TAOS New Mexico....BETA.....?

If it snows in like forecasted it'll be a bit to get the mtn open. Another 2 feet potentially. Big!

People hiking on the webcam right now

Yep I was there when ppl were lining up for the ridge. Not a fan or waiting around or any frenzy really..

Great day on the hill, hoping for a few laps w buster tomorrow!

All time day. Got the chair 7 rope drop

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Originally Posted by byates1

Yep I was there when ppl were lining up for the ridge. Not a fan or waiting around or any frenzy really..

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I'm with you especially when there's still pockets of fresh to be had.

Nice Buster! Nothing like traveling and scoring fresh!

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Originally Posted by byates1

Yep I was there when ppl were lining up for the ridge. Not a fan or waiting around or any frenzy really..

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Hiking to ski juarez


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First day at Taos.
It was great!
Nice pitch with a foot of snow!

Al's run to open; deep, soft and bumpy-lumpy.
Elicited whoops and hollers from the lift.
The hike was worth it:
Saint Bernard (WOOF-WOOF!)
And a nice Meatball Sandwich!! to end the day.

Yum.

Thanks for showing me around byates!

Got damn, gents! Git sum!!

Attachment 447888

Taos firing all cylinders. Fkna. Spun laps w buster this am. Rad dude making it look easy on og 120's! Pfluffenmeister crushing it on og pm gear big boards. Me, torqued my knee and worn down from daily skiing. Nice prob to have. More tomorrow!

/sweetblogbruh...

Nuking harder than ever now. Getting pounded. I don't think I've skied a week since Thanksgiving without a storm.

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Originally Posted by Buster Highmen

All time day. Got the chair 7 rope drop

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Nice. Did you plan ahead or storm chase? My better half was skiing there last week on a ladies trip and loved it.

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Originally Posted by Dromond

Nice. Did you plan ahead or storm chase? My better half was skiing there last week on a ladies trip and loved it.

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More of a storm chase plus finally being priced out of Aspen and T'ride.
So much fun today slaying pow off chair 2, skied from 9:30 until 3:45, killed it with 2 laps down Als Runs sweet pow bumps. It just nuked all day. Nothing like a true deep pow day at Taos.

Did see a black jacket patrol come down from K basin area with air bag deployed accompanied by 5 others, all looking really grim. Neither chair 4 nor the K lift opened, it was truly nuts. Got the chair 7 rope drop again today and while it's mostly groimers, such a gas railing huDge honker virgin pow burners down there until it was schralped.

It was cool to make a few laps with byates who cruises a smooth arc. Hope your joints get better, let's link up some turns again.

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Originally Posted by Buster Highmen

More of a storm chase plus finally being priced out of Aspen and T'ride.
So much fun today slaying pow off chair 2, skied from 9:30 until 3:45, killed it with 2 laps down Als Runs sweet pow bumps. It just nuked all day. Nothing like a true deep pow day at Taos.

Did see a black jacket patrol come down from K basin area with air bag deployed accompanied by 5 others, all looking really grim. Neither chair 4 nor the K lift opened, it was truly nuts. Got the chair 7 rope drop again today and while it's mostly groimers, such a gas railing huDge honker virgin pow burners down there until it was schralped.

It was cool to make a few laps with byates who cruises a smooth arc. Hope your joints get better, let's link up some turns again.

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When do we think Kachina will open?

4 opened today. K was fat looking. Prob tomorrow or Saturday.

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Originally Posted by byates1

4 opened today. K was fat looking. Prob tomorrow or Saturday.

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Word. Hopefully it won’t be too tracked

It'll be hammered in 45 min

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Originally Posted by duffduffxx

When do we think Kachina will open?

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Hopefully tomorrow. :cool:

Old local I rode the chair with said probably open for hiking tomorrow. Lift on Saturday. made a mistake of going over to 4. Missed the North American and Ernie's opening. . Amazing how fast it gets bumped out.

Way too many ppl this am. I bailed. Enjoy Presidents weekend, I'm going Nordic skiing.

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Originally Posted by BFD

Old local I rode the chair with said probably open for hiking tomorrow. Lift on Saturday. made a mistake of going over to 4. Missed the North American and Ernie's opening. . Amazing how fast it gets bumped out.

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Old local was right. And it pays to ask patrol when Hunziker will open 'cause he might just say, "Yeah - it's open. Let me go up and drop that rope."

Hike to Kachina nearly kilt me, but was worth it.

Kid thought it was all great fun.

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Originally Posted by skaredshtles

Hike to Kachina nearly kilt me, but was worth it.

Kid thought it was all great fun.

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[emoji16] it's a long way, thin air, for a little vert. Skinning up the face is so much easier.

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Originally Posted by Buster Highmen

It just nuked all day. Nothing like a true deep pow day at Taos.

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Fkna. I was just saying I'd trade 2 weeks in Jh for a 4 day storm in Taos.

I am already regretting not joining you for this loop. Fuck me.

Saw the forecast on Sunday night, got a flight Monday morning, and made it to the mountain just before the snow started. First time at Taos. Thought it was great even with just the main chair spinning. Some locals grumbled about crowds. Even first/worst chair we waited maybe 10 minutes? Snow kept falling Tuesday and Wednesday keeping conditions relatively soft despite how quickly things got "tracked out". Stuck around Thursday and caught the rope drop on Lorelei and North American. A really cool place.

Buddy having fun on Tuesday:
Attachment 448231

Brief shenanigans:

Kachina lift opened today - lift line was probably 15 whole minutes when we headed up for a lap around 11:30.

Other lift lines were negligible during the day.

Kid sniffed out an El Funko rope drop - that shot was good for 3 laps before it was mostly tracked out.

By 1:30 the lift lines at Kachina were gone, so we did another couple laps up there before finishing with a Spencer's -> Edelweiss finish.

Now to go get some more chile rellenos.

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^ well played.

We were there last year for a Kachina opener over spring break, and the freshies lasted 3 days. The conventional wisdom that it gets skied out quickly because that incredible Skytrac delivers too many people to the top is overplayed. Compared to the bootpack...yes. Throw that out, the politics of the whole thing, and just live with the decision even if you think it was fucked, traverse and sniff around a bit, it is a gem. Texans stuck below.

Needless to say, going back this year.

It’s a great hill . Glad you guys hit it when it was going off.


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Dumping at the base presently.

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good view of patrol up on hiline right now doing control

Finally made it down to Taos here are some
thoughts from a quasi Salt Lake local

Taos has always seemed steeped in a mystical vibe to me; perhaps its the story of the land and people. Puebloans. Also Spaniards who have occupied the area longer than my waspy forefathers who arrived in the 18th century, also hippies, ski bums and crusty Anglos

To have a ski area that overlooks the land where Popé led the Pueblo revolt and where the Anasazi found refuge after drought in the 4 corners in the 13th century provides a sense if magnitude to the landscape which trickles into the skiing experience.

I realized after this weekend- perhaps the busiest of the season- where I only had to wait in lift lines for maybe 5 min max once a day, that the skiing experience at Taos was more pure, holistic, and offered far more satisfaction than your average Alta/bird/soli day in 2023.

Yes, they get more snowfall and have more terrain, but not having to deal with the red snake or 30 min lift lines and powder panic was a breath of fresh air .

Writing this on my return flight back to Atlanta, I am probably going to prioritize jan/ feb trips to Taos over SLC and keep the cottonwoods as my early/late season stops.

A few other musings:

- 1/2 of all the stores and restaurants seem to be closed in Taos for some reason. Not a huge deal but getting dinner can be a little bit of an adventure. With that said Guadalajara was super dank and had the best chile relleno of my life at that slopeside bar/ restaurant at the base of TSV

- Stay at hotel luna mystica highly recommended. Cool vibe and sick views of the Sangres

- Sunday dumped maybe 1-3” but with the windbuff it was skiing deeper- was as fun as a 10” day at AltaBird.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SirHeady

Finally made it down to Taos here are some
thoughts from a quasi Salt Lake local

Taos has always seemed steeped in a mystical vibe to me; perhaps its the story of the land and people. Puebloans. Also Spaniards who have occupied the area longer than my waspy forefathers who arrived in the 18th century, also hippies, ski bums and crusty Anglos

To have a ski area that overlooks the land where Popé led the Pueblo revolt and where the Anasazi found refuge after drought in the 4 corners in the 13th century provides a sense if magnitude to the landscape which trickles into the skiing experience.

I realized after this weekend- perhaps the busiest of the season- where I only had to wait in lift lines for maybe 5 min max once a day, that the skiing experience at Taos was more pure, holistic, and offered far more satisfaction than your average Alta/bird/soli day in 2023.

Yes, they get more snowfall and have more terrain, but not having to deal with the red snake or 30 min lift lines and powder panic was a breath of fresh air .

Writing this on my return flight back to Atlanta, I am probably going to prioritize jan/ feb trips to Taos over SLC and keep the cottonwoods as my early/late season stops.

A few other musings:

- 1/2 of all the stores and restaurants seem to be closed in Taos for some reason. Not a huge deal but getting dinner can be a little bit of an adventure. With that said Guadalajara was super dank and had the best chile relleno of my life at that slopeside bar/ restaurant at the base of TSV

- Stay at hotel luna mystica highly recommended. Cool vibe and sick views of the Sangres

- Sunday dumped maybe 1-3” but with the windbuff it was skiing deeper- was as fun as a 10” day at AltaBird.

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Next time you might consider getting reservations at Doc Martin's if you like rellenos. They are spectacular.

Also - Orlando's rellenos are top notch. Go when they open for dinner so you don't have to wait for a table.

yea we tried to do orlandos and got there at 6 and line was out the door

only gripe i had was the limiter availablity/hours for stores and restaurants in Taos itself- but not a big enough deal to bitch about

Toribios was dank af too

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SirHeady

yea we tried to do orlandos and got there at 6 and line was out the door

only gripe i had was the limiter availablity/hours for stores and restaurants in Taos itself- but not a big enough deal to bitch about

Toribios was dank af too

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Oh - and this place in the morning if you're getting a late-ish start:

Wild Leaven Bakery, Taos
https://maps.app.goo.gl/pAYofM12fFg7ma427

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SirHeady

Finally made it down to Taos here are some
thoughts from a quasi Salt Lake local

Taos has always seemed steeped in a mystical vibe to me; perhaps its the story of the land and people. Puebloans. Also Spaniards who have occupied the area longer than my waspy forefathers who arrived in the 18th century, also hippies, ski bums and crusty Anglos

To have a ski area that overlooks the land where Popé led the Pueblo revolt and where the Anasazi found refuge after drought in the 4 corners in the 13th century provides a sense if magnitude to the landscape which trickles into the skiing experience.

I realized after this weekend- perhaps the busiest of the season- where I only had to wait in lift lines for maybe 5 min max once a day, that the skiing experience at Taos was more pure, holistic, and offered far more satisfaction than your average Alta/bird/soli day in 2023.

Yes, they get more snowfall and have more terrain, but not having to deal with the red snake or 30 min lift lines and powder panic was a breath of fresh air .

Writing this on my return flight back to Atlanta, I am probably going to prioritize jan/ feb trips to Taos over SLC and keep the cottonwoods as my early/late season stops.

A few other musings:

- 1/2 of all the stores and restaurants seem to be closed in Taos for some reason. Not a huge deal but getting dinner can be a little bit of an adventure. With that said Guadalajara was super dank and had the best chile relleno of my life at that slopeside bar/ restaurant at the base of TSV

- Stay at hotel luna mystica highly recommended. Cool vibe and sick views of the Sangres

- Sunday dumped maybe 1-3” but with the windbuff it was skiing deeper- was as fun as a 10” day at AltaBird.

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Taos sucks. Nobody should go there. The trees are tight, they don't groom enough, and it's too steep.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by jackstraw

Taos sucks. Nobody should go there. The trees are tight, they don't groom enough, and it's too steep.

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Attachment 448638

Today will be nice and quiet. Another nuclear day tomorrow. 6-10 tonight, 8-12 tomorrow. Hopefully all the Denver peeps used their goodwill w work last week

Ran into one of the people who hired me 20 years ago to be the chef on an expedition to Iceland/Greenland. Pretty amazing to see him again.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SirHeady

Finally made it down to Taos here are some
thoughts from a quasi Salt Lake local

Taos has always seemed steeped in a mystical vibe to me; perhaps its the story of the land and people. Puebloans. Also Spaniards who have occupied the area longer than my waspy forefathers who arrived in the 18th century, also hippies, ski bums and crusty Anglos

To have a ski area that overlooks the land where Popé led the Pueblo revolt and where the Anasazi found refuge after drought in the 4 corners in the 13th century provides a sense if magnitude to the landscape which trickles into the skiing experience.

I realized after this weekend- perhaps the busiest of the season- where I only had to wait in lift lines for maybe 5 min max once a day, that the skiing experience at Taos was more pure, holistic, and offered far more satisfaction than your average Alta/bird/soli day in 2023.

Yes, they get more snowfall and have more terrain, but not having to deal with the red snake or 30 min lift lines and powder panic was a breath of fresh air .

Writing this on my return flight back to Atlanta, I am probably going to prioritize jan/ feb trips to Taos over SLC and keep the cottonwoods as my early/late season stops.

A few other musings:

- 1/2 of all the stores and restaurants seem to be closed in Taos for some reason. Not a huge deal but getting dinner can be a little bit of an adventure. With that said Guadalajara was super dank and had the best chile relleno of my life at that slopeside bar/ restaurant at the base of TSV

- Stay at hotel luna mystica highly recommended. Cool vibe and sick views of the Sangres

- Sunday dumped maybe 1-3” but with the windbuff it was skiing deeper- was as fun as a 10” day at AltaBird.

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Yup. I felt the same way 3 years ago when I visited. I'll take wind buffed, chalky steeps and mogul skiing over deep powder and a hyped up resort frenzy every single time.

I just don't want to race anymore for it. Not that I ever really did, at least not like it is today. I did a rope drop once for Mineral Basin and I was asking myself, Am I actually having fun? The answer was sort of but not worth the effort. I did one in Telluride once too and after three turns I stopped and pulled over to let everyone go.

60-90 mph winds tomorrow. Yay..

Patrol released a 6 foot crown onto the return trail to one. Not optimistic for today.