Winter is here and teens are flocking to the mountains to ski and snowboard, but with rising prices of lift tickets, it's getting to be a pain in the wallet.

Santa Fe teens regularly shell out dubious amounts of cash just to strap up and have some fun on the mountain.

Even if you just plan on going half-day, the price is a minuscule difference and the hours are meant to either make you wake up at the crack of dawn or force you to stay until dark. Why they can't have a half-day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. is beyond me. In fact, many mountains only offer an afternoon half day. This means that even if one wanted to go for a morning half day you would have to pay full-day prices.

Ski Santa Fe offers both morning and afternoon half days, but the charge is the exact same as full day. What's the point? In teen world, $50 is a lot. Want to go two times a week? That's $100.

But Candy DeJoia, the marketing director for Ski Santa Fe, notes that that's just the way it is.

"Skiing has never been an inexpensive sport," DeJoia said. She also says that ticket prices go up just like everything else does. But Ski Santa Fe does offer a "Peak Plus Card" that takes $20 off a ticket "which brings the price into an affordable range," DeJoia said.

Taos Ski Valley comes in at $60 for full day and $50 for half.

Pajarito Mountain in Los Alamos charges around $45 a ticket. But it might not be worth the $5 savings to pack up your gear and head there. But if you're just hopping on a board for the first time, I recommend Pajarito because of the wide and easy runs.

Sipapu is another mountain that Santa Fe teens frequent, but plan on setting aside the whole day in order to account for the long drive. There is usually a nice mix of skiers and boarders from Taos, Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Los Alamos. You can find both easy and hard runs and everything in between. There a half day costs $30 and full day $40. Not bad, but not exactly good.

DeJoia questions whether there's such thing as a "bad ski mountain."

So even though I will not be smiling when I cough up the $50, you better be sure that it'll be worth it in the end.

Jahla Seppanen is a senior at Monte del Sol. You can reach her at jnm747@hotmail.