Past Trips

Unfortunately, we did not have enough participants for this trip to go. Bill P. 02/10/13

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One of the classic cool season hikes in our neighborhood is Red Wash Canyon near Abiquiu, which straddles the boundary between the Colorado Plateau and the Santa Fe formation that fills the Rio Grande rift. It is surrounded by colorful rock formations, includes a slot canyon of sorts, and, at the top, opens into the Arroyo del Cobre (Copper Canyon), home for even more spectacular formations.

Melissa and I recently had an excellent trip to the Muleshoe Ranch near Willcox, Arizona.

It is a lovely place of wild desert and oases, with many opportunities for hiking, as well as

hot springs on the facility. Our trip report and some photos can be found here.



I'd like to organize a return trip, one large enough that we can rent the whole set of casitas,

which gives us a large kitchen and the place more or less to ourselves, and would allow

Let's go skiing at Cumbres Pass on Sunday March 10.  Out and back X-C ski up the Dixie Creek drainage from Cumbres Pass.  8 miles round trip.  New snow Friday night/Saturday am, so the roads should be OK by Sunday and the snow should be good. 

Meet on the Trinity Drive side of LANB at 7:45.  Leave Los Alamos at 8 am.  (Note:  Daylight savings time starts Sunday March 10!).  Return 6-6:30 pm Sunday evening.  Bring layers of clothing, lunch, water.

After the snowstorm this Wednesday, there are about 5 inches of new snow on the route.  The ski track through Canada Bonito is in very good condition, and trail-breaking in the meadow is easy because the new snow is pretty heavy and a little wind-packed.  Also, the extra snow should make the descent into the Valle de los Posos much easier.  

Avalanche Standard Level 1 Course at Pajarito Mountain, NM February 21-24, 2013 Taught by

Pajarito Mountain Ski Patrol

Are you a backcountry traveler that wishes to learn how to navigate avalanche terrain, or to rescue your partner should they be caught in an avalanche?  Are you a ski patroller desiring avalanche education, whether for application in the line of duty or for personal recreation in the backcountry?  If so, then this course is for you.

As we have done in past years, we will rent a house in Leadville and use that town - the highest city in the U.S. - as a base for snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, and alpine skiing. The latter can be done at funky old Ski Cooper (3 free days with a Pajarito pass), or world class Copper Mountain, just 25 miles and 40 minutes away. We will drive up the afternoon/evening of Thursday February 14, spend 4 nights in Leadville, giving us 3 days for adventures, then return to Los Alamos on Monday the 18th, which is the President's Day holiday.

 Ski Tour from Pajarito Mt. to the Valle Grande, Sunday, February 10, 2013

NOTE: Sign up for this trip is via email (norbert.ensslin@gmail.com) or phone (662-1408) NOT via the Mountaineers website.