FIRE SHOVEL RACES RETURN TO RESORT REPLICA OF 'THE WALL' AT VIETNAM MEMORIAL
Winter is for families! NEW! FLIGHTS TO
Angel Fire Resort, nestled high in northern New Mexico’s Sangre de Cristo range, o families gather, and children and adults experience the joy of snow for the first time, surrounded by crisp air and bluebird skies.
ON BEHALF OF THE VILLAGE OF Angel Fire, I am honored to welcome you to our magnificent mountain community! Nestled in the enchanting Sangre de Cristo mountains, Angel Fire is a place where stunning natural beauty meets a warm, inviting spirit.
I discovered Angel Fire on a family vacation. We returned regularly, in both winter and summer, to enjoy all the valley has to offer. It was not long before I began working in the valley and made Angel Fire my home. Finally, we were lucky
enough to raise our family in this beautiful slice of paradise.
Our community prides itself on our welcoming atmosphere. You will nd friendly faces ready to share stories and help you discover the hidden gems of our town. We are committed to ensuring that your visit is not only memorable — but enjoyable.
Now is an exciting time in
Angel Fire. The village is embarking on many new projects, which are designed to improve both our services and facilities for guests and locals. Our premier project is commercial airline service to the Angel Fire Airport. We hope this addition makes travel to Angel Fire more convenient for all. This is only the beginning of the village’s dedication to make
Angel Fire the most wonderful place to visit or call home.
Be careful, Angel Fire is a very captivating place. You may come to love it like I do: a place where you can checkout anytime you like, but you may never leave.
Warm regards,
The biggest change coming to this community is the return of daily seasonal ights between Angel Fire and Albuquerque. Flight schedules were still being nalized at press time, but Advanced Air plans to provide one daily round-trip between Angel Fire Airport and Albuquerque International Sunport December to March and June to September. Flights will utilize a nine-passenger King Air 350 turboprop aircraft on the new route, with one-way tickets expected to cost about $79.
“Not only will it enhance tourism during our peak seasons, such as summer and the ski season,” Angel Fire Mayor BJ Lindsey said, “It will also provide our residents with improved access to Albuquerque International Sunport and, importantly, better access to healthcare.”
Along the same lines, the Village of Angel Fire plans to collaborate with Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Taos to secure on-site car rental pickup at the airport, alongside long-
term parking and a restaurant vendor.
In April 2023, OnTheSnow. com’s visitors and app users chose Angel Fire Resort as the most family-friendly ski resort top in North America — and no wonder. As OnTheSnow. com noted, “Angel Fire has no shortage of activities and experiences designed for families, from a great children’s ski school to family-friendly lodging
CHRISTUS St. Vincent is proud to be New Mexico’s only large, full-service hospital to earn Leapfrog’s ‘A’ grade for patient safety and quality care. As part of the Mayo Clinic Care Network, our expert providers collaborate with Mayo Clinic specialists to ensure you receive top-tier, personalized care right here at home. Enjoy the peace of mind that comes with extraordinary care from a trusted provider, with no additional costs.
Trust your care to those you know. The results are extraordinary. The care is personal.
to off-mountain activities and more.”
Every year the resort makes improvements big and small. In recent years it added energy-ef cient snowmaking equipment and this year, crews have been making signi cant trail updates that include the return of Park Avenue, a new blue trail for winter 2024-25. Park Avenue was a ski trail that was converted to a 4x Bike Park Track for the World Cup Mountain Bike Series in 2005. Later, it transitioned to a bike trail called Dual Slalom, and was used for downhill MTB competitions and events.
Resort of cials noted,
“While it has been a fun bike park trail for 19 years, our Bike Park has grown exponentially, and it was time to bring this one back for winter use.”
head to the Angel Fire Dog Park (at the Allen Fields Sports Complex) Rules are posted for this off-leash at-your-own-risk dog park. (If you use GPS to nd Allen Field, the Dog Park is about 600 feet down the little hill west of the baseball eld.)
The only night skiing in New Mexico
Angel Fire Resort remains the only resort in the state to offer night skiing and snowboarding on over 50 acres of groomed trails and its Night Rider terrain park 4 to 7 p.m. weekends and during holidays. Visitors can buy a night skiing ticket or a discounted pass if they also skied during the day.
Learning the right way
this park is all about the ride! With its small boxes, beginner friendly rails and mellow jumps, Tank 9 on Headin’ Home is the perfect park for warming up or catching air on your last lap down for the day!
Take a small hike up to Night Rider on Exhibition all day and into the night for rails, a fun box amd quarter pipe
Angel Fire Resort has endorsed and adopted the National Ski Areas Association’s Your Responsibility Code, which helps skiers and boarders be aware of the elements of risk in snowsports that common sense and personal awareness can help reduce this risk. Check TerrainParkSafety.org for safety tips.
For many locals the biggest, most exciting news came with the announcement that Shovel Races are returning in February. (See page 22.)
Non-skiing resort activities include: A two-lane tubing hill; an old-fashioned sledding hill, apré s-hour activities for both kids and couples, and smores and hot chocolate at the base. Guests can also take advantage of the tness center and indoor pool.
The nearby Angel Fire Community Center (15 Cs Ranch Rd, Angel Fire, NM 87710) is the place to go for indoor fun: Check the calendar for weekly quilting, basketball, Mahjongg, pickleball, yoga, and volleyball. On warm days, kiddos can play at the children’s playground outside.
Families with fur babies can
Several programs at Angel Fire Resort’s Children’s Ski School help parents get the most of their time on the slopes while the kids learn to ski and board. While the Resort no longer offers the 5th Grade Ski Free Program, parents can nd other discounts and lesson programs for children, including:
• Private Ski Lessons for the those as young as 2 years old.
• Lil’ Jalapeno’s, a full-day ski program for 3-year-olds.
• Lil’ Chiles is a full-day Ski Program and Lil’ Poppers is a full-day Snowboard Program — both for 4- and 5-year-olds.
Find more programs for older children, teens and adults at angel reresort.com.
Liberation Park, with its own dedicated lift, is undergoing a complete rebuild with new rails, boxes, dance oors, tabletops, rollers and dynamic new jumps.
Sweet Street is a roller park full of fast banks and turns that allow you to feel speed and get sucked into your turns. There are no rails or jumps here —
Angel Fire Resort’s luxury RV Resort, two miles from the lifts, offers over 100 RV spaces plus a well-appointed private clubhouse, paved roads, fully concreted, over-sized spaces with easy pull-through access and 30/50-amp electrical pedestals, DirecTV access, bathrooms, showers and laundry facilities, convenient Wi-Fi access, a Jacuzzi, dog parks and more. angel rervresort.com
State-of-the-art web cams
Watching the snow fall in real time and seeing the most updated views of the ski mountain and the surrounding peaks in HD are available to all meteorologists, guests and those just looking to see if they should call-in sick to catch a few runs on the mountain.
Angel Fire Resort’s stateof-the-art Prism Onyx camera at the summit offers the most powerful 24mp imagery, ultra-wide panorama views in the state - including the top of the resort, Wheeler Peak and the Moreno Valley. angel reresort. com/weather. —Staff Report
By EllenMiller-Goins
THE STREET THAT HEADS TO ANGEL FIRE RESORT WAS called North Angel Fire Road until 2018, the year Bill Burgess died. That year, Angel Fire’s Village Council passed a formal resolution, full of the requisite “Whereas” paragraphs, renaming North Angel Fire Road Bill Burgess Boulevard.
With good reason.
“There is very little in Angel Fire or in New Mexico skiing that was not in uenced by Bill,” Robin May, Angel Fire Resort's ski school director and Burgess’ longtime friend, said.
Born July 28, 1937, in Spokane, Washington, Burgess rst learned on a set of hand-me-down skis and boots from his sister. After skiing at Mt. Spokane for several years, he taught his rst class in 1955.
In 1960, while stationed in the Army at Fort Ord, California, Bill went to the Presidio in San Francisco and talked his way into the 6th Army Recreation Group, which went to Squaw Valley to help with the 1960 Winter Olympic Games. Bill was assigned to a ski platoon, which followed Willy Schaef er, the director of ski events for the Olympic Games at Squaw Valley, all over the mountain. He eventually became one of the rst certi ed ski instructors in the Army. After getting out of the Army Bill taught at several ski areas throughout the West and became a certi ed instructor with the nascent Rocky Mountain Ski Instructor Association.
In 1966 Bill arrived at the LeBus family’s brand-new Angel Fire Ski Area to teach skiing and to assist in promoting the edgling resort. “The reason I came to Angel Fire is that it was the rst time I could combine the two things I really like to do in life, advertising art and teaching skiing,” Burgess said. It was a year-round position that paid $500 a month — “a whole lot better than most ski bums were doing!”
The ski mountain’s rst lifts had problems, Burgess said. “But we had skiers, so we put benches in the back of a Thiokol Sprite and hauled them up. We had fewer than 1,000 skiers that rst year. Some even paid! I think lift fees were $6 for adults.”
Angel Fire in those days was not yet a ski town—it was still a working ranch. Bill was called on to help with such cow-hand chores as castrating the young bull calves.
The second year, Angel Fire didn’t open. Although the story circulated that lack of snow kept Angel Fire from opening, Bill recalled that it was “really nancial trouble.” He moonlighted at Red River as a ski instructor and taught brie y at Big Mountain in Montana before returning to Angel Fire.
“He did a little bit of everything. He could fabricate just about anything — not just stories,” May said. “Bill had a card made up that, I think, said, ‘Director of Marketing, Chief Bingo Caller, Assistant Plumber.’ Bill created the rst logos [for Angel Fire], helped locate and erect the rst lifts and laid out some of our iconic runs. When the LeBus family got him to set up the rst satellite Post Of ce, he took Drawer A ... and the resort got Drawer B!”
Bill was also instrumental in opening the rst Nordic ski area at Angel Fire. In 1970 as a new board member of Rocky Mountain Ski Instructors of America, he said, “I discussed with the board the plethora of Nordic enthusiasts who were teaching ... oft times operating out of a ’56 Dodge station wagon and ill-equipped in skills, safety and survival gear.”
He worried about the damage these y-by-night “instructors” would do to skiing the day headlines blared, “Ski instructor’s group killed in avalanche.”
“We agreed the best way
to in ltrate their ranks was for one of us to get involved in that part of the sport.”
The board voted to send Burgess to the great Sven Wiik — former U.S. Olympic Nordic coach and owner of the Scandinavian Lodge and Mt. Werner Training Center — to take part in Wiik’s week-long Nordic instructor program.
“I was pretty juiced about it,” Burgess said. “A year after that I opened up Angel Fire Nordic Ski School.”
His plan to in ltrate worked, too, Burgess said. “It took us three years to form a Nordic division, then national [Professional Ski Instructors of America] followed suit.”
The seeds for Angel Fire’s “Shovel Racing World
Championships” were planted in the ’70s when lift operators, looking for a quick way to return to the base area, began using their work shovels to ride down the slopes.
In January 1972, Bill said, a scoop rider named Mike Miller kept challenging him to race “and to get him out of my hair, I consented to hold the rst race.” The next year Bill and others began planning, and in 1974, Angel Fire hosted “the world’s rst of cial shovel race.”
Traditionally, the rst week of February was a slow ski week and Bill used the idea to boost attendance. It eventually grew from just number-12 grain scoops to high-tech drag sprints between racers on super-modi ed sleds.
Bill commentated but in the early days he competed, too, both as a straight-up shovel rider and creator of parade- oat contraptions that always included a shovel somewhere.
In 1982, he moved to Jackson Hole to become sales and marketing vice president for Somerset corporation. While there he landed an annual gig teaching a royal Saudi family in Europe.
“[Jackson Hole] was a very vibrant place then, but ... I got sick of freezing my butt off in the winter,” Burgess said. “[Angel Fire’s] skiing weather here is better than anywhere in Europe or the U.S.”
Bill came back to Angel Fire in 1987.
Longtime friend Curt Hanlen, now of Albuquerque, said, “We didn’t have much of a marketing budget but we brought the party to Angel Fire. Bill was always famous for throwing something up against the wall and seeing if it sticks. He was the most creative, articulate, spontaneous man I’ve ever known. Whether it was shovel races or Paul Bunyan days. We created the fun. We created events all the time. In 1992 we had over 30 events. And those events were made better
because Bill was part of them.”
The duo co-hosted the shovel races, too, Hanlen said. “I was the play-by-play announcer and he was the color commentary. He always found things to keep people’s interest. There were a couple of races where we had 1,000 to 2,000 people watching. He was the quintessential emcee.”
Hanlen and Burgess also hit the road to promote Angel Fire. “We convinced [then owner] Gary Plante to let us do ski shows around the country and give away a gift certi cate for a free lift ticket. We said if we give someone a single ticket in Dallas or LA or Boston, they’re going to buy lodging, ski rentals, food...
“We put a sign in our booth. ‘Ask me about free lift tickets.’ We gave away about 10,000 but the return to Angel Fire more than made up for the free lift tickets.”
Bill was also an accomplished artist. As owner of The Art Works in Angel Fire. He specialized in painting signs and sculpting. In the early days of his business he liked creating
advertising art and brochures but he scaled that back because of what he viewed as an overemphasis on computers.
“I like to do dimensional art,” Bill said. “I’d really rather make sawdust than sit behind a computer.”
Robin May said, “Bill was an apprentice to the great [Spokane] artist Harold Balazs and started the Art Works, his graphic art studio and sign making studio, in Angel Fire in 1966. Many of the iconic high-quality signs in the Enchanted Circle were designed and produced there. Bill was one of the last real Letterhead hand painting calligraphers to practice that art in the country.”
“Bill worked in all sorts of mediums…. He did sculptures, he did etched glass, gold leaf, he did sand blasting, he did oils, he did egg tempura, he did silk screening… just about any type of art. He was curious to learn new skills. If he read about something, he wanted to try it.
Along with being instrumental in the early development of Angel Fire Resort, Bill was a co-founder of Ski New Mexico and the Angel Fire Chamber of Commerce. Through the years he has served as a board member and of cer of both organizations. He was the second person to be voted as “Outstanding Person in Travel” by his peers in the Association of Commerce and Industry (Taos Ski Valley founder Ernie Blake was the rst to receive the honor).
Bill famously painted a map of New Mexico ski areas for Ski New Mexico.
“Colorado was not there,” May said. “I think it had Wyoming on our northern border.”
That painting, which be-
came a “There Is No Colorado, Ski New Mexico” ad that was featured in ski publications, was popular with New Mexico skiers — and infuriated Colorado Resorts.
Despite his many contributions to art, skiing, and New Mexico tourism — including a position on the Tourism Association of New Mexico (TANM) board representing New Mexico’s ski and resort industry — more than anything Bill loved skiing… and teaching skiing, which he did for over 60 years.
“I think all teaching is an ego trip because you take somebody who has a desire to learn and you know that, because of your input and guidance, that they have become better skiers and that feels wonderful,” Burgess said.
Ski instructor, raconteur, and, by his own description, “itinerant ne’er-do-well,” Burgess was a marketing director;
ski school director; rst elected president of Ski New Mexico; president of the Rocky Mountain Ski Instructors Association (now called the Professional Ski Instructors of America — Rocky Mountain); director of the national Professional Ski Instructors of America; “star” of learnto-ski television; vice president for sales and marketing for the Somerset Corporation (Jackson Hole, Wyoming); sport organizer for the ESPN X Games shovel race competition — it’s hard to know where to stop listing his achievements and contributions to skiing.… all of which led to Bill’s induction into the New Mexico Ski Hall of Fame in 2009.
He was 81 when he lost his battle with cancer but as a “younger man” he said, “When I started skiing… we jumped over everything. I’m 74 years old and I still like to get air!”
by EllenMiller-Goins
with snow? Shovel racing! Many Angel Fire locals, former locals and longtime visitors have fond memories of racing down Exhibition with a shovel between their legs, so this community was abuzz when, after a fouryear hiatus, Angel Fire Resort announced the return of shovel racing for 2025.
“Oh my gosh!” champion racer Kelly Haukebo of Angel Fire said when she heard the news. “I’ve been hearing the rumor. I didn’t know if it was really going to happen, but I told my son [Niko, also a veteran racer] ‘You better put this on your schedule!’”
Haukebo competed in her rst race in 1992 when Joe Haukebo, her then-boyfriend, invited her up from Amarillo “and he said, ‘I entered you in the shovel races next weekend.’”
“What are those?” she asked. He (evasively) assured her it was “really fun.” When she rst saw the race course, Haukebo says, “My eyes grew
very large because I was like ‘What!? I thought you shuf ed down a little hill!’”
All the Haukebo children began shovel racing as small children, Kelly says. “Both Sepp and Gentry landed a spot as contestants on the Nickelodeon game show ‘Figure It Out,’ and the celebrity panel could not gure out that they were downhill shovel racing champions,” Kelly says. “They both won great prizes.”
According to the late, great Bill Burgess, shovel racing was born in the early 1970s, the days before snowmaking and
high-dollar grooming equipment, the days when “please ll in your sitzmark" signs dotted the slopes. (“Sitzmark” is the German word for the hole you make when you fall in soft snow.) Staff would “groom” trails using a grain scoop and ammonium nitrate fertilizer. They repaired bare spots and sitzmarks by spreading the fertilizer on the bare areas and shoveling snow from trail edges. Fertilizer melted the snow just enough to bond it in place.
In 1972, Mike Miller challenged Bill Burgess to a race, shovel versus skis, and an event
was born (see Burgess’ history on page 16). The following year, the late Bob Harney designed a modi ed shovel based on a tricycle. He replaced wheels on the rear with a foam-padded grain scoop — just the shovel-end — and the front with a pair of snowmobile skis, which were steered by the handlebars. Harney was unopposed in the new “modi ed class,” but Miller defeated him in a challenge for the fastest overall shovel.
a new, exciting racing class with speeds over 70 miles per hour, and these modi ed “shovels” came to resemble Indy-race cars, with cockpits, ve-point driver’s harnesses, steel-framed roll cages, Plexiglass cockpit covers, suspension systems to oat their skis over the bumps… and brakes.
Talented sculptors also began to compete in the Modi ed Unique class — a kinetic sculpture event with creations like a giant Bart Simpson, the Taj Mahal and Mickey Mouse…. Shovel racing peaked with national sponsors, television coverage on many national and international outlets, and an appearance by the top modi ed shovel racers at the rst ESPN Winter X Games.
Harney’s creation spawned
Even before its last race in 2020, Angel Fire Resort had eliminated the risky modi ed events. The event saw one other hiatus beginning in 2005, and upon its return in 2010, the late mountain manager John Burt said the resort “had to take a breather from this popular event due to concerns for safety with the modi ed shovel racers, some of which were starting to look like NASA rockets ... We [are] getting back to the basics with just the oldschool production shovels.”
by EllenMiller-Goins
A FEW THREADS HAVE FOLLOWED MICHAEL HAWKINS FOR MOST OF HIS LIFE: passion for skiing, a thirst for adventure, photography — and astronomy.
Hawkins, who currently helms the marketing department at Angel Fire Resort, says he learned to ski in Angel Fire on family vacations from Fort Worth, Texas. He was born and raised on those plains and, spent his childhood “digging up dinosaur bones, reading, skateboarding and playing too much Nintendo,” according to his website.
“I remember going to the Fort Worth, Museum of Science and History to look through one of their telescopes after the Comet Shoemaker–Levy 9 comet impacted Jupiter, and you could see the dark marks on the planet,” Hawkins says. “I remember looking at that as a kid and thinking, it was really cool.”
He graduated in 2010 with a degree in anthropology from Southern Methodist University, but notes it was while serving as
a Peace Corps volunteer 2012-14, teaching English and Earth science, that he again got interested in astronomy.
“I was in a country called [The Republic of] Vanuatu, which is in between Fiji and Australia in the South Paci c, so there was just an incredibly dark sky, looking up at the core of the Milky Way. On moonless nights, I was able to see with the naked eye the Large Magellanic and Small Magellanic Clouds [galaxies that orbit the Milky Way], and I thought to myself, ‘I really got to get myself a telescope whenever I get some money and I’m not living in a shack!’”
With a career trajectory that combined his passion for photog-
raphy with outdoor adventure, Hawkins landed at Angel Fire Resort where he manages the marketing department and continues building the resort’s impressive digital library of photos and other content. He’s also a FAA licensed drone pilot and creates photo and video content for multiple uses. Skiing, naturally, always means bringing a camera along.
“I rst picked up a camera in my late teens, and I’ve been a photographer ... for nearly 20 years,” Hawkins said in “16 Questions about 1 Photo,” a story Flickr did about his image of the Lagoon and Tri d Nebulas. “Photography allows the two sides of my brain to meet in the middle, and it just brings me a lot of joy.”
Oh, and he got that telescope and became intimately acquainted with the night sky, a pursuit he segued into Stargazing & S’mores events by Monte Verde Lake. “We were looking for events and activities we could do to help enrich our guests’ experiences. I enjoy talking about the night sky, and I enjoy showing people things they haven’t seen before. Whenever we do the night sky interpretations, I will point out constellations with a green laser pointer, because it’s brighter. We’ll use the telescope to look at like globular clusters, nebula[e], planets and things like that.”
Although the best viewing is during a new moon, Hawkins says, “I schedule them around the rst quarter moon because a lot of children come to these things. Kids struggle to see like the diffuse things, but it’s really hard to ignore a moon.”
Angel Fire’s night sky is ideal with its rural setting, high altitude and calm, cold, clear winter skies. “We’re in just such a dark sky area,” Hawkins says. “When I’m showing people the night sky, I’m often surprised that so many people haven’t seen so many stars or been able to see like the Milky Way. It’s just [a] wonderful place to look up at night.”
IT’S
s in the Leo arm, which is why you see individual stars.
With binoculars, the whole sky opens up Slowly sweep the Milky Way and look for small, fuzzy, round patches of light If you look very carefully, you might see some very tiny points of light. These balls of light are globular clusters — very large groups of up to one million stars. Smaller groupings of stars that look like swarms of insects are called open clusters If you see
an irregular-shaped patch of light, it may be a glowing area of gas and dust called a nebula.
There is far more to see in the sky than could ever be covered here, but if you like what you see with your naked eye or binoculars, explore more by heading to a library or book store The book “Astronomy with
Binoculars” will keep you looking up, and staying up, for many nights to come.
Leonid Meteor showers
Nov. 17-18
A nearly full moon will make it difficult to see, but you may catch a few bright ones
New Moon
Dec. 1 & 30, Jan.
29, Feb. 2, March
29 & April 27
Ideal for stargazing!
Jupiter at Opposition
Dec. 7
Jupiter will be brighter than any other time of the year and will be visible all night long.
Geminid Meteor shower
Dec. 13-14
Produces up to 120 meteors per hour at its peak. Sadly, this year’s is also near a full moon
Quadrantid Meteor shower
Jan. 1-5
Peak is from night of Jan 3 to morning of Jan. 4.
Mars
Jan. 16
The fiery planet will be brighter than any other time
Lyrids Meteor Shower April 16-25
Where there’s skiing, there’s snow, so it only makes sense to celebrate the season in the mountains. From torchlight parades to Santa suits, holiday reverence runs deep around here.
The Village of Angel Fire ushers in the holiday season with a Community Tree Lighting Ceremony Friday, Nov. 29, 5-6:30 p.m., with Christmas caroling, a visit from Santa Claus, children’s crafts, plus a Christmas Tree Auction, s’mores, and hot chocolate sale to support the Angel Fire Ski and Snowboard Teams.
Shop for unique gifts from local artists and artisans during the annual Holiday Market, Dec. 7, 9 a.m. -5 p.m., at the Angel Fire Community Center. The event also fea-
tures a visit from Santa. Call 575-377-6353.
Angel Fire Resort’s holiday-themed happenings include the annual Torchlight Parade and Fireworks Christmas and New Year’s Eve, weather permitting, plus Skiing or Snowboarding with Santa and Mrs. Claus Christmas Day
If you can think of no better way to celebrate New Year’s Day than a refreshing dip in icy water, head for the annual Polar Bear Plunge and Stomp at Eagle Nest Lake, Sunday,
Jan. 1, 2025, weather permitting. Sponsored by Friends of Eagle Nest Lake and Cimarron Canyon State Parks, this event kicks off with a Polar Bear Stomp (hike or snowshoe) along the Eagle Nest Lake Trail at 1 p.m. followed by the Plunge at 2:15 p.m. (Shoes are required.) Hot chocolate and cookies will be served. Both events are free; however, a daily ($5) or annual State Park pass is required. Register for both events at noon at the Eagle Nest Lake State Park Visitor Center. 575-377-1594. friendsofeaglenestlake.org/events. — Staff Report
chapel, a wall and images of war
by EllenMiller-Goins
National Memorial outside Angel Fire: a photograph of a boy, his face still with baby fat, partially obscured by his helmet, and other faces of war hang in the Visitor Center. They say Vietnam Veterans National Memorial outside Angel Fire. They say memory exists as a series of chemical and electrical impulses in our brains. Maybe, but it hardly explains the shadows that haunt us beyond, even, our own memories.
The Memorial stands as such a memory — for those who served, for those who lost, for those who seek understanding. Even if, for some, the Vietnam War is nothing more than a chapter in American history, the images at this place will touch you.
Hovering in the foreground there’s a Vietnam War workhorse — a “Huey” helicopter.
Inside, the heavily textured walls curve toward a cross surrounded by owers, lit by a tall strand of light.
Photographs of slain soldiers line the walls — David Westphall in the center surrounded by 12 others (who are rotated monthly from memorial les).
Westphall, 28, was killed along with 12 of his comrades in an ambush May 22, 1968. After the funeral, his father Dr. Victor Westphall and mother Jeanne, were discussing what to do with David’s $30,000 insurance policy when she thought of the “Vietnam Veterans Peace and Brotherhood Chapel.” On May 22, 1971, the third anniversary of David’s death, the chapel was dedicated — 11 years prior to “The Wall,” the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The chapel was ultimately used to propel the creation of “The Wall,” but in 1968, a memorial to Vietnam veterans was an unpopular notion. For
years, the Westphall family relied on their own funds and donations to keep it going. In 1982, Disabled Americans Veterans (DAV) took over management and built a visitors’ center. In 1998, the DAV relinquished the memorial back to Westphall. It was operated by the nonpro t David Westphall Veterans Foundation until 2005 when it became a New Mexico State Park. Then, in 2017, the state Department of Veterans’ Services stepped in to manage the memorial.
Over the years, the site has seen numerous changes. Its visitor center and museum
offer a library of over 1,000 books and 2,000 photographs, memorabilia exhibits, touchable displays, artwork, sculptures, an amphitheater, and a memorial walkway with bricks commemorating over 7,000 veterans (more are added every year), memorial gardens, a Huey Helicopter on display on Memorial grounds, and the gravesites of Doc and Jeanne. The Memorial also overlooks the Angel Fire State Veterans Cemetery, which opened in July 2020.
But the most exciting change came with the June 2024 installation of a half scale replica of the of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall.
The museum is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily during the winter months and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. during the summer months. The gift shop is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily and closed on Mondays during the winter months. The Chapel and grounds are open 24/7. The Memorial is closed on Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.
by EllenMiller-Goins
SAFE TO SAY, SÓLYOM “HAWK” FERENCZY IS AWARE of what immediately comes to mind when he says he grew up in the Carpathian Mountains of Transylvania, now part of Romania. In his pro le as a board member of the Association of Professional Patrollers, Ferenczy writes, “I began learning and connecting telemark turns in the steep runs in the backyard of Count Dracula.”
Ferenczy, Angel Fire Resort’s ski and bike patrol director since 2011, says skiing became a part of his life before he was old enough to remember. “I was two and a half years old when the rst time [my parents] put me on skis. I pretty much grew up skiing.”
He preferred the traditional telemark turn but switched to Alpine skiing for ski racing. “Every school — every middle school, high school, college — had a ski team and there were several ski clubs in every town. So ski racing was pretty big, and that’s when I turned to the Alpine style. But as soon as I started ski patrolling in ’85 I went back to the telemark, and I still telemark. It keeps me young. I’m 63.”
Thanks to Angel Fire’s Bike Park, with its 60-plus miles of lift-served downhill terrain, Ferenczy and his team work almost all year-round. “I am the director of ski and bike patrol. The bike patrol pretty much does the same things as the ski patrol: opening the runs in the morning, maintaining the runs, a lot of risk management, responding to medical emergencies ...”
Angel Fire’s patrollers step in to help with medical concerns. “As you probably know, almost 90 percent of our clientele come from Texas, almost from sea level. They get up here and then they get on mountain almost to 11,000 feet and, of course, that’s tough.”
Angel Fire’s ski and bike patrollers are all paid professionals, Ferenczy says. “We are af liated with the National Ski Patrol, and
we also are af liated with the the Association of Professional Patrollers. All our training programs and certi cation programs are based on curriculums and training by Association of Professional Patrollers.”
The training itself is on par with other emergency medical training but Ferenczy notes, “Our ski patrol has a mix of outdoor emergency care technicians, EMT-B, EMT-A, paramedics ... One of them is a part timer because he works with the re department. Another is a ight paramedic with a hot shot crew in California [summers].
“We are trained and certi ed in 10 different curriculum modules starting with the skiing,” Ferenczy explains, adding by the time he and his team learn the requisite skills — medical assessment, treatment and evacuation, rope rescue, tower climbing and aerial evacuation, hill safety, risk management, and avalanche science, rescue and mitigation using explosives —they are fully certi ed.
He admits Angel Fire, due to its relatively lower elevation and shorter slopes, has minimal avalanche risk. “The majority of our avalanche mitigation work starts with the organic work, foot packing and ski cutting.” For the uninitiated, “ski cutting” is de ned as making a hard single fast turn from safe zone to safe zone (or while using a rope).
After graduating college in 1985, Ferenczy worked at ski resorts in France, Italy, Austria and Switzerland, then he says,
“I needed a break. I sold all my climbing and ski equipment and bought a pair of soft y- shing rods and moved to Belize in 1997.”
He spent two years amid the jungles and beaches and says while “it was a great experience, I started missing the snow.”
Ferenczy moved to the U.S. in 1999 and spent the next several years working at ski resorts in Arizona, Utah and Wyoming before ending up in Angel Fire, where he lives with his wife Shauna Cooper and their dogs. “It is pretty in Northern New Mexico, especially this area.”
In addition to telemark skiing, he still loves y shing and ski mountaineering —both admitted “passions.”
A former y- shing guide, on his Association of Professional Patrollers page he notes, “Fly shing is much more fun in the summers when I have a chance to sh with my friends (and for myself). I do not miss guiding, not yet.”
He calls ski patrolling “the best job in the whole ski industry. With my position, I can buckle my boots every morning and be on the mountain all day with my patrol and [I’ve] spent only a few hours per season in meetings.”
BEFORE ANGEL FIRE GREW OUT OF THE LAND AROUND
Agua Fria Peak in 1964, spurred by the singular vision of Roy LeBus, ranching, farming and logging ruled the day — though Eagle Nest saw a few tourists who came to sh Eagle Nest Lake, and perhaps enjoy a little illegal gambling. Then, as now, parents sought to ensure the best possible education for their children. That has not changed, though one could argue today’s children enjoy a few more ... conveniences than those who attended one of the rst valley schools.
School days in the ’20s, ’30s and even the ’40s, were de nitely rougher for the old-timers who attended the Moreno Valley Consolidated School, located about 6 miles north of Angel Fire. (Fire destroyed the building in 1952.) In 1999, before their stories, too, were lost to history, several former pupils (all of whom have since passed away) shared their memories of the school that began as a oneroom schoolhouse before the larger building was built around 1928.
By EllenMiller-Goins
The school, built from logs and rocks by parents and members of the community, had three or four rooms and a “little matchbox gym which we played basketball in,” Joe Gherardini of Eagle Nest recalled. The school also had a kitchen, and according to its former students, burned in 1952 when some girls were baking pies. The old timers believe a chimney re was the cause. Because it was the rst day of elk-hunting season, all the men were hunting, so there was no one to help extinguish the blaze.
Students started every school day with the Pledge of Allegiance and the song “Good Morning Dear Teacher.” Gherardini noted the curriculum included “arithmetic, literature, history, algebra, typing and smidgen of geometry.”
A 1938–39 yearbook belonging to Johnny Brandenburg of Red River noted, “Moreno Valley School offers Vocational, Commercial and College Preparatory courses. The vocational offerings consist of agriculture for the boys and home economics
for the girls. The commercial department offers bookkeeping, typing and shorthand.” Courses consisted of “three units of science, four units of English, two units of mathematics, two units of Spanish and four units of social science ... Practically every student is in one of the glee clubs and several are taking piano lessons. The percentage of students taking
part in athletics and dramatics is especially high ...”
“All
The late Philip Mutz of Eagle Nest said, “We had a good school with lots of extra-curricular activities, basketball, intramural, glee club, school plays ...”
“One year a blizzard was coming in so Creecy (Carson Creecy, the school principal) dismissed school at 2 o’clock. We didn’t get to Eagle Nest until 6 o’clock. It was about 51/2 or 6 miles. All traffic was stopped but we kept going.
The late Leo Arko, who grew up between Eagle Nest and Angel Fire recalled walking “about a mile and a half” to get to school. During a storm,
“When we hit those drifts, I’d back up and all the boys would get out and I’d gun it to make new tracks. They would all get behind the bus and push it. We got to Eagle Nest an
challenge so they found places to stay in the Moreno Valley during the school year.
Johnny: “Tony Jr. and I lived with the Mutzes in the bunkhouse at the ranch during the school term. The cabin we lived in had cracks in the walls so we kept a tarpaulin on our bed to keep the snow off our bedding.”
Bob: “I stayed at the T.D. Neal Camp (in Eagle Nest) in one of the cabins. I’d come home sometimes on the weekends. Once in a great while mom would come over and stay with me for a week. I had to do my homework there by kerosene lamp.”
Work and school
The Moreno Valley used to be more of a farming community with area residents growing cabbage, lettuce, peas, carrots, onions and potatoes.
Leo: “When we went to school they used to serve us onion soup….
Louise: “Or potato soup. You know I don’t care for potato soup to this day. It didn’t have any seasoning in it. It was just milk and potatoes.”
Philip: “A lot of the older male students
around, we’d miss school for a few days.”
Elliot: “We used to take off to pick potatoes.
We’d get one sack for every ten sacks we picked.
That was our pay.”
sometimes the only way they could nd their way home was by following the fence line. Students would wrap their legs with gunny sacks to stay warm. Corporal punishment was common at their school, or as someone said, “In those days if you got a whacking at school,
you got a whacking at home, too. That way the kids behaved themselves pretty good.”
Leo Arko remembers getting up at 5:30 or 6 a.m. to milk cows and do chores before they walked to school.
Louise: “Well, I milked cows and we used to set our cream cans down along the highway. A truck would come along and pick it up and it was shipped to Trinidad, Colo., to Jacobson Creamery.” In later years the mailman picked up the cream.
A tight-knit group
Philip called the students of the Moreno Valley School a “fairly tight-knit group” (there were seven in his graduating class), and the rest of the former students definitely agreed.
Still, they had fun. The late valley resident (and former school bus driver) Elliot Andreoli said, “On April Fools Day the whole school played hooky ... The principal called us all in and
Billie: “Leo was always very protective of the younger children. They didn’t pick on me too much because I’d run to Leo.”
Gina: “They all had nicknames. Elliot had the nickname ‘Boots.’”
said, ‘Everyone that went on the hike today, we’re going to give you failing grades for one month ... He talked and talked and talked ... and just before it was time for school to be dismissed, he says, ‘Well, you had an April Fools trick today, but I had a bigger one. April Fools!’”
Until 2002, when a group of parents founded Moreno Valley High School, a free public charter high school in Angel Fire, students commuted about one hour away to attend high school in Cimarron. If one thing distinguishes today’s education opportunities, today: it’s this: choice. While some valley students still head over the mountain to Cimarron (or Taos), many also attend MVHS, the rst Paideia-based high school in New Mexico.
In a nutshell, “Paideia” utilizes Socratic seminars, academic coaching and (less often) lectures. Adherents believe in 12 basic principles starting with the core truth “that all children can learn.” Their modest aim is to prepare students “to earn a decent livelihood, to be a good citizen of the nation and the world, and to make a good life for oneself.”
In addition to its Paideia and STEM curricula, MVHS offers robust AP/Pre-AP courses, a thorough grounding in the arts (students choose from among ne arts, music and theater courses), and outdoor learning in everything from PE (physical education) to science. As its website notes, “Everyone is encouraged to learn outside even if it is just reading a book or hav-
ing a group discussion.”
Though it’s a relatively small school, MVHS students enjoy extra-curricular activities like band, theater, golf and soccer. Some ride the bus to Cimarron High School where they can compete on that school’s basketball, volleyball and track teams. Several more train and compete in outside sports like skiing, snowboarding and mountain biking.
Casey Brown, an alum who now helps coach soccer, said, “These teachers and students really understand what it means to win with class and to lose with dignity. This season I got to watch these athletes grow as individuals and as a team and I couldn’t be more impressed and proud of them.”
A hallmark of the school are the projects all seniors must complete. Some choose portfolio presentations across several disciplines, some choose a single capstone project, which they complete with help from mentors. Rebuilding a Jeep,
constructing a tiny house, painting a mural, completing a lm, starting a business, developing children’s camps, mining e-currency, performing a ballet to heavy metal ... These projects have run a wide gamut and are often truly inspiring.
Ashlyn Clemons, who graduated in May 2024, said, “I loved how hands-on it was. Each teacher is really focused on each student.”
In 2022, thanks to two years of hard work and over 100 hours of professional learning by every teacher, the school became the rst public high school in New Mexico to be certi ed by the National Institute for STEM [science, technology, engineering, and mathematics] Education.
Like Paideia, STEM education focuses on critical thinking and classroom discussions with an added emphasis on scienti c literacy, reading primary sources, writing, and project-based learning.
Director Tammy Dunn said the school is participating in
“Extending Equity into the Digital Workforce,” a U.S. Department of Education-funded project that aims to increase readiness for IT careers among low-income youth, rst-generation college enrollers. She added, the program “encourages students to take online I.T. classes, and that comes with a grant. We’re one of nine high schools around the state [that were] invited to a tech summit in Albuquerque.”
In other exciting news, Dunn shared the school had earned a place on the College Board’s AP School Honor Roll for 2023-24 for several reasons, including “encouraging more low-income and underrepresented minority students to take AP courses” and providing “equitable access to advanced coursework ... We know it takes a considerable schoolwide effort — dedication from teachers, counselors, administrators, students, and parents — to make AP access a priority.”
AP, or Advanced Placement®, courses give high school students an opportunity to do college-level coursework for which many universities give college credit.
In its AP School Honor Roll Progress Report for 2024 MVHS earned a platinum — the highest ranking out of four levels of distinction:bronze, silver, gold, and platinum — for hitting all three of its platinum criteria.
“We blew everything out of the water!” Dunn exclaimed.
56 Camino Grande/P.O. Box 1037 Angel Fire, NM 87710, 575-377-3100
Sometimes you just want to enjoy your surroundings, away from the hustle and bustle of a ski mountain. Here’s a few extras that are too good to pass up.
HORSEBACK RIDING & SLEIGH RIDES. Nancy Burch’s Roadrunner Tours are offered year-round. “Horseriding in the winter is wonderful,” Burch says about her adventuring operation she started in Angel Fire some 40 years ago. “It’s really beautiful.” Roadrunner Tours offers horseback riding lessons and guided tours from 1-hour to all-day.
Burch also offers old-fashioned sleigh rides for groups and couples can book private scenic rides with dinner. “They can hire it for as long as they want,” Burch says. “I love to take people out so they can propose.” Call Burch at 575-377-6416.
CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING AND SNOWSHOEING. Angel Fire Resort’s Nordic Center offers over 12 km of groomed, classic and skate cross-country ski trails. With groomed trails, you don’t have to work so hard to get from point A to point B. Groomed trails are usually machine packed (for the Nordic skating technique) with a set of parallel tracks for the ultimate in kick and glide. This is also the best environment to learn cross-country skiing basics. Visitors can pre-book lessons, rent snowshoe or cross-country gear (including skate skis), and pay for trail passes at the center, which is located at Angel Fire Resort Country Club. Snowshoeing is also allowed here. If you want to try cross country skiing or snowshoeing in ungroomed snow, try one of Angel Fire’s Greenbelt Trails. Bear, Deer and Elk are all gentle. Oeste Vista and Sage are better
suited for snowshoeing. Outside the resort, the Elliot Barker Trail on U.S. 64 at the base of Palo Flechado Pass features views of the Moreno Valley, Eagle Nest Lake and Wheeler Peak Wilderness. La Jara Canyon, just west of Palo Flechado Pass (between Angel Fire and Taos) is a good beginners’ trail. Look for the trail taking off from the outside of the rst switchback on the western side of the pass.
HIKING. For spectacular and warmer winter weather hiking, visit the Wild Rivers Recreation Area on the Rio Grande, just north of Questa off NM 522. Wear layers and pack an extra jacket in your backpack. By mid-February, trails are often free of snow, but traction devices like MICROspikes or Yaktrax are useful.
Bring your own! Angel Fire is the starting-off place for trails going all the way to the Garcia Park area, El Nogal Campground in Taos Canyon, Pot Creek and Tres Ritos. Trail heads are located off Brazos Road in Angel Fire, County Road B38/Forest Road 76 south of Angel Fire; and the Elliot Barker trail head on U.S. 64. The best way to access the Carson Forest trail network is along the Plains Electric right-of-way under the “highline” climbing from Angel Fire to Apache Pass. Best to get a trail map. Call the Angel Fire Chamber of Commerce at 575-224-1180 for information.
ICE FISHING. Ice shing usually begins in January, sometimes earlier. It all depends on ice thickness — and what you’re willing to tolerate. But rest easy: Eagle Nest Lake State Park staff continually make visual checks for all signs the ice may not be safe for anglers. Call 575-377-1594 or check with local shops for advice
Bandelier national park
of 12 U S Distinctive Destinations visitlasvegasnm.com
SANTA FE. Get past all the hype and you will find Santa Fe is everything it’s supposed to be — art, culture, history, museums, and world class shopping. Santa Fe is the oldest capitol city in the United States (it was founded in 1610) and, for many, it is New Mexico santafeorg
GREAT SAND DUNES
NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE. The tallest dunes in North America are the centerpiece in a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, forests, alpine lakes, and tundra. Stay on a moonless night to experience countless stars in this International Dark Sky Park. Snow and blizzards are possible, though most days are sunny and calm and roads are usually quickly cleared of snow Snow typically melts off within a few days. During this quiet season, elk and pronghorn are often seen in early morning or evening hours in the grasslands nps.gov/grsa
BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT. National reserve in New Mexico Occupied from 1050 to 1550 A D , Bandelier is considered one of the more recent Ancestoral Puebloan dwellings The visitor center has exhibits and a film on Ancestoral Puebloan Trails in Bandelier include cliff dwellings, Pueblo ruins, underground kivas and petroglyphs. 505-672-0343. nps.gov/band
CAPULIN VOLCANO NATIONAL MONUMENT. Part of the 8,000 square mile Raton-Clayton Volcanic Field, this extinct cinder-cone volcano showcases the volcanic geology of Northeastern New Mexico. Most days you can see four different states from the rim, and at night, this park offers one of the darkest night skies in the country. The Visitor Center and Volcano Road are open year-round with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Days nps.gov/cavo
Eagle Nest’s Annual Ice Fishing Tournament is Jan. 25 at Eagle Nest Lake State Park Visitor Center. Weather permitting. Hosted by Friends of Eagle Nest Lake and Cimarron Canyon State Parks, cash prizes will be awarded for “Biggest Fish” in four categories: trout, salmon, perch and pike.
AMATEUR TRACKING. Identifying wildlife tracks in the snow can be a fun activity for the whole family in winter. Two of the most familiar types of tracks are canids (dogs) and felids (cats). But a wide variety of other tracks exist, including elk, deer, rabbits, turkeys and other birds.
WILDLIFE WATCHING. Most evenings, if you hop in your car and just start driving, you can see what area brochures mean when they extol the “abundant wildlife” of Northern New Mexico. In the Moreno Valley, you can see elk and myriad raptors. Head further down past Cimarron and you can see bison, deer and antelope.
and gear. Eagle Nest Fly Shack & Lodge and Eagle Nest Cabins & Marina rent everything an experienced angler needs for a day out on the lake. Both also offer guided trips: They’ll drive you out to a spot, set everything up, drill the hole and offering coaching, too.
SHOPPING. Look for custom Angel Fire clothing, gifts, and souvenirs, ski gear and clothing, unique gifts, jewelry, ne arts, furniture, home décor, and antiques at Angel Fire Resort and in the village. Trips to Eagle Nest, Taos or Red River are also rewarding shopping experiences. — Staff Report
it all Angel Fire offers winter fun sunup to sundown, but don’t forget to fuel up!
Cozy breakfast pick-me-ups
If you stay at the Angel Fire Resort Hotel, you can roll out of bed and head for the Lift Café just off the lobby for coffee, freshly baked goods or a homemade breakfast burrito.
On the village’s main drag, locals swear by the espresso drinks, pastries, breakfast sandwiches, and more from Taty At The Bump by Lowe’s Valley Market. Just as many frequent The Bakery & Cafe at Angel Fire for donuts, breakfast burritos and more traditional breakfasts, and Morning Star Restaurant in the Elk Horn Lodge for warm, friendly breakfast pick-me-ups. J & A’s Fun Bakery and Café is also popular for its amazing homebaked breads and pastries (if you go for lunch, even the hamburger buns are baked fresh).
Grab a tasty lunch
After an early-morning adventure, if you’ve been schussing Angel Fire Resort’s well-groomed slopes, you can enjoy yummy Mexican treats with patio dining at El Jefe Margaritas y Mas close to the base area. Near the top of the Chile Express, The Summit Haus serves burgers and more on the patio with views
all the way to Colorado.
After cross country skiing or snowshoeing at the Nordic Center head to the Par & Grill by the Pro Shop for fast, savory treats like burgers, sandwiches, fried chicken or corn dogs. In the village, all the breakfast spots above also offer yummy lunches. Zeb’s Restaurant & Bar is another popular hangout for lunch and dinner, offering a wide range of items including seafood, burgers, barbecue and more.
For dinner, Elements, a ne dining venue on the second oor of the Angel Fire Country Club, also offers outside dining featuring fantastic views with a wide selection of appetizers, steaks, seafood and lighter fares, along with a full array of mixed drinks, beers and ne wines.
Mikuna Grill, a casual ne dining restaurant, serves a fusion of traditional Peruvian cuisine and Southwestern favorites, plus steaks, elk and more, with patio dining and live music. For a tasty pizza head to the Pizza Stop or Angel Fired Pizza
Village Haus at the base of Angel Fire’s ski slopes is still a popular and convenient place to congregate. Live music and sports watching on at screen TVs pair well with the large drink selection.
Zeb’s Restaurant and Bar offers adult beverages, food and entertainment.
Fans of street food will be pleased to know Angel Fire has a lively food cart scene with myriad delicious options. Frontier Park, site of Friday night Cool Summer Nights Concerts and Sunday Farmers’ Markets, is home to Jeanette’s Café Specialty Foods and Catering — Angel Fire’s rst food cart — Smoke Rings BBQ, and Thai Angel Authentic Thai Food Truck.
Builders, locals, and visitors also frequent Arias Taqueria Mexican Food Truck in the Mountain Supply parking lot, and 1810 Grill Brunch and Lunch Truck in the Alpine Lumber Parking Lot. — Staff Report
Angel Fired Pizza 3375 Mountain View Boulevard, 575-377-2774
The Bakery & Café at Angel Fire 3420 Mountain View Boulevard, 575-377-3992
Elements
Angel Fire Resort Country Club, 100 Country Club Drive, 575-377-3055
El Jefe
Margaritas y Mas 10 5 Springs Road 575-377-4410
Enchanted Circle Brewing Company 20 Sage Lane, 505-216-5973
J & A’s Bakery & Café 3453 Mountain View Boulevard, 575-2242802
Legends Bar & Grill
10 Miller Lane 575-377-4244
The Lift Café 10 Miller Lane 575-377-4234
Morning Star 3377 Mountain View Boulevard, 575-377-7019
Mi Cocina
Mexicana 12 Crestview Drive 575-377-7796
Mikuna Grill 48 N Angel Fire Road, 575-377-7009
Taty At The Bump 3375 Mountain View Boulevard 575-240-6084
Pub ‘n Grub
52 N Angel Fire Road 575-377-7770
Par & Grill 100 Country Club Drive 575-377-4486
Subw
Summit Haus Top
our
This calendar of events was just being nalized at press time. For complete listings, contact the event producers, the Angel Fire Visitor Center, 575-377-6555; Angel Fire Chamber of Commerce, 575-377-6353; or Angel Fire Resort, 800-633-7463.
November 2024
Community Tree Lighting Ceremony
Nov. 29, 5-6:30 p.m.
Centro Plaza, 3407 Mountain View Blvd • Christmas caroling, a visit from Santa Claus, children’s crafts, plus a Christmas Tree Auction, s’mores, and hot chocolate sale to support the Angel Fire Ski and Snowboard Teams Call Visitor Center at 575-377-6555 or email tourismdirector@angelfirenm.gov
Angel Fire Chamber of Commerce Fundraisers
Nov 12
3407 Mountain View Blvd , 575-3776353 or angelfirechamber org • For more information email manager@
angelfirechamber org. • 50/50
Raffle tickets go on sale Winning
ticket will be drawn at the Dec 7
Holiday Market • 12 Days of Christmas Raffle tickets go on sale with a $1,000 Grand Prize.
Live drawings daily on the Chamber’s Face Book page Dec 9-20 Final drawing Dec 20
December 2024
Holiday Market
Dec. 7, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Angel Fire Community Center 15 CS Ranch Road • Purchase Christmas gifts from local artists
and artisans; complete with a
wrapping booth, visit with Santa and more! Info at Angel Fire Chamber of Commerce, 575-377-6353, angelfirenm com
Opening Day of Winter Season 2024-25
Dec. 13
Angel Fire Resort
Calling All Flakes Bonfire
Dec. 14, 4-7 p.m.
Frontier Plaza parking lot and Frontier Park, 3367 Mountain View Blvd • Featuring Taos Pueblo Dancers followed by live music by Katy P and The Business
Holiday Book Sale
Dec. 10-21
Shuter Library, 11 N Angel Fire Road; 575-377-6755, shuterlibrary.net. • Find your last minute holiday presents or stock up on books, DVDs and puzzles for the cold and snowy days at the bi-annual book sale! Library hours are Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays 10 a.m -5 p m.; Thursdays noon-7p m , Saturdays 10 a.m -3 p m.; closed Sundays-Mondays Closed Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
Torchlight Parade & Fireworks
Dec. 24
Angel Fire Resort
Ski or Snowboard with Santa Dec. 24
Angel Fire Resort
New Year’s Eve Torchlight Parade
Dec. 31
Ring out the old year this evening
with torchlights skied down the mountain by Angel Fire Resort employees, weather permitting.
Grab your phones and cameras and enjoy! Info at 800-633-7463 or angelfireresort com
New Year’s Eve Party
Dec. 31, time TBA
Village Haus Restaurant & Bar
10 Miller Lane, Angel Fire Resort
• Join the gang for dancing, drink
specials and food, all getting ready
to ring in the New Year Info at Angel Fire Chamber of Commerce, 575-2241180, Angel Fire Resort, 800-633-7463 or angelfireresort com
Jan. 1
Eagle Nest Lake, 575-377-1594
friendsofeaglenestlake org • Celebrate New Year’s Day at Eagle Nest Lake State Park Visitor Center. Sponsored by Friends of Eagle Nest Lake and Cimarron Canyon State Parks, the event kicks off with a Polar Bear
Stomp (hike or snowshoe) along the Eagle Nest Lake Trail at 1 p m followed by a Plunge orientation at 2 p m and plunge at 2:15 p m Shoes are mandatory and all plungers must bring a friend to help with their personal items Registration starts at noon for both events 575-377-1594
Stargazing & Smores
Jan. 10, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m.
Monte Verde Lake • S’mores and looking at the moon, stars, galaxies, and nebulae through a telescope
Ice Fishing Tournament
Jan. 25
Eagle Nest Lake State Park Visitor Center. 575-377-1594, friendsofea-
glenestlake org • Prizes awarded for “Biggest Fish” in each of four categories
February 2024
Shovel Races
Feb 1-2
Angel Fire Resort
Stargazing & Smores
Feb. 7, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m.
Monte Verde Lake • S’mores and looking at the moon, stars, galaxies, and nebulae through a telescope.
March 2025
Spring Break Celebrations
March 7, 7:30 - 9:30 p.m.
Angel Fire Resort • Students head for the hills for college spring break and Angel Fire is one of their fave places to celebrate! Info at 800-6337463 or angelfireresort com
Stargazing & Smores
March 7
Monte Verde Lake • S’mores and looking at the moon, stars, galaxies, and nebulae through a telescope.
Pond Skim
March 23, 2025
Angel Fire Resort • Celebrate the end of the season by attempting to glide across a (cold) pool of water under Lift 2 off Exhibition from 2-4 p m
Closing Day
March 23, 2025
Angel Fire Resort’s Ski & Snowboard Mountain Activities • Info at 800633-7463 or angelfireresort com
