Mountain Capital Partners to take over Sandia Peak Ski Area

For the first time in years there are plans for Sandia Peak Ski Area to operate this winter.

Sandia Peak Ski Co. and Durango, Colorado-based Mountain Capital Partners announced on Monday a joint venture agreement to turn over operations at the ski area in the Sandia Mountains to MCP. Mountain Capital Partners will then operate and manage 14 ski areas, golf courses and bike parks, including Purgatory Resort outside of Durango and Sipapu Ski and Summer Resort and Pajarito Mountain Ski Area in New Mexico.

Sandia Peak has been closed because of staffing challenges and weather since 2022.

Sandia Peak General Manager Ben Abruzzo said the agreement was the right choice for the family business. Abruzzo’s grandfather, hot air balloonist Ben L. Abruzzo, bought the ski area in 1958. The Abruzzo family will continue to own and operate Ski Santa Fe, Sandia Peak Tramway and TEN 3 Restaurant.

“Skiing in the Southwest offers unique challenges that have been amplified over the last several years,” Abruzzo said in a statement. “This partnership will help address those challenges and provide a future for skiing in Albuquerque.”

Abruzzo said that, as part of the deal, a new company is being formed that will be half-owned by MCP and half-owned by Sandia Peak Ski Co. That company will be operated by MCP and ultimately be issued a permit from the Forest Service, he said.

He said it was a bittersweet day but he was hopeful for the ski area’s future and excited to see what MCP does to the mountain.

“I think it’s positive for our community. And that’s what’s important,” he said. “Of course, there’s some aspects that are bittersweet. We’ve all put a lot of our time and energy in the last 60 years. But I think this will lead to good things for skiing in Albuquerque and, hopefully, provide a path forward for skiing to stick around.”

Abruzzo didn’t disclose the cost of the transaction.

The company will be looking to hire workers and plans to reach out to former employees, said Scott Leigh, an MCP advisor on the project.

“Like many skiers in and around Albuquerque, the number one question we have is not if — but when — Sandia Peak will open, and we’re exploring this now,” MCP managing partner James Coleman said in a news release.

There will be a new season pass option, the Power Pass Core, giving skiers and snowboarders unlimited access to Sandia Peak, Sipapu and Pajarito and limited access to Purgatory, Leigh said.

In previous years, there were options for local skiers and riders to have access to both Sandia Peak and Ski Santa Fe.

Situated in the Sandia Mountains about 35 miles northeast of Albuquerque in the Cibola National Forest, Sandia Peak Ski Area can be reached by the Sandia Peak Tramway or by vehicle.

“It just makes sense for us, how we’re focused on the Southwest, and trying to just provide another opportunity for people to get out and ski,” Leigh said.

Coleman said in the news release that he would bring a “skiing first” philosophy to Sandia Peak.

“When we take a look at how we run the operation, investments required or needed within a ski area and things of that nature, when we look at that we prioritize skiing first,” Leigh said.

Leigh said MCP is crafting an operations plan to determine more details about what to expect for the future of the ski area. Since 2015, MCP has invested more than $75 million at its resorts, including new chairlifts and snowmaking, according to the news release.

Sandia Peak has 35 trails, 300 skiable acres and 1,700 feet of vertical drop.

“The foundations of our company were built on the lessons we learned from skiers and snowboarders in New Mexico,” Coleman said. “Sandia Peak presents an incredible opportunity for us to bring the best practices we’ve learned for the benefit of Albuquerque and visitors from around the region.”

MCP is the largest ski resort business in the Southwest, building and developing ski resorts in New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Utah and outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. It also has a resort in Oregon and this year became the majority owner of Valle Nevado near Santiago, Chile.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said in a news release that he was hopeful the deal means that skiing has a future in Albuquerque’s local economy.

“Like so many of our families, I grew up learning to ski at Sandia and started teaching my kids there just a few years ago,” he said. “Albuquerque is one of the few metropolitans where families can ski and golf in the same day, and we hope these improvements will ensure this promise for the next generation of skiers and boarders.”