Staying Home Sucks, home
Looking down (NE) from Pajarito Mountain, Ski Slope, Los Alamos, NM - panoramio
Pajarito Mountain. Photo: Aaron Zhu, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Pajarito Mountain

Ski resort · United States

Is it worth the trip?

Every day scores the same

Pajarito Mountain is closed for the season on these dates.

Each day of your trip, out of 100

Mon 2 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
3 cm
Depth
0 mmid 0 m, base 0 m
Coldest
-2°C
Wind
16 kn

Tue 3 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
3 cm
Depth
0 mmid 0 m, base 0 m
Coldest
-3°C
Wind
4 kn

Wed 4 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
3 cm
Depth
0 mmid 0 m, base 0 m
Coldest
-1°C
Wind
6 kn

Thu 5 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
0 cm
Depth
0 mmid 0 m, base 0 m
Coldest
-1°C
Wind
6 kn

Fri 6 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
0 cm
Depth
0 mmid 0 m, base 0 m
Coldest
0°C
Wind
12 kn

Sat 7 · 0 out of 100

Fresh
0 cm
Depth
0 mmid 0 m, base 0 m
Coldest
1°C
Wind
5 kn

Sun 8 · 0 out of 100

From the usual week for these dates, not the forecast.

Tap a day for snow, wind and the temperature. Full forecast

Forecast: next 7 days

Full forecast
  1. Sun 10, poor
  2. Mon 20, poor
  3. Tue 30, poor
  4. Wed 40, poor
  5. Thu 50, poor
  6. Fri 60, poor
  7. Sat 70, poor

The resort in three facts

  • Top 3,179 mvillage 2,812 m
  • 34 km of runsevery grade
  • Open December–Aprilusually

Full forecast

every day, every number

Lifts closed for the season. They usually open about 25 November.

We don't know the avalanche risk here. Check Avalanche.org.

Forecast and score for each day at Pajarito Mountain
DayScoreFresh72 hDepthtop, mid, baseColdestat topWindat top
Sun 1Nov0, poor0 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m4°Cwind, 17 knots
Mon 2Nov0, poor3 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-2°Cwind, 16 knots
Tue 3Nov0, poor3 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-3°Cwind, 4 knots
Wed 4Nov0, poor3 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-1°Cwind, 6 knots
Thu 5Nov0, poor0 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m-1°Cwind, 6 knots
Fri 6Nov0, poor0 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m0°Cwind, 12 knots
Sat 7Nov0, poor0 cm0 mmid 0 mbase 0 m1°Cwind, 5 knots

Wind is in knots, the arrow where it blows to. Snow depth starts from today's reading at Quemazon, 2896 m. More

Forecast updated . It refreshes every three hours. Forecast data: ECMWF, DWD, Météo-France and NOAA, served by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Changed by us. Generated using E.U. Copernicus Marine Service Information.

Best time to go

snow by month

Snow by month

Typical snow on the ground and coldest daytime temperature by month
MonthBase2,812 mMid2,996 mTop3,179 mColdestat the top
Decnone0.1 m0.1 m-8°C
Jan0.2 m0.3 m0.3 m-11°C
Feb0.2 m0.3 m0.3 m-10°C
Mar0.1 m0.1 m0.1 m-6°C

Typical snow on the ground in the village, halfway up and at the top: the middle value over 2016 to 2025, from ERA5-Land reanalysis at the grid cell nearest each height. Not a forecast, and not the groomed pistes: resorts make snow lower down.

Map

the resort, its town, photos

Each place wears its best day on these dates: green good, amber fair, pale red poor, as the key says.

The map needs JavaScript. Every place on it is listed on this page, and each place's page links to Google Maps.

One finger scrolls the page; two fingers move the map. Pins are our own positions. Map OpenFreeMap, © OpenMapTiles, data © OpenStreetMap contributors, terrain © Mapterhorn.

Photos of Pajarito Mountain

Looking down (S) at Valles Calderas National Preserve from Pajarito Mountain, backside of Ski area, Los Alamos, NM - panoramio
Photo: Aaron Zhu, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

About

the place in full, sources, credits

About Pajarito Mountain

Village 2,812 m.

A ski resort with its village at 2,812 m and its top at 3,179 m. It has 34 km of runs and 6 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap. The runs drop 443 m, from 3,179 m to 2,736 m. For beginners and families: 67% of the km of runs are green or blue (beginner to intermediate). For experts: 9 km of advanced, expert and freeride runs. It is usually in season from December to April. The snow is usually deepest in January, about 0.3 m at the top (3,179 m). The town to stay in is Los Alamos. Within 5 km we also list 1 mountain bike area.

Pajarito Mountain Ski Area (Pajarito) is located on the north face of Pajarito Mountain, one of the Jemez Mountains in north central New Mexico, west of Los Alamos. It is located on 850 acres (3.4 km2) of privately owned land. Pajarito Mountain is owned and operated by volunteers and Mountain Capital Partners. A typical season runs from Christmas to early April, but an outstanding season may run from Thanksgiving to late April. Pajarito now has a snowmaking system and it is producing snow. Season passes are available with discounts available for early season purchase.

From the Wikipedia article Pajarito Mountain Ski Area by Wikipedia contributors, shortened by us. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.

The ski area

Runs from 2,736 m to 3,179 m: 443 m of vertical. 34 km of runs and 6 lifts, as mapped on OpenStreetMap for Pajarito Mountain.

Runs
Easy10 km
Intermediate13 km
Advanced4.6 km
Expert3.9 km
Not graded2.6 km
Lifts
Chairlifts5
Magic carpets1

Measured along each mapped run, so it can differ from the resort's own figure. Ski area: Data from OpenSkiData / OpenSkiMap.org, © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), Skimap.org, Who's On First, © Mapterhorn.

For families

67% of the km of runs are green or blue (beginner to intermediate).

No public pool, ice rink, leisure centre, ski school or childcare is mapped within 5 km of the village. That may mean nobody has mapped them yet.

The Family filter counts these. Check opening times before you go.

The score is the conditions only: the journey, the price and the partners never change it (how we score, how we earn).

Rough cost (estimate): about US$2,460–US$3,840 each

about US$2,460–US$3,840 each · 6 nights, 2 sharing: flights, transfer, stay, food, lift pass, ski hire.

Our estimate from typical public prices, not a quote: check the real prices before you book (where they come from). Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

How we worked it out 
Rough cost per person for this trip
WhatHow we worked it outEach
Flightsreturn ORD to SAF, estimated from distance and season, 1 airline on the route, with a hold bagabout US$188–US$395
Transfershared airport transfer, returnabout US$94–US$161
Stay6 nights, a mid-range double, sharedabout US$288–US$482
Food7 days eating outabout US$342–US$636
Lift pass5 days at about US$312 a day, country averageabout US$1,330–US$1,800
Ski hire5 days, or about US$114 to fly your ownabout US$221–US$368
Totalabout US$2,460–US$3,840

For 2 people sharing a room. Lessons, lift-pass deals and insurance are extra. Prices from public sources, checked in 2026.

Where to stay: Los Alamos

Closest

Los Alamos

15 min by car · 7 places to stay

about US$107/nightcountry average

See 7 places to stay in Los Alamos · Booking.com

About Los Alamos its beds, food and every spot near it

About US$107 a night is our estimate of the country's average 2-star double room that month: not each town's price, and not a quote. Drives are estimates. Prices are about, in US Dollar (USD): our pound figures at the European Central Bank's rate of 30 October 2026.

Getting there: about 6h 10m

About 6h 10m door to door from Chicago

Fly ORD → SAF, direct, then 1h 15m by road

An estimate, one way; the journey never changes the score.