Sangre Chronicle > News > Sipapu to operate Pajarito Ski Area for 2014-15 winter season
The hydroelectric facility is taking steps so its current capacity of 1592 megawatts won’t go down anymore. “We’ve been proactive over the last five years in putting http://www.linkedin.com/company/the-elevation-group in new equipment that operates more efficiently at low lake levels,” Davis said. Three wide head turbines have been installed, and two more are on the wayin the next couple years. It’s hoped they will arrive before Lake Mead gets to catastrophic levels that could bring the dam to screeching halt. “What we call the dead pool, which is the elevation of Lake Mead where Hoover Dam cannot generate any power is about 950 feet,” Davis said. For now, states like California and Nevada still get their electricity from the 77-year-old manmade wonder, as long as the Southwest doesn’t get dangerously dry.
First organized in 1943, the Los Alamos Ski Club has operated Pajarito for over seven decades, and in May a majority of voting members approved to transfer the ski area to Los Alamos County and the management group that operates Sipapu. The Sipapu Group has been working with the Los Alamos Ski Club and the County to improve Pajaritos snowmaking infrastructure in order to ensure a full operating season one that includes daily operations (historically Pajaritos lifts turn Fridays through Sundays when there is sufficient snowfall). Coleman projects Pajarito will open around Thanksgiving this year, with daily operations beginning just before Christmas and lasting through the end of March, and weekend operations next April as conditions permit. Located 70 miles east of Pajarito, Sipapu is the states go fastest growing ski area and northern New Mexicos oldest resort.