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Just a couple hours from Durango, Valles Caldera is a great cross-country skiing destination, with surprisingly good snow and very few visitors.
Valles Caldera National Preserve is a popular hiking destination in the summer and a surprisingly great skiing destination in the winter.
This extinct supervolcano has broad grassy valleys and high peaks. Although the valley elevation is just above 8,000 feet, surrounding peaks reach over 10,000 feet. Pajarito ski area lies on the east side of the park. While the valley only gets about 100 inches of snow a year, the valley floor can get very cold–often below -20 degrees, meaning snow stays fresh and can accumulate deep.
Location: Valles Caldera is in the Jemez Mountains of northern New Mexico. The Valle Grande and other open valleys are the main areas people ski.
Season: Typically from mid‑December through mid‑March, though snow depth and road/vehicle access vary year to year.
Access and roads: During winter, much of the preserve is snow‑covered and vehicle access is limited. Most tours begin from near the cozy visitor center.
Groomed trails: When conditions permit, about12 miles of groomed ski trails are maintained in the Valle Grande area. There are many unplowed roads and forested slopes where you can ski or break trail.
Wildlife and solitude: Because the preserve is large, remote, and less trafficked in winter, you’ll often have the space and silence to yourself.
Gear Essentials
Bigger baskets help in deep or soft snow. Narrow “race” skis are good on groomed tracks but struggle off‑trail.
Dress in layers. Be ready for surprising cold in the early morning but comfortable warmth in the afternoon.
Bring classic or backcountry cross-country skis. These are great items to buy used from theDurango Outdoor Exchange.
Spectacular scenery: Snow‑clad meadows (the “valle grande”), volcanic caldera edges, forests, all in a relatively open space.
Quiet and uncrowded: Unlike heavily groomed resort areas, Valles offers opportunities for peaceful solitude.
Lots of varied terrain: From open valley skiing to forested slopes and ungroomed roads.
Pair with additional adventures: There’s a lot to do in this area, from downhill skiing at Pajarito to hot springs, pre-historic structures, unknown national monuments, and New Mexican cuisine.
Important to note:There is no food or accommodations available in the park, and there are no established campgrounds or backcountry camping permits. If camping on non-preserve lands nearby, be aware of how much colder it can be in the Jemez Mountains than in surrounding areas. Also note that if entering the preserve from Los Alamos, you will drive through a security post staffed by the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Consider bringing a pair of back country XC skis with metal edges and wider bases for the valley’s ungroomed terrain.
Pack a heavier down jacket, an extra base layer in case your main one sweats through, and thick extra socks.
Bring a lunch and a thermos.
VisitDurango Outdoor Exchange to learn more.
When spending one night (or many) in the backcountry, a warm dinner at night and hot beverage in the morning can make the difference. That invariably involves using a stove of some sort–but which one?
Stove technology has been around for decades, but new tech is making them lighter, more efficient, and more dependable than ever before. Here’s a rundown of the different kinds of backpacking stoves:
If you are camping in bear country, or in any place where food storage is a concern, you should strongly consider using a bear canister–a storage system that is built to keep bears out of your food. And in some places, particularly parks in California, Montana, Colorado, and Washington,backcountry campers are required to have and use bear canisters.
While you may get lucky by hanging your food in a sack from a tree, this is not permitted in many areas and virtually impractical in many alpine anddesert backpacking zones. Bear canisters are the preferred method for storing food and other smelly items, but there are many kinds to be aware of. Let’s look at them in more detail.
For many hikers, summiting one of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks is a lifetime achievement. Others make it their entire personality, working for years and even decades to climb all of them. Some make a goal of climbing them all in a single season while others try to ski them all.
The problem with climbing 14ers for many people is that they are difficult–and we’re not just talking about the thin air. Of the 58 in Colorado, about one-third entrail considerable exposure and require skilled route-finding and ascent/descent skills. About half have either moderate or considerable challenges. Just eight are considered “easy.”
Hikers looking to summit a 14er near Durango will find four that rank generally as easy or the easy end of moderate. They are all in the same two canyons and can be climbed by someone with decent fitness, good shoes, and a penchant for waking up early. The roads to access all these peaks are part of the Alpine Loop and can be driven from Silverton in a four-wheel drive such as a Tacoma, but are generally not in all-wheel drives like Subarus.
Ready? Here goes!