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FR150 summit: Santa Fe
Ski Basin
FR150 leads to the top of
Santa Fe Ski Basin without going through it.
Combined with trails in the ski area it can
be made into a loop ride that reaches one of
the highest points around Santa Fe. This can
be made into a substantially longer ride,
when combined with a combination of paved
and dirt roads that start near Santa Fe.
This is an 8 shaped ride, that doubles back
on itself. But the distance duplicated in
approach and descent is less than a mile.
For me the major attraction of this ride is
the huge difference in landscapes from
dessert arroyos in the valleys to rounded
alpine peaks at the top.
From South. The ride begins in Santa
Fe on Paseo de Peralta, which is a sort of
ring road around the old colonial core of the
city. On its southern end the turnoffs
following NM475 to Hyde Memorial State Park
are well signed. The road begins to climb
steeply through new adobe style housing
developments with entrance gates designed to
impress upon the passersby that the people
behind them have given the developers a
substantial amount of money. Traffic on this
initial stretch is heavier than on the rest of
the road and there is no shoulder. As the road
climbs an early crest, the housing
developments recede further into the dwarf
evergreen forest and traffic thins out. A
short drop and the climb begins in earnest,
now in a thick forested canyon with no hint of
where the top might be. Many feet of altitude
higher, the mountain road passes a picknick
area named Aspen Vista. A park bench is
situated strategically to take in the first
vista since climbing above the sea of houses
on the outskirts of Santa Fe. Here FR150 (closed to motorized traffic)
starts a moderately steep climb to a
transmission facility above Santa Fe Ski
Basin. The forest opens once to show the
Manzano Mountains as a flat cutout to the
south. Another forested section and finally
the road climbs above tree line, enters the
ski area, and reveals a 360 degree panorama on
top. A lake, a short distance below the ridge
line on the west side is the surprising alpine
extreme, visible on this ride.
From North. (described downward).
Rather than returning down the same way, it is
possible to take a right fork ( when facing
downhill ) at the top onto a service road for
the ski area. The road traverses to the
northern end of the ski area, then switches
back and merges into a variety of trails on
the ski runs. The paved parking lot can be
seen from several spots along the way, so the
time required for this this route can be
estimated. If any snow is found on the route
it will be on the north facing runs, even if
there isn't a speck of snow on the summit.
This section involved a lot of walking in my
case. But somebody with more skill and bent on
riding every inch of the way, I am sure would
have no problems never getting off the bike.
From the ski lodge the route follows a lazy
descent down the paved road back past the
Aspen Vista picnic area, but then shortly
afterwards turns off onto unpaved FR101 down
Pacheco Canyon. The turnoff is not signed and
can easily be missed. From here it's what
seems like an eternal descent through a
forested canyon. The transmission facility on
the top of the mountain is now a set of
marbels on matchsticks, seen between branches
and twigs that divide the sky into a pattern
shaped like broken glass. The first section of
FR101 is rocky, followed by a smoothly
surfaced but deeply furrowed section perfect
for a fast descent, while keeping away four
wheeled vehicles, followed by more rocks. There is great difference in landscapes on
this ride, but it doesn't happen gradually. It
happens in one abrupt step, when the road
suddenly exits the forest and emerges onto a
low ridge above the badlands of the geological
Rio Grande staircase. Surprisingly the ride
continues through picturesque badlands, partly
being turned to more exclusive housing
developments. The final part of the descent is
paved and merges onto the Tesuque road.
Tours Dayrides. (MTB+paved): An 8 shaped ride beginning at Hyde Memorial State Park on NM475, traversing the southern and northern approaches as described, then continuing to Santa Fe along the mountains, and returning back up NM475 to the state park, measured 50 miles with 6300ft of climbing in 5:4 hours, using a VDO MC1.0 cycle computer (m3:07.11.7). This includes a couple of miles of getting lost in the maze of housing developments between Tesuque Road and Santa Fe, many of which are loops or dead ends, and are useless from a cyclist's point of view.
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Bicycle  |
Approaches
