Join Zack, PEEC and the Los Alamos Mountaineers for an intermediate, point-to-point snowshoe or cross-country ski outing from the Las Conchas Trailhead to the East Fork Trailhead on Saturday, Jan 10. This trip will cover 4.5 miles and about 800 feet of elevation gain. It will be of intermediate difficulty and technicality and participants should be able to hike 5 miles in 2.5 hours comfortably and have previous experience snowshoeing or skiing. The use of snowshoes and skis will be weather-dependent.
Let's cross country ski the Neff Mountain/Cumbres Pass route. This is a 6.5 mile ski on Forest Service Roads with 700 ft of elevation gain and loss. The uphill is fairly gradual, but the downhill at the end requires some snow plow and/or telemark skills. This tour requires a car shuttle and the ski will take about 4.5 hours. The forecast is for a moderately cold day - with starting temperatures in the upper teens and high temperature for the day about 27 degrees.
This hike leaves one of the trailheads between Espanola and Abiquiu and heads up a rocky and sandy arroyo to complex terrain that the Salzmans called the "Gates of Hell" in their classic hiking guide. Much of it is a hike up a dry arroyo with interesting rock formations on both sides, starting at one of the designated trailheads off highway 84/285. If we get the moisture that is promised, the arroyo bottom may be consolidated and even easier to hike. The weather looks promising for Tuesday, so let's give this local hike a go. We will leave Los Alamos at 8:30 and get back before dark.
The trip leader anticipates that all participants have winter backcountry travel experience and some knowledge of traveling safe in avalanche terrain.
This year we will start out with a planning session for the field exercise at Mesa Public Library on Thursday December 11th at 17:30. The field session (snow permitting) will occur the following weekend on Sunday the 14th. In the field we will exercise our transceiver, probing and strategic shoveling skills.
We have many times travelled to Bluff, Utah for a taste of the canyon country. Bluff is less than six hours from Los Alamos and, situated along the San Juan River, at a low altitude best suited for trips late or early in the season. Even in early December the average daily high is around 50 F. There are numerous places to hike and explore from Bluff, including the ruins and big views of Comb Ridge, the canyons accessible from Cedar Mesa, the canyon rim just north of Bluff itself, and farther afield to places like White Canyon.
published by sylvie.adam01 on Fri, 2025-12-05 06:32
Leader:
LAM
Telephone:
N/A
Date:
Wed, 2025-12-10
Difficulty:
Easy
Technicality:
Beginner
Are dogs allowed?:
Not allowed
The Los Alamos Mountaineers will host the annual Potpourri at Fuller Lodge, with doors opening at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, December 10, 2025. Potpourri is a stew that consists of one part potluck and six parts ten-minute talks, simmered slowly in conversation and camaraderie.
Update as of Monday, Nov. 24: Because of a prediction of unpleasant weather on Sunday, I am moving this trip up by one day. We will hike on Saturday Nov. 29, rather than the originally announced Sunday date. BP
Come enjoy some outdoor time on black friday/aka: opt-outside day for us hikers and work off all the turkey!
We will hike Burnt Mesa Trail in Bandelier, with a side spur to visit the eagle traps. It will be a 5.5-6 mile out and back, with ~650 ft elevation gain. Appropriate sun protection and water are needed for the trip.
There is not a lot of parking at the trailhead, so for those coming from Los Alamos, we will meet at Sullivan field at 9:10 am in order to carpool. We will meet at the trailhead at 9:30 am.
I would like to announce the seventeenth edition of our successful hike/explore/bike trips to Moab. We have been going almost every November since 2008, and every time has been a great success. The 2014 trip report can be found at http://lamountaineers.org/node/479#comment-57. Let me (Bill Priedhorsky) know if you would like to join the trip.
