Springtime in the High Desert

Spring time in the “High Desert” is often more like winter. This picture near my home in the foothills was taken at an altitude of around 7K feet. So while we are in the southwest with over 300 days of sunshine a year people are often surprised of our winter like weather. The high altitude (higher than Denver) of Albuquerque and Santa Fe keeps things cooler while the (almost) ever present sun warms things up. Only a few inches of snow fell the last two
days of April in the city.

In the mountains, it was quite another story.  My “fun job” teaching people to ski at Ski Santa Fe ended April 2. I skied a half foot of fresh powder that morning. Coworkers who worked into the following week to help take down signs and rope lines on the mountain sent me pictures of the foot of fresh powder that fell over the days following closing weekend.

So while we are in the desert, it is very high. Unlike Denver, it never gets too cold (not for long), and unlike Phoenix, it never gets too hot. Now if only something could be done about the spring winds, we would have four perfect seasons instead of three and a half here in the “High Desert.”