ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The annual New Mexico Ski Swap is back at Expo New Mexico this weekend, giving New Mexicans a chance to stock up on winter sports gear.

Many of New Mexico’s ski areas are expected to open later this month.

“Ski swap is the best place to get the best deals,” said Kim Linder from Sandia Peak Ski Patrol.

“Saturday is our busiest day by far, and we often get lines around the building for people coming in,” said Linder.

Rena Aragon from Sandia Peak Ski Patrol expects over 5,000 people coming to the event over the weekend.

Gear and deals

The event offers a wide selection of new and used winter sports gear, often on discounts.

“Skis and snowboards are, of course, the big ones,” said Linder.

Gear will also include boots, outerwear, beanies, jackets, and helmets of all sizes for children and adults.

Supporting safety

The Sandia Peak Ski Patrol hosts the event annually, raising money for their operations. Aragon said, “We ensure mountain safety, we do risk management, and if any of our guests need medical care or first aid, we provide that.”

“We are a nonprofit organization. We’re volunteers. A lot of people are surprised to hear that,” said Linder. “So that means we pay for all of our equipment, we pay for our medical equipment, we pay for the toboggans, we pay for all of our training.”

When to go

The Ski Swap officially begins today at Expo New Mexico. You can also sell your old gear at the event. Items for sale can be dropped off between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m.

The VIP sale starts at 7 p.m. Friday with a $20 fee, and the main public sale begins Saturday at 9 a.m. with a $2 admission fee. The event wraps up Sunday at 2 p.m.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The 2025 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta drew 851,994 guest visits, inching the event back toward pre-pandemic numbers.

Attendance for the 2025 Balloon Fiesta was up from three of the last four post-pandemic editions of Balloon Fiesta (2021-22, 2024) and is not far off of the four editions before the pandemic (2016-19).

In all, there were 537 registered balloons, including 103 special shape balloons (11 new) and 90 remote control balloons. There were 651 pilots – from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, the Czech Republic, Mexico, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

• Pilots came from 41 of 50 U.S. states:
  • Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

MORE: Balloon Fiesta: 838,337 guest visits during 2024 festivities

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico is turning to artificial intelligence to help firefighters get to wildfires quicker. Firefighters have relied on sightings of wildfire, 911 calls, and even people in lookout towers who see smoke or flames. Now, they are turning to new technology. “Our firefighters no longer waste critical time trying to locate the fire based on a vague description or chasing smoke, and incident commanders receive real-time visual intelligence during active fires, which helps them make better tactical decisions and resource deployment, and public safety decisions,” said Laura McCarthy, New Mexico State Forester.

The AI-enabled wildfire detection technology provides continuous monitoring of the highest-risk areas. The state is deploying 11 stations in Albuquerque, the East Mountains, and the Santa Fe area, with more stations around the state planned.

Director of Government Development for Pano AI and former wildland firefighter Kat Williams, explained how the tech works. “So the way that Pano works is we deploy high-definition cameras that have AI running on those images. And when the AI detects a wildfire, then it goes to a fully-staffed intelligence center, where a pano analyst will confirm that it is a wildfire. And then that visual intelligence is sent to all fire agencies within a jurisdiction so that,” said Williams.

She said that the visual intelligence from the pano cameras can allow firefighters to send the right resources the first time so that they can extinguish those fires right away. Five stations are already operational and monitoring 24 hours a day, seven days a week with six additional stations expected to come online by early 2026.

Each station costs about $50,000 a year to operate. The quicker information about a fire starting could also lead to quicker evacuation orders for people affected by the blazes.