Press Release: Capulin Snow Play Area New Winter Hours

Editor’s note: We’ve received the following press release from Karen Takai at the USFWS Sandia Ranger District.

SANDIA RANGER DISTRICT

CAPULIN SNOW PLAY AREA NEW WINTER HOURS

Tijeras, NM,  January 3, 2011

Starting January 3, 2011

Capulin Snow Play Area will be open for Friday, Saturday and Sundays Only

Hours of operation 9:30am to 3:30pm

Use of the area when closed will result in a fine ( see below)

Inclement weather or lack of snow may result in temporary closure

Please note:  Sliding, sledding and tubing are PROHIBITED at Tree Springs, 10K and “Pit” areas

The Capulin Snow Play area is located approximately 8 miles up the Sandia Crest National Scenic Byway (Highway 536). A new Order # prohibits the use of the area when it is closed. Any violation of this prohibition is a punishable as a misdemeanor by a fine of not more than $5,000.00 for individuals and $10,000 for organizations or by imprisonment for not more than 6 months or both.

The Order is in place to protect resources and to provide for public health and safety during the operation of recreation facilities located within the boundaries of the Capulin Snow Play Area.

Visitors need to bring their own inner tubes or soft sliding devices that have no metal or wood components. The following are prohibited at Capulin Snow Play Area:

  • Skis, sleds (with wood, metal or other hard materials), snowboards
  • Careless, reckless sliding , creating jumps or altering any sliding area
  • Having more than 2 persons per sliding device or linking sliding devices
  • Sliding out of the defined area
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Glass or metal containers

PLAY IT SAFE

  • Be aware that there are elements of risk in snow play activities that common sense and awareness can reduc.
  • Observe all posted signs and warnings. Keep out of closed areas.
  • Before starting downhill, look above, below and the side of you and yield to others.
  • People below you have the right of way. It is your responsibility to avoid them.
  • Maintain control in order to avoid other people or objects (rocks, trees, etc.)
  • Do not stop where you obstruct a slope, or are no visible from above.

10 Responses “Press Release: Capulin Snow Play Area New Winter Hours”

  1. andrew says:

    I like the new play area , much safer , much larger ,nice to have some Forest service people on site keeping it safe and fun.
    A + .

  2. Kevin says:

    Whatever happened to people being responsible for themselves in a wilderness area? Just because there’s “no lifeguard on duty” doesn’t mean every lake / ocean / river is closed to swimming. Why is a snow play area, that has had 1.5 million dollars spent on it to make it even safer than some random area in the forest closed when there’s no official FS person around?

    Just doesn’t make sense to me. I can go 100 yards to one side of the area, and risk hitting trees, rocks, etc. with no FS person and that’s just fine, and in fact it may be the only option when this area is “closed”?

    I say “open” the area (really, just don’t post a silly sign that says it’s closed and that you can be fined if you use it) and let people be responsible for their own actions. Wow, responsible for their own actions? How weird would that be!?!?

    • Ashley says:

      @Kevin:

      It is probably just as weird as some family suing the FS for negligence when it was not staffed. Because people insist on suing anything that stands still long enough, organizations are forced to CYA so they don’t lose millions in funding and cause a bigger issue.

      I agree that the area should not be staffed and should be open all the time but, because of the few people who think that an accident (albeit a tragic one) needs to be blamed on the FS, everything is ruined for the rest of us who are mature enough to put on our big girl panties and take responsibility for our actions (as you so eloquently stated).

      Honestly, I think the FS is taking a lot of crap for no reason. It’s a catch 22 that won’t be solved any time soon. However, in an ideal world, the mountain would be open for all, without supervision, and injured sledders wouldn’t get a cent from the government.

      The FS spent money on the renovations so that people could enjoy themselves. NOT so that people could sue the organization.

      I will say it again. What happened to the boy who was injured is sad, but the fact that the family had to point a finger at anybody but themselves proves that the public can’t handle free sledding time.

      Not that I am saying it was the family’s fault. This was a freak accident. ACCIDENT. There was no fault, in my opinion. But, using your analogy, it would seem silly if people sued the beach for a shark attack in the ocean. (As a side note, areas of the ocean actually DO close on occasion, depending on the current and other factors such as red tide, etc.)

      Am I making sense? I am pretty frustrated about the situation as well, but someone needs to play devil’s advocate and look at the whole picture.

      • Kevin and Ashley – You caught us napping; we should have posted the holiday hours and will do so now.

        I know it can be irritating to find the place closed after going all the way up there. One thing to think about, though: with the spotty cell phone service in the East Mountains and the distance to emergency services from Capulin, an accident during a time where the area is unattended could go from serious to fatal, and the Forest Service could well be found negligent. I’m not familiar with the accident you’re discussing, but I’d be willing to bet there was an uproar afterward, and for liability and public protection the Forest Service probably had to make a very tough decision. I know some of these folks, and I’m sure it wasn’t an easy thing for them to limit public access to the area. That being said, perhaps you could contact them and see if there’s a way to work toward a better solution. You would want to talk to Karen Takai at 281-3304, extension 120. Good luck!

  3. Ty says:

    Besides not only the supervision, but what about the sleds the only sleds they make are hard if they made soft ones you would fall on your butt and even if they do make soft sleds they break easily!

    • Ty says:

      And not only that, but if they made soft sleds don’t slide easily. So what is this a donkey ride? It’s pathetic.

      • Ty says:

        Not only that, but these soft sleds are not cheap they are expensive. And hard or soft it doesn’t matter because it could be soft or hard, but it could still cause injury and the person that’s on it can go flying off and hit each other in the head or the head hits the leg or arm or neck and then who’s there to rush them to the ER?

  4. Lynette says:

    This morning my son and I drove from Rio Rancho to the Capulin Snow Park only to find it closed. I checked this website right before we left our home to ensure no “CLOSED” postings were uploaded. No such posting was present so we proceeded to Capulin. However, when we arrived we found the snow park was indeed closed due to unsafe conditions. IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK THE PERSON MAINTAINING THIS SITE TO POST SUCH INFORMATION SO PEOPLE DO NOT MAKE THE HOUR PLUS TRIP IN VAIN?!!

    • Hi Lynette,

      While we try to get the announcements for Capulin posted as soon as practicable after we receive them, we’re not the official site for Capulin announcements. We got the closure notice Friday mid-morning and posted the announcement shortly thereafter. Those thinking to make the trip should always call the Forest Service at 505-281-3304 ext 120 to make sure it’s open.

  5. One other thing, folks – I want to make sure that the article we’re all discussing here is a year old. More recent info can be found in this year’s December and January posts.

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