Sandia Peak sits high above Albuquerque and boasts perhaps the nation's easiest ski resort access from a major city via a 60-person aerial tram that rises more than 4,000 vertical feet in less than 20 minutes. It is New Mexico's oldest ski area and offers beginner and intermediate skiers and boarders some long cruisers. Weekends can get crowded and lifts are old, but a weekday powder dump even can entice experts to sample its slopes.

BASE: 8677ft
SUMMIT: 10377ft
VERTICAL DROP: 1700ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 5
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 4
Surface: 1