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AFTERNOON. I'M
KIM VALLEZ.
SKI SEASON
SHOULD BE
UNDERWAY RIGHT
NOW.
BUT IT'S NOT....
BECAUSE THERE'S
NO SNOW.
MANY SKI AREA'S
HAVE NO CHOICE
BUT TO DELAY
THEIR OPENING
AGAIN.
AND IT'S HURTING
A LOT OF
BUSINESSES.
NEWS 13'S
GABRIELLE
BURKHART HAS
THE STORY.
SKI APACHE HAS
PUSHED BACK IT'S
OPENING DAY
AGAIN.
THERE'S JUST
NOT ENOUGH
SNOW YET.
Justin Rowland, Dir. of
Operations Ski Apache
unless you're going
back east or to the
midwest, there's not a
lot of snow out there
for anybody.
A BUMPY RIDE TO
THE MOUNTAIN
TOP SHOWS
SOME SNOW HAS
STUCK FROM A
COUPLE WEEKS
AGO.
BUT IT'S NOT
ENOUGH.
WHILE THE DELAY
HAS GIVEN THE
CREW TIME TO
FINISH
CONSTRUCTION
ON LIFTS
DAMAGED BY THE
LITTLE BEAR FIRE.
MORE OF THIS
WOULD HELP
MOVE THINGS
ALONG.
Rowland: colder
temperatures and
natural snow, either
one or both would be
great.
...
it's not just people at
the top of the
mountain and in the
ski areas hoping for a
shift from mother
nature. Several
businesses in town are
waiting in anticipation
for more snow this
winter.
SKI SEASON
HASN'T
STARTED...BUT
THE PREP IS
UNDERWAY AT SKI
SHOPS.
AND NOW -- IT'S A
WAITING GAME.
Don Damron, owner
Alto Ski Shop
hard to sell a ski trip to
somebody when it's 80
degrees in Texas and
60 degrees up here.
DON DAMRON HAS
HAD HIS SKI SHOP
FOR 32 YEARS.
Damron: I've been here
long enough to
remember a couple of
times we didn't open
till January
AND TIMES LIKE
THIS HURT
BUSINESS.
THEY'RE OPEN
PART TIME FOR
NOW...BUT LIKE
MANY, HE HASN'T
BEEN ABLE TO
BRING IN REGULAR
EMPLOYEES FOR
WORK.
Damron: they're not
putting on any more
staff because all you're
gonna do is sit and
look at one another --
it cost money
HE HAS TWO
EMPLOYEES SO
FAR, PREPPING
GEAR.
AS MOST OF IT
SITS IN THE SHOP.
MORE THAN 10 SKI
SHOPS IN TOWN
DEPEND ON
TOURISM THIS
TIME OF YEAR.
VIDEO FROM LAST
YEAR SHOWS THE
TOWN BUSTLING.
HOTELS,
RESTAURANTS,
AND... DAMRON'S
PLACE DEPEND ON
IT.
Damron: everybody
involved needs
Christmas, Christmas
sometimes can be you
know 30-50 percent of
your income can come
in 10 day, two week
period at Christmas
and New Years.
SKI APACHE
OFFICIALS STILL
PLAN ON OPENING
FOR BUSINESS
BEFORE
CHRISTMAS -- BUT
THERE'S ONE
MESSAGE MOST
PEOPLE IN THE
AREA HAVE.
Damron: just pray for
snow, that's all we
need.
IN RUIDOSO,
GABRIELLE
BURKHART, KRQE
NEWS 13.
THE TENTATIVE
OPENING DATE
FOR SKI APACHE
IS DECEMBER 14.
THIS WEEK,
THEY'LL TEST ONE
OF THEIR NEW
LIFTS...ONE OF
THREE THAT WAS
REPLACED AFTER
THE LITTLE BEAR
FIRE.