When last summer's Los Conchas Fire blew up and raced toward the ski area up-slope from Los Alamos, the prognosis for the survival of Pajarito Mountain looked grim. But amazingly, the resort largely escaped intact, and with this year's good early snowfall is busy providing quality skiing.

"The impacts of the fire were significant in a couple of areas and negligible in others," said Tom Long, Pajarito's general manager. "You can stand on our deck and look out and say, 'What fire?' But, we lost two chairlifts, No. 1 and 5 [respectively, the Spruce and Townsight chairs]. We also lost two trails of the far west-side Gene's Choice and Ma Bell. We are in the process of rebuilding the lifts and will have them back next year."

"We basically dodged a bullet," he said. "Some of that was due to the fact that the runs act as a bit of a firebreak. Wind direction and divine intervention played a role, as did some heroic, titanic efforts on the part of the firefighters. They worked really hard. There was an average of 100 firefighters on the property daily for weeks fighting spot fires.

"We couldn't get our crews back on the mountain for many weeks. It really took the wind out of our sails, physically and emotionally. It took a lot to pick ourselves up. But once we realized there was 150,000 acres all around us burnt to a crisp and that we still had trees and greenery, thank God, that gave us some resolve."

Another victim of last winter's poor snowfall — Pajarito was only open 15 days — was the ski area's new snowmaking system. Pajarito is one of the few ski areas left in the region that does not have snowmaking. "We completed the pond [where snowmaking water will be held] in time for this season but we rely on runoff to fill it and we had none last spring," Long said. "About 70 percent of the system is now installed — everything in the ground, including the pump houses. With a little bit of luck, we will have runoff this season and be able to fill the pond. Next season we will be able to make snow on Bruce's Boulevard, Lower Spruce, Beginner's West, sand through the base area, the unloading areas at the top of chairs four and one-all the high traffic areas. It's been a long time coming and we are really excited about it!"

With the system, the ski area can open early and develop more consistency. "When you don't open or have a bad year, you lose a lot of momentum and business — it takes a long time to recover, like a hangover," he said.

Now in its 54th season, Pajarito is unique in the regional and even national snowsports scene, as it is run as a nonprofit and is largely supported by annual memberships, currently running about 2,000 people. As a ski club, it also enjoys considerable volunteer support and labor.

It is also a family endeavor, unlike most ski resorts, which tend to be corporate-owned. Among the staff here are two of Long's sons, Tom Jr. and Mike. "What makes Los Alamos so unique is the level of community involvement," notes Mike. "The number of volunteers that came out after the fire was amazing. You don't see the sense of community ownership that you find here at many other ski areas."

Adds Tom Jr., "This ski area has held onto that really rich history of volunteer spirit. You look around and everything you see was helped along by their work, and that continues today. The people who cut the runs and built the lifts now have kids and grandkids skiing here. Every ski area has its locals core, who are very important. They love their areas passionately. ... They don't just ski here, they helped build it and maintain it. I really feel a deep connection here, with the amount of work we've done over the years, and Pop's love of it and the business. Building things from the ground up has connected me that much more to it."

Pajarito will present "Rail Jam" this Saturday. A few features from the area's terrain park have been moved to the base so the event can be watched from the cafeteria deck. There will be a live band and beer sales. Pajarito is open Fridays-Sundays and on federal holidays. Its season will extend into April, if conditions allow. Adjoining the resort is a nice complex of maintained Nordic trails for cross-country skiers and snowshoers. For additional details, visit the website www.skipajarito.com or call 662-5725.

Daniel Gibson can be reached at dbgibson@newmexico.com.