Enchanted Circle ski resorts, local businesses lament meager snowfall

Due to the lack of snow, ski resorts that sit at the top of the tourism food chain in winter in the Enchanted Circle have had to strategize to make the best of a bad situation.

But it's not a total bust, according to two resorts and several businesses.

There are four ski and summer resort areas in the Enchanted Circle: Taos Ski Valley Inc., Red River Ski and Summer Area, Angel Fire Resort and Sipapu Ski and Summer Resort. An array of businesses — from hotels to restaurants, outdoor recreation outfitters and ski shops, car repair shops, convenience stores, grocery stores, and others — rely on the visitors the winter sports season draws to the area.

Visitors to Taos, according to data provided by Taos Marketing and Tourism Director Rima Krisst, were down 7.1 percent — due to road construction, inflation, weather and other factors — in 2024.

Sipapu, the county's popular small ski area along NM 518, "will probably be off by 10–15 percent skier visits this year," said Mountain Manager John Paul Bradley. "But our model works. We're at an affordable price point; 12 and under ski for free, and we get lots of school kids."

Like the rest of the county's resorts, Sipapu hasn't been able to open its more difficult terrain consistently, "But for our core group of beginner-intermediates, that's what we have open," he said.

Single-night stays at the lodge are down. But "our day visitors from West Texas and Oklahoma, they're still here," Bradley said. "This is still winter compared to Texas. They're having a blast."

Bradley said the resort's "been creative" with promotions and with maintaining terrain. Short-staffed  since COVID,  Sipapu turned out to have just the right number of employees — 144 — for this winter. The resort hasn't reduced hours or laid anyone off. 

Taos Ski Valley Inc. employs 645 winter seasonal staff, including local, traveling and J-1 visa workers, who typically come to Taos for the season from South America. TSV also employs 185 year-round employees.

Dawn Boulware, vice president of social and environmental responsibility at TSV, said in an email the resort had to cut employee hours this winter, but, "No employees have been laid off." With less terrain open and fewer visitors, there isn't as much demand for on-mountain staff and ski patrol. Craig Stagg, a longtime ski instructor at TSV, said he's had far fewer requests for his services this year, but is fortunate not to rely on his ski instructor income.

"These changes primarily affect part-time seasonal employees and weekday shifts to align with the lower than anticipated visitation that would come with a normal winter," Boulware said. "J1 visa workers have also seen a reduction in hours in line with their colleagues. Some staff members, particularly those who choose to work for lifestyle reasons rather than financial necessity, have voluntarily reduced their hours to help ensure that their full-time counterparts maintain stable work hours."

Although full-time employees are given preference for TSV's workforce housing, "No one has lost or is at risk of losing their housing due to reduced hours," Boulware said. "Currently, 140 staff members — both year-round and seasonal — reside in our workforce housing."

TSV's combined winter staff of 730 workers might make it the largest employer in Taos County during ski season. By comparison, Holy Cross Medical Center employs 544 people year round.

Still, Holy Cross CEO James Kiser said the hospital's not immune to the economic downturn. Aside from a record number of Emergency Department patients around Christmas, the hospital "has been slow," demonstrating just how reliant so many sectors of Taos County's economy are on ski tourism.

With fewer visitors "as a result of lack of snow in the ski area, I can only assume the Enchanted Circle tourism downturn also affects hospital volumes," Kiser said.

Jessica Stern, Taos County economic development director, said the area must continue to diversify beyond traditional tourism while addressing barriers like a lack of affordable housing, which discourages teachers, healthcare workers and trade workers, for example, from taking jobs here.

"I think the interesting shifts in tourism in particular, moving from the more extractive nature of a visitor economy to destination stewardship, is really interesting and will create a new way of thinking about economic development in that space, because what we're going to be doing is focusing really on local entrepreneurship," she said.

"The idea is that we're also seeding and supporting other industries, like the agricultural industry, or trying to resource traditional adobe brick makers," Stern added. "What are the small-scale manufacturers that really align with the values of this community?"

The creative economy has been a focus of Stern's work since she took on the economic development position in June 2023.

"Just the nonprofit arts industry is almost a $71 million value-add and adds about 1,000 jobs every year," she continued. "Nationally, the creative economy is the third-largest sector in the entire U.S. In New Mexico, it's the fifth-largest economic driver. It employs 28,000 people. It's basically on-par with outdoor recreation. It is already one of the county's largest sectors."

Black Diamond Espresso, an independent business at TSV's main base, relies on sales volume, making it a kind of bellwether for how many fewer visitors there have been. Outside of Christmas, when the resort was really hopping, business has been noticeably slower than previous years, owner Jim Sullivan said.

"I bet you we're down a good 20 percent by the time the season's over," he said. "No two ways about it. We're not seeing the crowds that we're used to seeing. It's gonna affect everybody from TSV incorporated, on down."

Neither Sullivan nor the business next door, Andean Software, has had to cut hours or lay people off, however.

"I'm glad we've made it this far, and I hope we make it through the two spring breaks," said Andean Software owner Andrea Heckman, who's been in business for over four decades. "It always comes down to March if you have a good season or not."

Boulware said the resort's mountain operations staff "have done an amazing job maximizing terrain and lift openings" and "deployed new strategies to open terrain and lifts that will continue to serve us well in any future low-snow winters. This approach has provided a level of job stability for our staff and more skiing for our pass-holders despite Mother Nature taking a break this winter."

Sullivan, like everyone the Taos News spoke to for this story, expressed concern about the lack of water in the dismal snowpack and the effect a meager runoff will have on groundwater, aquifer recharge, irrigation and wildfire.

"We need some moisture for our forests," Sullivan said. "New Mexico could be in for a very scary wildfire season."

Bradley is concerned that drought and extreme fire danger will force the Carson National Forest to close the public land on which it operates. Forest closures could force Sipapu and other ski and summer resorts — except Angel Fire, which is on private land — to cancel weddings, disc golf and archery tournaments, dirt bike trials, and other events they rely on for summer revenue.

"At this point, we've got 35 more days to go," in ski season, Bradley said Monday (Feb. 24). "My bigger concern is: I hope we can get some snow to fill the acequias and keep the forest around. When the forest is closed, it could take 2–3 years of the forest being open to recover that summer traffic. The forest being closed has a big effect on summer business, just like lack of snow has a big effect on the winter business in the community."

John Miller contributed to this report.

Correction: There are four ski areas in the Enchanted Circle: Three are in Taos County; Angel Fire is in Colfax County. We regret the error.