"To have a ski season at all, we considered that just a huge win." That was spokesperson Christiana Hudson last March, speaking to the Santa Fe New Mexican after Pajarito Mountain closed early on about 40 inches of snow for the whole season. Eight months later, general manager Jasen Bellomy is aiming for a December 4 opening and seven-day-a-week operation.
The change has more to do with plumbing than weather. A Los Alamos County water line now runs up Camp May Road, and it is designed to shift the start of Pajarito's season from waiting on snowfall to working from a water allotment. This first winter is the trial run, with the pipe nearly finished and much of the on-hill snowmaking still to be built.
The Old Season Started When the Sky Said So
Last year's opening shows how the old system worked. Pajarito had planned to open December 12, 2025. On December 10, the resort posted that it was postponing "until further notice." It said opening normally takes "several consecutive days of cold weather, paired with significant natural snowfall," and it had neither.
Snowmaking was available, but its water source was the problem. In a September interview with Storm Skiing, Bellomy said the older system, installed around 2010, relied on spring runoff that never filled the summit pond. Thin snow made for a thin season, and thin runoff meant less water to make snow with. According to Storm Skiing, Pajarito's traditional winter has run about 60 days. Officials think a reliable water supply could stretch that to as many as 140.
How Water Gets From Town to the Summit Pond
The project's official name is the Jemez Mountain Regional Fire Protection Project. The County built it first to provide water for fire protection, and snowmaking water is an added benefit. The County's project page says a full reservoir also gives the ski area "a reliable opening schedule."
The water's route, as described by the County, the Los Alamos Reporter and Bellomy:
- Water leaves the County system and travels about five miles of buried pipe along Camp May Road, climbing close to 2,000 vertical feet.
- Four booster stations push it uphill, and it feeds a County-owned 250,000-gallon steel tank at the base of the ski area. That tank supplies the fire hydrants along Camp May Road.
- The County has to keep that tank at least 75 percent full for fire suppression. Under a contract with Pajarito Mountain, anything above that line can be pumped to the 10-million-gallon snowmaking reservoir above the ski area.
- Water for snowmaking is available from November 1 to March 15 each year. After this season, Pajarito says the reservoir will stay full year-round.
Snowmaking gets the surplus, so the hill has a dependable supply only after the County's reserve is met. Bellomy told Storm Skiing that the pipeline can refill the summit pond about six times a winter. That comes to roughly 60 million gallons, or about 300 acre-feet of snow, which in theory is enough to cover the whole mountain with 12 inches of man-made snow once the full system is in place.
Funding came from several sources. A $7.9 million grant from the New Mexico Legislature covered part of the cost. Los Alamos County and Pajarito split the rest, up to $18 million. Bellomy said it took five or six years of negotiation to get the line across DOE land, Llano property and the Santa Fe National Forest before construction could start.
Year One Finishes the Pipe Before the Snowmaking
Pajarito's September announcement in the Los Alamos Daily Post said Project Pajarito makes 2,700 percent more water available for snowmaking. It also announced an updated Alpine Lift meant to make the 1,107-foot chair more reliable.
Snowmaking will reach only part of the mountain this season. Getting water to the slopes takes pumps, pipes on the hill and snow guns, and Bellomy told Storm Skiing that the first year's budget went mostly to delivering water. "We had to scale back a little bit of the on-hill distribution," he said.
| This winter, 2026–27 | Planned build-out | |
|---|---|---|
| Snowmaking acreage | About 50% more than before | Snowmaking on 75% of the mountain, a multi-year goal |
| Pumping capacity on the hill | About 1,000 gallons per minute | 4,000 gallons per minute at final build-out, with an increase planned for next year |
| Pump stations | In engineering and design | To be built in future seasons |
This winter, then, Pajarito is set up for a steady water supply and enough snowmaking to cover about half again as much ground as before. That is meant to make opening day more dependable, while coverage across the whole mountain is a goal for later seasons. Bellomy's October 21 update said the new snow guns were in transit, and that once they reached the hill they would be connected to the upgraded water and power. He called December 4 "weeks earlier than our original projection" and added, "We'll confirm as we get closer."
Camp May Road Stays a Weekend Road Until the Work Wraps
Residents feel the pipeline most on Camp May Road. The third and final phase runs from June through December 2026, and DUB-L-EE, LLC is the contractor on every phase. The County's current rules:
- Camp May Road, the Camp May campground and the trails around them are closed from Monday morning until 5 p.m. Thursday until the project is finished.
- The road opens to recreational users from Friday through Sunday evening, and the County asks people to watch for construction sites and stored materials.
- Several roadside pull-offs are holding machinery and materials and are marked as no-parking areas.
As of the County's September 28 update, crews were building the four booster stations and disinfecting the new water system and the tank on Pajarito before winter weather arrived. Fiber cable had already been pulled through the conduit. The underground electric lines were pushed back until after January. Bellomy said the power is going underground because past wildfires were sparked by overhead lines, and the fiber is meant to give the community a communications backhaul to Albuquerque.
The weekday closure covers the Camp May trail area, where the Southwest Nordic Ski Club grooms its trails. Club volunteers spent October getting ready for the season: servicing the groomers, mowing back locust shoots, cutting up fallen trees and hanging trailside fencing over the October 31 to November 1 weekend. Last winter's grooming notes show what the club works with in a thin year. In late January, the club reported fresh classic track around the Camp May practice area and conditions that were "thin and a bit tenuous" elsewhere on the trail system.
The Dates Ahead
The dates that matter this winter:
- November 1 through March 15: The yearly window when snowmaking water is available.
- December 4: Pajarito's target opening day, with seven-day operation planned.
- Through December: Phase 3 construction is scheduled to continue, along with the Monday-to-Thursday closures on Camp May Road.
- After January: The underground electric work picks back up.
For anyone still choosing a pass, Mountain Capital Partners' March announcement froze Power Pass prices for a fourth straight year. Early-bird adult prices were $749 for the Power Pass, $549 for Select and $299 for Core, and kids 12 and under ski free on the Power Kids pass. Pajarito's lift ticket page currently advertises $9 tickets plus $10 in Pajarito Cash with select purchases.
Pajarito was founded in the 1950s by Los Alamos scientists and run by volunteers until Mountain Capital Partners bought it in 2014. Since then its opening day has depended on how much snow fell each year. Starting this season, the County's water is scheduled to arrive on a fixed window every November, and each year of on-hill snowmaking work puts more of that water on the slopes.
If you want to know how projects like the Camp May pipeline affect day-to-day life and home values across Los Alamos and White Rock, The Lovely Home Company can walk you through what is changing near you. Schedule a free consultation.
