Photo Courtesy Pajarito Mountain

BY MAIRE O’NEILL
maire@losalamosreporter.com

Pajarito Mountain Ski Area is closed again Thursday as staff commence cleanup of a significant number of downed trees following Wednesday’s storm which produced wind gusts in excess of 75 mph at Pajarito.

Los Alamos County has closed Camp May Road and is allowing access only to employees.

“We’re in the horns of a dilemma,” Manager Tom Long told the Los Alamos Reporter. “Although the winds have completely subsided, because we had no power overnight, we were unable to keep our diesel equipment warm so we are just getting our snow cat started up.”

Long said staff are clearing walkways and decks and preparing lifts for start-up whenever Los Alamos County crews are able to restore power to the area.

“We estimate that we got six to eight inches of new snow with this storm, but because of wind drifts it’s up to my hips in some places and only an inch in other places,” he said.

Meanwhile, County utilities crews are back on the job Thursday morning after working from 3 a.m. until late in the evening Wednesday restoring all lost power to the community.

“The snow is great! We’re standing by and getting the area ready for some great skiing when the power is restored,” Long said.