one direction for 30 minutes you are in Alpine wilderness, and if you drive the other direction for 30 minutes you can be in beautiful desert.

As we were putting the skins on our skis at 10,800 feet, the morning sun was just starting to light the mountain sky.  By 8:00 a.m. we were standing at 12,500 feet admiring the grand scale views of the Sandias, Jemez, Ortiz, and Sangre De Cristo Ranges. It was a bit overcast at the top of the ski hill, but the valley below was brightly lit with the dawn sun.

So, we turned the skis downhill and let er rip. And……Yep, the conditions were fantastic. There was plenty of untracked snow in the trees, the mogul fields were still soft and cushy, and the groomers were perfect corduroy.  Ah, living in Santa Fe. You’ve got to love it.

Here is a photo that Matt took from his deck on Tuesday morning.

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