Notices and Highlights

Everyone
– Nine Mile Picnic Area reopens
– Check out new webpages for La Luz Trail safety improvements, Adopt-a-Highway projects, saw certifications, and signage and maps

Members
– Save the date: Last 2024 membership meeting October 1
– We mourn the passing of friend and long-time FOSM member Carl Smith
– Lou Romero explains why we use the term Guard Station
– Leader needed for paint crew
– Welcome our new members

See below for details.

Supporting Sandia Ranger District Since 1997

Volunteer Opportunities
Awards and Recognition
History, Strategic Plan, and Board of Directors

We Love Our Mountains*

Whether you are a hiker, mountain biker, cross-country skier, trail runner, or you just enjoy being in the Sandias, you know that our mountains are one of nature’s special gifts.

Have you ever wondered what you could do to help protect our mountains? Do you want to learn more about the animals and plants you find there? Do you like to meet people who share your concern for the Sandia and Manzanita Mountains?

Welcome! Please explore our website to learn more about the goals and many activities of the Friends of the Sandia Mountains (FOSM). We likely have volunteer opportunities that match your interests and abilities.

*Technically, it’s Sandia Mountain (singular), but we often use the plural to recognize the existence of northern and southern peaks.

New to Albuquerque or just new to the Sandias? Explore the many recreational opportunities our mountains offer. Please carefully read the Safety section.

Please check out our La Luz Trail webpage if you are planning to hike this iconic but too often dangerous trail.

An easy way to get involved is to join Cibola Trail Rangers, an email group consisting of hikers, bikers, XC skiers, horsemen, etc., who frequent the trails in the Sandia Ranger District and are interested in exchanging information on trail conditions on both an immediate and continuing basis. The group includes FOSM members trained to correct reported problems.

Please report corrective actions as well as problems so the FOSM trail maintenance crew doesn’t hike to fix a problem that no longer exists.

Take the Tram to the Top⏤an Unforgettable Experience!

Sandia Peak Tramway makes the top of the mountain easily accessible and one-way hikes of La Luz Trail possible, but be sure to check their website before starting your journey.

Weather and Road Conditions

Membership Meeting, October 1

Please plan to join us to hear FOSM president Mike Madden announce the results of our 2024 election and then long-time FOSM member Jeff Young tell us about the history of the Sandia Ranger District.

Date and Time – October 1, 7:00 PM

Location – Sandia Ranger Station conference room

Program abstract – The presentation will provide a brief summary on people, places and things of the Sandia Ranger District, how the Sandia Ranger District came to be, history of recreation in the Sandias, hunting and wildlife, and other historical events.

Speaker bio – Jeff has lived in New Mexico for most of his life and is a life member of FOSM. He started the Sandia Snowshoe Race and has been a resident of Sandia Park since 1992. He is an avid hiker, mountain biker, skier, hunter, and fisherman. After graduating from Lovington High School, he went on to an accounting degree from Abilene Christian University and then an MBA from New Mexico State University. He retired from Sandia National Laboratories in 2021.

We look forward to seeing you on the 1st.

Read about previous meetings here.

Sad News

From Bet Gendron: We are sorry to announce the passing on Sept 7 of Carl Smith, 86, a long-time friend and sawyer in the Friends of the Sandia Mtns for decades. In the words of Sam Beard, ” Carl and I were friends and colleagues for more than 45 years. We shared our love of the outdoors in the Friends of the Sandia Mountains and the New Mexico Cross Country Ski Club. A skilled photographer, Carl contributed many pictures to my Ski Touring in Northern New Mexico, and he used his chain saw to remove trees from ski trails in the Sandia and Jemez Ranger Districts. We also enjoyed working together using chainsaws to fell hazard trees, cut logs, and clear meadows in projects organized by the Friends.” A former physicist with Sandia Labs, Carl was also a climber and an avid mountain biker as well as a road biker with NM Touring Society. We all knew his sometimes exacting standards and we enjoyed hearing of his many world-wide climbing adventures, which he regaled with old-school amusement, no matter how harrowing it actually was. In addition to photographing for Sam’s book, he contributed to Robert Julyan’s The Mountains of New Mexico and others. Carl was laid up for a few years in the companionship of his wife, Marilyn. Please see French Funerals for the future Memorial Service schedule, frenchfunerals.com/obituaries/carl-smith.

Lou Romero Explains why we Store our Tools in the FOSM Guard Station Rather than a Tool Shed

Those of us who work on one (or more) of the weekly crews are very appreciative of the neatly organized building in which we store our large collection of tools and supplies. Some have heard old-timers like Sam Beard tell the story of how the building itself was a gift and how Sandia Ranger District provided the land upon which it is installed. Joele Hertel and Sam recently brought electical power into the building and added new racks to better organize the many valuable tools that are stored within it.

Not many of us, however, know the story of why we call it a Guard Station rather than a tool shed. Lou Romero has captured this story in a 5-page document that you can read by clicking on the image below. He also has provided a very personal account of why the term means so much to him.

Nine-Mile Picnic Area to Reopen on September 6

Slides Available from September 3 Membership Meeting

Sam Beard told us about cross-country skiing in general and the New Mexico Cross Country Ski Club in particular during an entertaining and educational evening. Slides from the meeting can be viewed here.

Learn about past and upcoming membership meetings here.

Volunteer Opportunity – Paint Crew Leader

Thanks, Anne Hickman for your years of faithful service as leader of the paint crew. Anne has stepped down due to other commitments. Please use the form on the referenced pages if you would be interested in assuming this leadership position.

Welcome, New FOSM Members!

*Life sponsor