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For now, the Capulin Snowplay Area is closed every day except for 3 1/2 hours on Saturdays, but there was plenty of activity there earlier this year.
In the past three years, the U.S. Forest Service has spent more than $1.5 million on renovation projects at the popular Capulin Snowplay and picnic areas off Sandia Crest Road.
The Forest Service has said that it can’t open the snowplay area because it doesn’t have the money to hire employees to ensure the safety of visitors. Last year, the area was open most Fridays and weekends, as well as weekdays during winter break. This year, the Sandia Ranger District was not given approval to hire temporary workers to staff it.
The move has frustrated some area residents, including some who called the office of Bernalillo County Commissioner Wayne Johnson. Johnson, who represents District 5 in Northeast Albuquerque and much of the Sandias, said Thursday that staff in his office had spoken to the Forest Service to try to resolve the issue.
“We’re working with them, and they’re working on the issue to try to get it open more during the holidays and more on the weekends after in January,” he said, but, because budgets are stretched extremely thin, “no guarantees on that.”
“We do appreciate the fact that they’re working on it,” Johnson said.
The Capulin Snowplay Area is closed most of the week, except for about three hours on Saturdays. In the past three years, the U.S. Forest Service has spent more than $1.5 million at the snowplay area and an adjacent picnic area. (roberto e. rosales/journal)
It’s a shame the area has to be closed, Johnson said, because “I think it helps bring money into the area, specifically some of the restaurants in the area.” The Sandia Peak Ski Area brings more traffic, he said, but the snowplay area is still a big draw.
Calls to the Forest Service for comment on a possible new schedule were not returned Thursday.
In a statement emailed to the Journal, the Forest Service said that funding for staff salaries comes from its operating budget, which is separate from money allocated for capital improvement projects.
Renovations at the Capulin areas came from the capital improvement budget and had been in the works for nearly a decade, according to the statement.
The first project, costing $548,000, was commissioned by the Forest Service to install a fence, handrails, bathrooms and a warming shelter, along with some minor excavation and some plant maintenance.
The second, costing $995,000, was for improvements to the picnic area such as reconstructing the access road and parking areas, and installing tables, fire rings, grills and concrete paths. That work wrapped up in November.
There are other areas of the mountain that can be used for sledding. They are not supervised, and sledders do so at their own risk.
But sledders are not allowed to use Capulin when closed, nor can they use any other site that expressly prohibits sleds.
Anyone caught in the snowplay area when it’s closed could be fined up to $5,000 and/or be sentenced to jail for up to 6 months. An organization could be fined up to $10,000.
The Forest Service began staffing the Capulin Snowplay Area last year, prompted by an accident at the end of 2009 that left an Albuquerque boy paralyzed.
Last year, no ambulances were called to pick up injured sledders at the area, but prior to being staffed, an ambulance had been called up to three or four times a day.
The area at one point was home to a concession stand, the owner of which was allowed to sell concessions and rent sleds, but was not officially responsible for enforcing safety rules. The concessionaire left after a few bad snow seasons.
— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal
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