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Journal North: Home | Sports | Opinion | Obits | Entertainment
Monday, February 08, 2010
Old Ski Rio reopens as no-frills Endless Blue Resort
By Vince Kong
Of the Journal
AMALIA — Blink, and you might miss it.
Along a stretch of N.M. 196 just south of the Colorado border, a faded sign for Ski Rio, standing no taller than a couple of feet, appears along the roadside.
Heading east down that road, in the background, white veins appear through the trees of Sangre de Cristo Mountain range. And soon, by the regularity and symmetry of those lines, you realize that they were once the trails of New Mexico's northernmost ski resort.
Once, long ago. Because, also stamped on the sign in bold capital letters, is also the word CLOSED.
The Rio Costilla Resort — more commonly known as Ski Rio — was never the most popular in the Land of Enchantment. Nor was it the largest. But for the towns of Amalia, Questa and its surrounding areas, it was something.
If Tom Atkins had his way, it would be again.
Endless Blue Resort
At the end of road, an electronic gate opens. In what was once a 3,000-acre private resort that 150 seasonal employees called home, Atkins, the property manager, and his dog are now the only full-time residents.
At the doorstep of one of a handful of casitas near the resort's base, the 63-year old points to a hulking red machine with giant tank treads. That, he said, is what will bring the area back to life.
"That" is a snowcat.
"We fixed some of the old ski-lift chairs to the back," he said. "We can take about six people up the mountain right now. We're hoping by next season to fix a trailer to it and we can take up six more."
Whatever you might remember about Ski Rio, forget about it, he added. "We are now called Endless Blue Resort," he said, with a wide grin.
With all its passengers on board, for about 35 minutes the cat plods, crunches and climbs up the logging roads and trails to 11,650 feet.
The passengers climb off and strap on their snowboards and skis before the cat begins its descent. The large claws of have cleared a roughly 10-foot trail, leaving both sides — with up to two feet of powder — unscathed.
And the first time you watch skiers and snowboarders hurtle off into the white, you can't help but think Atkins might be onto something.
Ski Rio revival
Even in its heyday, you wouldn't find Ski Rio in a regional ranking, even if the list extended beyond Taos Ski Valley. Rustic charm was its sell, rather than the prodigious amounts of snowfall that are the draw at the other mom-and-pop-like ski hub in the area — Wolf Creek, outside Pagosa Springs, Colo.
Mismanagement and a lack of snow during the peak of the Southwest's recent drought were some of the reasons Ski Rio never reached its potential, Atkins says, and led to Ski Rio's bankruptcy and subsequent closure in 2000, after nearly two decades of operation.
Since then, the property has been sold and resold five times, Atkins said. It's now owned by CIMEX Invest Inc. of the Czech Republic and Florida.
"It was unbelievable when (Ski Rio) closed. Because a little later on, the Molycorp mine in Questa — the other large employer — started laying off people," he said. "We're getting pretty desperate up here."
For proof, just drive south towards Questa, says Pavel Lukes, owner of Dreamcatcher Realty, which brokered the deal to CIMEX,
"Look left and right at the houses," he said of the dilapidated single-story dwellings along the roadside. "The Rio Costilla plaza is pretty much boarded up now, too — that was a happening place before. The (Ski Rio) ski school director had a restaurant there and it's now boarded up."
The ski school itself was torn down years ago. All but one chairlift has been sold and the 60-unit condominium and restaurant remains frozen in time.
But in the next 30 years, Atkins says confidently, look out. Plans are in the works to make Endless Blue a destination resort with underground high-speed lifts, wind turbines to generate green energy, condominiums and restaurants, and charter buses shuttling patrons from around New Mexico. Off-season activities could range from fly-fishing along the banks of the Valle Vidal to zip-lining, sending patrons soaring down through the trees of the valley. Maybe even a golf course.
Ambitious? Yes. But it could happen, Atkins insists. And it all starts here.
"The possibilities are endless if snowcat (skiing) takes off," he said.
Backcountry light
Of course, not everyone believes in Endless Blue Resort's promise as a bustling tourist attraction or a second-home destination. The nearest restaurant is still miles from the area, with cell-phone reception at the base of the mountain usable only through the aid of an amplifier.
George Brooks, director of Ski New Mexico, no doubt wants to see every resort in the state thrive. But as a former consultant for Ski Rio, he says the area must again address some old issues if it is to reach its potential.
"As a destination resort, they need to make sure they have the infrastructure — lodging, restaurants, things of that nature. And it's going to be difficult to pull those sorts of things out of moth balls, since they haven't been used in 10 years," he said.
Besides, Brooks adds, "Ski Rio, when I was there something like 20 years ago, was a good beginner to intermediate ski area. It had a lot open terrain and trails, but unless they cut new trails, I do not remember anything that steep, which would be necessary to do untracked powder skiing."
But Atkins says "deep and steep" is not necessary.
Endless Blue "is still is (a beginner to intermediate ski) area," he said. "Unlike places like Monarch (in Colorado), which does snowcat skiing through forest-service property, we're on a ski resort. A family can ski up here, we'll drop off the kids on a green run and then take the rest up to the black diamonds.
"The other cat-skiing operations are backcountry — hardcore backcountry, which is beautiful for hardcore backcountry people," Atkins said. "We're not that."
So far, business hasn't exactly been booming. But Mark Harrell of Taos Ski Central, which handles Endless Blue's reservations, said his phone has been ringing constantly.
Sure, the six paying customers so far have only partly paid for the cost of operations since its opening three weeks ago. But the season is just the beginning, Harrell added.
"You're all our guinea pigs," said Harrell, serving as guide to a group of media members invited to sample Endless Blue on Saturday. "We're working out the kinks. Snowcat skiing is only the part of it right now."
Atkins agreed with Brooks, however, that to have anyone but the desperately powder-hungry visit the area with regularity, and especially to attract families, the area's infrastructure must first be developed.
"We'll have the restaurant here by next season," he said. "The rest is coming."
Lukes isn't concerned, either.
"This new generation of owners is going to make a big difference here," he said. "The previous owners were more interested in flipping properties — it was about the numbers. They were interested in other things than developing a beautiful resort."
Besides, although Endless Blue lacks amenities at the moment, it also lacks the long lift lines and congestion on runs typical at more established resorts.
"It's like what I told the owners, let's not be like the other resorts." Atkins said. "Let's make this place unique, which is why we're doing snowcat skiing — the only place in New Mexico I've heard that does it.
At Endless Blue, says Atkins, "whatever run you want, you can have."
"There are no lines. We have 86 (runs) to choose from, and they're all yours."
If you go
WHAT: Snowcat skiing and snowboarding at Endless Blue Resort.
HOW MUCH: Half-day, with up to five runs, $150; for a full day, up to 10 runs, $250. Groups must consist of at least three riders and reservations are required. For more information, call Taos Ski Central at 1-888-971-6881.
WHEN: Now through May, weather permitting.
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