ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It’s apparent at resorts across New Mexico that there is a serious shortage of natural snow to supply the all-important ski season.
“We had a challenging start to winter and the snow falling out of the sky has definitely not been up to average,” said Ben Abruzzo, area manager at Ski Santa Fe.
Abruzzo says, luckily, the weather has been consistently cold enough for resorts to make snow.
“In the last few weeks, it’s gotten really cold so we’ve been on a really good run of snowmaking,” said Abruzzo.
Skiing is a $420 million industry in New Mexico and the weeks surrounding Christmas are extremely important for that number.
However, Director of Ski New Mexico George Brooks says don’t give up on this ski season until after the holidays.
“Between now and Christmas and now and New Year’s is really when we can make a substantial difference and then we’ll see whether we’re slow or not,” said Brooks.
Brooks says there is “plenty” of snow on the mountains for skiers and snowboarders, despite video of splotchy mountainsides and slopes shown on their website.
New Mexico ski resorts are currently operating between 10-20 percent.
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