Ski Santa Fe Issues Santa Fe Express Lift Update

Ski Santa Fe has highlighted big steps forward as on-mountain team continued their work building the new Santa Fe Express high-speed quad.

The Ski Santa Fe Summer Crew continues to hustle as they work to complete the new Santa Fe Express high-speed quad before the start of the 2024-25 winter season. 

The largest of the tower pads, located at the upper terminal, was the first to be completed. The “Fin” required almost 70 yards of concrete to be delivered via helicopter, where crews would dump the material in place. Each bucket contained a little under a yard of concrete per trip, so  crew and helicopter pilot stayed quite busy!

The helicopter also assisted in pouring concrete for the footer for the new upper lift terminal. The Black Hawk is fitted with bucket under the belly of the craft, allowing it to receive concrete directly from the mixing truck before expertly flying the load to the top.

Once the crew broke up into 3 teams to tackle the remaining 11 locations. The helicopter was able to leapfrog between locations quickly, staggering deliveries to allow each crew to set and finish the material while concrete was being delivered elsewhere.

Once concrete for the upper terminal was placed and the lift towers and heads and been removed, the team quickly went to work on placing the wooden forms to for the remainder of the lift tower footers. With these forms in place, the next major step will be getting the concrete set for the remainder of the 12 new lift towers.

Once the concrete is fully set, the wooden forms will be removed and any ground excavated will be refilled. The next major milestone will be in mid-August, when the helicopter will be reenlisted to help install the new lift towers.

Ski Santa Fe is situated in the alpine forests near the tree line of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico, at an elevation of 10,350–12,075 feet (3,155–3,680 m), making it one of the highest major ski resorts in the United States. It is located 16 miles east of the city of Santa Fe. Access is provided from downtown Santa Fe to the base lodge via New Mexico State Road 475.

A large ski lodge, La Casa, is located at the ski base and features three restaurants: La Casa Cafe, Totemoff's Bar & Grill, and Terrace Grill. It also includes gift shops, a rental center, a sports equipment shop, a ski patrol station, lockers, and two ski instruction schools: Chipmunk Corner, for beginner skiers ages 5-10 or snowboarders 8-10; and the Snow Sports School, for ages 10+. Skiers 10-11 years old may opt for either school.

Chipmunk Corner Ski School features a surface carpet and a private slope, Chippy Hill. The school operates out of a 3,220 square feet (299 m2) building near the base lodge, with classrooms, a cafeteria, and a sports equipment center. Children's complex features age appropriate equipment and toys, including highchairs and cribs, an indoor play room, and an outdoor snow play area.

The resort covers two mountains, Lake Peak and Tesuque Peak. The ski runs run down to the base in a fan shape and include glades for advanced skiers. The resort includes 88 named runs and eight lifts, including two magic carpet lifts