Ski Apache
Ski Apache is a ski area located in the state of New Mexico in USA. The resort is in the town of Alto, NM.
We recently ranked all of New Mexico's ski resorts, so you can see where Ski Apache stacks up against all its nearby ski hills!
Season Passes
Ski Apache is not a part of any nationwide lift ticket system. Passes such as Epic, IKON, or Mountain Collective allow pass holders to ski at multiple mountians with a single purchase. Unfortunately, none of those passes work with Ski Apache. To purchase season passes, you'll need to visit Ski Apache's website.
Lodging Options
There are numerous options to stay at Ski Apache around the resort. Check out the available options with the form below.
Ski Apache Terrain Overview
Ski Apache has a total of 55 ski trails, which are serviced by 11 ski lifts, gondolas and/or trams. With 750 acres, Ski Apache has a moderate amount of skiiable terrain available for skiers. This area is equivalent to 304 hectares, 1.2 square miles, or 3.0 square kilometers.
Ski Apache's slopes see on average 180 inches (4.6 meters) of snowfall a year. That is almost 15 feet every year!
Total Runs
55
Lifts
11
Skiable Acres
750(3 km2)
Annual Snowfall
180"(457 cm)
Ski Apache Elevation
Ski Apache has a summit elevation of 12,000 feet, or 3,657 meters. However, not all of that elevation is able to be skied. The base of the ski slope sits at 10,100 feet above sea level, creating a ski hill that is 1,900 feet (579 meters) high. This is referred to as the slope's vertical drop - or a measure of how high the skiable hill is.
The summit of 12,000 feet makes this ski resort one of the highest in the country. The average ski slope summit is around 4,000 feet, so this is extremely high compared to its peers.
Summit Elevation
12,000'(3,657 m)
Vertical Drop
1,900'(579 m)
Base Elevation
10,100'(3,078 m)
Ski Apache Difficulty Level
Difficulty Score™
49out of 100
DID YOU KNOW?
At Parks & Trips, we've created a proprietary Difficulty Score that attempts to show how difficult a particular ski slope is. We get to this number by combining a number of metrics for each resort and comparing them to its peers. Most of the score is based off the amount of easy-intermediate-expert slopes by acreage and the maximum vertical drop of the overall resort, but also includes a few lesser-used metrics as well.
Our algorithm compares each resort’s metrics with all others in North America, then assigns each a Difficulty Score, which we use to rank them accordingly. Resorts with a lower score are easier to ski than those with a higher one. However, a high score does not mean that the resort does not have any easy slopes, or vice versa. This is just an overall score given to the resort based on all its metrics grouped together.
Skiable Terrain by Difficulty Level
Ski Apache has 750 total skiable acres, which can be broken down into the three main groups of difficulty: Beginner, Intermediate, and Expert.
Ski Apache is a beginner-friendly ski area, with about 20% of its trails as easy. However, it also has a fair share of more difficult runs - which account for the remaining 80%.
Beginner
20%(150 acres)
Beginner trails (identified by a green circle) are the easiest trails on the hill with a gradual 25% or less gradient, and are usually wide to accommodate beginner skiers.
Intermediate
60%(450 acres)
Intermediate trails (identified by a blue square) are usually the most popular and crowded runs, which have a slope of anywhere between 25-40%.
Expert
20%(150 acres)
Expert trails (identified by a black diamond... or two) are the hardest slopes on the mountain, and have very steep gradients over 40%.
Is Ski Apache good for beginners?
Ski Apache can be beginner-friendly, depending on the runs you take. While it ranks in the lower half of all North American ski areas in terms of overall difficulty, it still has 80% of its trails rated at or above intermediate.
Ski Apache Location
Ski Apache is located in the state of New Mexico, USA. This ski area is nearest the town of Alto, NM.
Address:
Alto, NM 88312 USA
View on Google Maps
Website:
skiapache.com
GPS Coordinates:
33.40000, -105.78000
Getting to Ski Apache
By Car: If you are driving, you would set your GPS to either the ski resort's name (Ski Apache), its coordinates of 33.40000, -105.78000 (latitude, longitude), or simply drive towards the town of Alto, NM to get close.
By Air: If you are coming in from across the country, then you may need to board an airplane to get here.
A medium-sized airport has scheduled regional airline service. This type of airport may or may not accept international flights. Here are the closest medium-sized airport(s) to Ski Apache.
| Name | Code | City | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roswell Air Center Airport | ROW | Roswell, NM | 72 mi |
| Cavern City Air Terminal | CNM | Carlsbad, NM | 115 mi |
| El Paso International Airport | ELP | El Paso, TX | 115 mi |
There may also be much smaller regional airports next to Ski Apache, but we didn't list them here due to the fact that no major airlines go through them.
Other Nearby Ski Resorts
Skiers will - especially if coming from far away - try and visit a couple different slopes all in the same trip. Here are the closest other ski slopes within 100 miles of Ski Apache.
| Name | Location | Summit | Difficulty Score™ | Distance |
|---|
Ski Apache Mountain Stats
| Name | Statistic |
|---|---|
| Summit Elevation | 12,000 ft |
| Base Elevation | 10,100 ft |
| Vertical Drop | 1,900 ft |
| Trails | 55 (20% Beginner, 60% Intermediate, 20% Expert) |
| Lifts | 11 |
| Skiable Acres | 750 |
| Avg. Annual Snowfall | 180 inches |