Snorkeling in New Mexico

A monster storm luring powder hounds to the slopes rolled into New Mexico on December 29, dumping feet of snow at the ski resorts in the largest and wettest storm so far this season. "At this point, this is the second snowiest December on record," said Seth Bullington, marketing manager from Taos. As resorts scrambled to open lifts and runs, skiers hooted it up while their cars buried completely in parking lots. Taos' storm snowfall totaled out at 32 inches with two feet falling within 24 hours, causing the resort to run all its lifts and start avalanche control work on the ridge. Four other resorts reported 20-plus inches in the storm: Red River and Sipapu cranked up all their lifts; Santa Fe and Sandia Peak opened partially. With three feet of snowfall in three days, Pajarito threw open 80 percent of its terrain. But clearly the winner--way ahead of the other horses in the pack--was Angel Fire. Its 58 inches (4.8 feet) catapulted the mountain into being 100 percent open, along with its Liberation Terrain Park. You need to wear a snorkel to breathe in that amount of powder.