Sipapu Ski & Summer Resort

Awesome small resort situated in a due north shadowed valley that keeps the snow all season long!
I’ve came here 3-​times. Rentals at the base are quick and efficient; especially for Groupons.
Great size for a couple of days. A few challenging blacks, great unobstructed blues, greens available all the way down.
Not crowded and well maintained. Can easily see the mountain in the day.

Me and my son came here on Wednesday due to the good lift ticket price on liftopia, took us so long to get tickets and rental gears cause there’s a huge group of school kids in front of us. They don’t separate the registration for groups so it was almost two hours later after we finally reach the lift chair!
The snow was so so and there’s only one green going down since the #3 lift closed till 1 pm. We skied a few rounds and realize my son’s left boot kept loosen up, we head back to change and of course it took a long time again, with the rental guy kept arguing it was fine! (Believe me we tried and it just didn’t stay tight, I think I know how to tighten up the boot!) by the time we finish exchange, it was about lunch time already.
The cafeteria food was pretty sad (peaked others sandwich) but the worst part is the attitude of the employees there. On the board there’s «bread bowl with daily soup», I took it, came out a small bowl with little soup inside. I questioned about the bread bowl, the women was like «where? What are you talking about «I had to point it out on the board to show her. Without any double checking with the kitchen or apologize for the misleading menu, she just shook her shoulder said, well I don’t know. How rude is that?!
In the afternoon finally #3 lift is open, and it was a surface system we have never used. My son was too light and kept falling down from it and eventually got frustrated, so we did not enjoy the green lines there. With very minimum green lines (one you had to get on blue line first and then you can see it), and the green trails merge a lot with blue/​black, and hyper shouting school kids flying by, this is not a place I want to enjoy easy green or practice blue lines. We end up leaving early, and want to go back to red river cause it’s much more fun, more beautiful, more options and much better for family! I’m Not coming back here even with the cheap rental and lift tickets, now I known why there’s always good deals with this ski area!
Ps, the parking lot gets VERY muddy in the afternoon, watch out!

If you are considering going to Sipapu, let me urge you to reconsider. You should just go to Angel Fire or Taos Ski Valley instead.
We drove two days from home to stay in our family’s cabin just down the road. We arrived at Sipapu the next morning at 9:00 am. The line for lift tickets, ski school, and equipment was unbelievable — a disorganized, confused mess with very few employees to keep things moving. We missed the 10:00 am ski school for our kids because of the line. The process for lift tickets and equipment rental were similarly bad. We did not emerge from the Sipapu office until noon, a three-​hour wait with four children.
But after a decent afternoon, and the assurance from Sipapu employees that the day was unusually busy and that there is usually no lines, we tried again on the following day. First, however, we called ahead and asked if there were any lines. We were told no.
We drove again to Sipapu and indeed were able to walk right up to the counter. However, there we discovered that there was no equipment to rent. We were stunned that a Sipapu employee told us there was no line, but failed to tell us there was no more equipment. With the morning shot, and with the trip to Angel Fire taking at least another hour and a half, we gave up and just went to town.
Low prices mean nothing if no value is given in exchange. Spend more and get what you pay for at Angel Fire or Ski Valley instead.

The registration, lift buying process, and equipment rental flow was a complete cattle call. The registration and lift buying process was not too bad, just very disorganized. The equipment rental flow was a COMPLETE disaster and worth passing this place up if you have little patience for inefficiencies.
The mountain itself was good and is truly a place where a beginner/​novice or families could have a really good time. The skiers were a bit rude… my guess is many locals. The lessons that are provided free with a lift ticket purchase were awesome and unsurpassed! The place is definitely worth it for the price, so I would recommend checking it out.

This resort has always been a place to save family events and reunions growing up, especially since my family lives in the town nearby… Since the Resort has new owners the place has taken a turn for the bad. It’s poorly managed and not worth the money. The rooms were disgusting, the linens not clean, stains on the couches, broken mini blinds and to make it worse while I was getting dressed in the morning one of the workers were peaking in my window. When reported to management the manager threatened to have me thrown off the premises. Other family members stayed as well and had a bunk bed collapse on their child. Wouldn’t recommend to anyone. Take a short drive to Taos to stay instead.

Taught my family how to ski here while I became a somewhat traveling legend on these slopes. Check the specials and ask the staff to work with you. Everyone is accommodating. Try Lift 3 and Lift 4 and get away from the crowd. Well not much of a crowd ever. Tree runs off of lift 4 are great powder usually. Dont get to uppity and you will have a great time at this place for the price.
Dont plan on your phone working much here.

I searched around the Taos-​Sante Fe area for a great value ski resort. Eventually I came across Sipapu ! We were able to book a room at their lodge on the slope a couple days before our trip, for roughly $ 50 a night (with a free lift ticket included). For people learning to ski, this is a great bargain. For people looking for black diamonds, you should probably spend more money and try somewhere else.
They had a small terrain park for snowboarding which I enjoyed. They also have a larger terrain park which wasn’t open in mid-​December.
Watch out for those green chiles in like every dish at the lodge, they can give you gas !

One of our cheapest ski trips ever! On December 20 they had half off lessons and lift passes. It wasn’t crowded and I got a semiprivate lesson for the group rate both days ($ 40 for 2 hours). For beginners it was great because there were three difficulty levels: magic carpet, a pole you ride up to the Bambi slopes and green chair lift. My fiancé also enjoyed the terrain park as a snowboarder on the black diamond level. We stayed at the resort on site which is much like camping, no tv and no wifi. The only inconvenient part was they don’t provide shampoo so you will need to bring your own or buy at their store. Overall, if you are looking for an affordable ski trip Sipapu is a great place to go!

Military get free lift tickets except on blackout days!
I had a free lift ticket for signing up for their e-​mail list at Ski Swap NM a couple of months ago, so I decided to use the free pass this weekend. If you sign up for their e-​mail list, they have some pretty good deals (I.e. free lodging with a purchase of a $ 44 lift ticket).
Although NM hasn’t gotten much snow yet, Sipapu had their snow machines working hard to make sure they had enough to re-​open this past Saturday.
They only had one lift open, but it split into a blue and green. The blue run had two parts that were pretty steep for blues. The green had a really long catwalk towards the end and you have to do a lot of weaving past people stuck on the catwalk.
They had a small park with a box and small jump for people just starting out, nothing too crazy.
Conditions were pretty good but it got icy after 2pm. No lines, but short runs.
Make sure to bring a leash for your boards, they’ll make you go to the shop and buy one before you can get on the lift!
They sell lunch upstairs, which is a little pricey for what you get, but the food itself is decent. They also serve beer upstairs, which is pretty nice.
If you end up going to Sipapu, definitely join their e-​mail list to get the best offers for a cheaper trip!

Let’s pretend you arrive to Taos midday on a Saturday. Hmmmm, what to do? The lift ticket at Taos would be way to extravagant for a half day, but you really want to make the most of your time. This is where Sipapu comes into play.
30 minutes away from the town of Taos, Sipapu will cover your ski fix and leave you wanting more the next day, when you can go to one of the larger ski resorts.
The slopes themselves aren’t amazing, but a half day skiing with friends for 40 $? You can’t beat that. Also, the «lodge”/outside bar is VERY fairly priced, and they even give samples out of local beer, I’m talking about you Sante Fe Brown Nut Ale.
Sipapu left a very good impression, it was an enjoyable day and a great start to the weekend.
Also, military members ski for free as long as it’s not on a black out date

Bring your own gear and your own lunch and you’ll be just fine.
My daughters had taken a snowboarding lesson at Red River and I didn’t really want to pay full winter boat for a single open trail so they could practice their skills. So, we headed to the family owned Sipapu Ski Resort. My family had held reunions here in the 70’s and 90’s and thought it was a cool place. They were running an early season discount of $ 15 lift tickets for teens and $ 20 for adults. Couple this with the $ 25 gear rental plus $ 8 for a helmet and this looked like a deal.
The downhill run started at gear rental. Sure, the gal behind the counter was nice enough but this other staff guy kept butting in about «the weather is bringing our numbers up.» Sure, it was snowing but I want to get my girls to the slopes not wait around while you hold a conversation about the business of skiing. Totally blows my illusion of vacation.
It took us at least four pair of boots to fit one of the girls and a couple of the pair were in horrible condition with holes in the toes and the exterior «leather» peeling away with the insulation coming out. Another pair had rope (yeah, like you buy at Walmart) for laces. Every pair was a different brand so we could not consistently determine a size. The boards were in serviceable condition but they store them without the bindings so it took quite a while to get the boards checked out. The techs only waxed two of three boards. Maybe Red River was a mistake, but I guess brand new boots and boards in good condition set a bad precedent.
After an hour of gear rental frustration, we were off to the teaching slope. The lift operator was very helpful with the platter lift. After a couple runs, we decide it was time for lunch. BIG MISTAKE!
The only seats that were available were in a room labeled «Midway». After ordering at the counter, we shed our gear and sat down. After 10 minutes or so, the bartender comes out from behind the bar and says «I believe some of your party are under 21.» Yeah, so what? «They can’t be in here, it’s a bar. State law.» I didn’t see a sign posted. «It’s not my problem.» Family friendly, HA! Tourist friendly, NO! Post a sign for those of us from out of state with our kids at this «family friendly resort».
We pack up our stuff to move to the full dining room as our order number is called. We all ordered hamburgers and they were all really rare. Mine was even RAW! I very rarely send food back but this was ridiculous. It was as if they took a frozen patty, threw it on a super hot griddle to just brown it. The gal at the counter took the burger back and asked the kitchen for a burger, well done. The new burger was a solid medium. At least I didn’t get sick, yet,
We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon on the slopes and will not be going back unless we have our own gear and lunch.
BTW, I’d have checked in and thrown down a quick tip but apparently their WiFi blocks Unilocal

There was great snow this year, thank you El Nino!
The fam had a great time. The snow was awesome, we had 6 in of fresh powder when we arrived, which is just plain lucky. This place is very family friendly and CHEAP. Full day lift tix are half of that of Taos. Granted, this mountain is not nearly as large, but for the value, you really can’t beat it. If you get tired of the place, it’s only an hour drive to Taos, if you want a real mountain to ski on. Also, the lodge serves excellent food.
For lodging, we stayed in some double wides which were comfortable and modest. The only drawback is that there is no hot tub!!! Boo!!! But hey, I’m not really complaining. We had 3 great days of skiing and it was only a 14 hr drive… opposed to 16 to 18hr drive to CO. Check out the website
the resort offers random deals each year. The staff here are very friendly and fantastic.