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

too fucking surreal... As part of the centennial celebration...

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Be a part of New Mexico Prison History!

Join the "Old Main Centennial Tour Poster/Photography" Contest (Click Here)
This event is sponsored by the New Mexico Corrections Department, an Agency Partner with the New Mexico Centennial

The New Mexico Corrections Department will be hosting tours once a month at the New Mexico State Penitentiary "Old Main" prison in Santa Fe, beginning February 2, 2012.
The "Old Main" is known for the prison riot that occured on February 2, 1980.

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http://www.corrections.state.nm.us/G...Main_Tours.jpg

http://www.corrections.state.nm.us/news/centennial.html


I'm so going...

for the uninformed...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mex...itentiary_riot

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Originally Posted by skieurmalade

Here's one of my NM weird stories, in brief:
One time I was backpacking from Truchas to Santa Fe and went to sleep in a remote meadow called Horsethief meadow. As we were getting dinner ready a kid came running out of the darkness and said he had just gone from Johnson Lake to Trailriders ridge in a day. This is about a 30 mile day and it was weird because we had just walked that trail and seen no one. Then he invited himself to supper and we fed him more than we ourselves ate he seemed starving. We had a book called Cuentos by Rudolpho Anaya about New Mexico folk tales. The random one we read that night was about many spirits coming to people's houses asking for food, and the one who fed the stranger was saved from some sort of spiritual calamity. Well he ran off into the darkness and said to meet him at Johnson Lake, Near Santa Fe Baldy, where he'd repay our kindness with lots of good canned food. He was super out to lunch and really weird. When he left my bro Code man said, "you know that was a ghost, right?" I said no he's just high as hell. Well we got to Johnson Lake where he said his camp was really early and there was no sign of him, or any recent campfires (he said he had no stove and was cooking by fire). He claimed to have tons of canned goods he barely was able to bring over the mountain. We would have caught him on his way out no prob, but never saw him. I pin this down as one of my 4 encounters with the Pecos Witch.

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Awesome story! I believe. I tried to get some thoughts on the Utah thread about possible Alta ghost stories but no one bit. Oh well. The four corners region is filled with all kinds of wild stuff, love it here.

So far this season NM get's my vote for best threads! It's much more then just skiing in here, I think it says something about the cool and funkiness of the scene out there. PLEASE keep the stories coming! Good shit.

I think the "New wild west" is New Mexico.

I'll be skiing Taos Monday through Wednesday. Anyone that wants to hook up, pm for cell #

Ranchos Plaza Grill in Ranchos de Taos (next to/behind the adobe church). Food was great, NM style, but what do I know, I was just visiting.

I have eaten there..yes it is very good

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Taos & Northern NM will always hold a special place in my heart. Let me preface that my experiences were from the early to late eighties and I grew up in Dallas and had to deal with all of the negative wrath that comes with that (20 days a year). There is a kind of a wild west vibe there that I have not found anywhere else. I remember sitting in a bar in Red River talking to an old guy about his army tank that he kept in Raton and how he was ready for the inevitable government takeover. Once a buddy and I missed a turn and ended up in Los Alamos late at night surrounded by low riders. This was so crazy to us as in 1984 I had never seen a low rider and the whole block was filled with them. One Easter weekend I drove up without checking the weather and it was close to 90 degrees in Taos and I thought for sure the resort was bare and had some of the best spring skiing ever up at the ski valley. There really is no place like it that I know of. I was last there 15 years ago and remember a couple from Chicago bought the Eidelweiss lodge and seemed really nice . Are they still around? Can't say I would want to live there but I loved the food, sunsets, terrain, and the vibe. I would go back there again from Seattle if the right storm cycle and timing works out. During a good storm cycle it is one of the best places in America IMO

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Originally Posted by up an down

I'll be skiing Taos Monday through Wednesday. Anyone that wants to hook up, pm for cell #

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No phone reception here with my virgin mobile service...so if anyone cares ...look for a red and white shell.black pants .no helmet

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started dumping at the ski valley at 8 am... high winds, only the bottom chair is currently running... even if upper chairs start later, no hiking today.... if clear tomorrow should be quite good depending on wind speed...high winds late last week hammered the area. pretty hard snow, and a lot of the troughs on bump runs were shallow because of being somewhat filled it.

CYA soon!

Was geared up to head to Wolf Creek for the weekend and then realized that this "storm" is tracking south a bit. Wanted to know if anyone has been skiing Taos lately and what the conditions are like?

Snow was nice last weekend. I was volunteering for the FWT, so I didn't get to make too many turns but from the people I talked to, the new snow was killer, but the top of Kachina was starting to get a little wind affected. There is enough snow that a 6 inch storm will ride great other than the inevitable rocks that you will hit on a powder day at Taos. Shark fins everywhere, and that fresh snow does just enough to keep you from seeing them.

I have to admit, I gave up on this thread three days after I posted it....and left NM shortly after that.
Dear Taos,
You kicked my ass! It was good idea on paper! Sent me packing within 6 months! I def. will visit again, yet live there? Probably never!, even if julia roberts gave me her house in arroyo!!!. Taos is def. steep, technical, and a serious resort!
sincerely,
former arroyo loc.

Ps. oh yeah.
Dear Raising " garlic " Arizona,
Yesterday on the cirque beach was a good one.! Great talks and memories shared. Laughter, spirits, and emotions pouring out ... Stay true my good friend!...and keep skinning those monsters bro!

this thread is hilarious.

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Originally Posted by YetiMan

A bunch of defensive, racist, undereducated, corrupt, entrenched local interests fighting tooth and nail to find some way to keep getting "anglo" money without having to meet "anglo" standards of craftsmanship, knowledge, and ethics.

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you mean these kind of standards Yeti.....
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...eck-toilet.jpg
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...550/romney.jpg
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...dneck-limo.jpg
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...50/redneck.jpg
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...550/images.jpg
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...e550/grill.jpg
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u424/ride550/gb.jpg
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u424/ride550/dt.jpg
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/u424/ride550/cc.jpg
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/..._bass_boat.jpg
http://i1067.photobucket.com/albums/...y_full_600.jpg

this state has many problemas, but I'm sure the people of NM are happy you and your standards have moved on.

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Originally Posted by capitalismo

this state has many problemas, but I'm sure the people of NM are happy you and your standards have moved on.

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Meh, some are, some aren't. The reality of my Taos life is that I did pretty well there. I had good friends, good jobs, great times, and I was just too young and foolish to steer my life correctly and handle everything that came at me. The reality of my post-Taos life is that I long, I long for the freedom and sense of adventure I felt living there...and that I puzzle over comparisons of those times in my life, wondering if the changes in myself and the changes I see in my world are really changes in setting or changes in the world at large, of times changing...or is it my own process of aging, or maybe all of those. And I wonder if I'm longing for Taos, or longing for a Taos that only existed when I lived there, or not longing for Taos at all but rather longing for my own lost youth. It's a suite of thoughts I find so maddening that I have to abandon them far prior to resolving anything for my own well-being or face an inevitable aftermath of soul-searching, depression, and anxiety which always saps my life force for a few weeks. I can't tolerate the psychosocial affects, so I have to steer clear of those thought processes.

In that Taos cultural game of "who belongs here most" you immediately lose me, that's a given... I'm a white guy from Michigan...so you know, fuck me...but pretty soon you lose all white people, even the old school commune hippy white people. Then you lose all the spaniards, I mean those are just natives who inbred with the enemy. Then you have all those sellout indians, with their running water and their pickup trucks and real jobs in town. Eventually you're left with like 10 super inbred homeless Pueblo guys living in the caves on Taos mountain. Those are the only people really allowed to live there. The rest of us, and I mean us because those 10 dudes are not in the internet, are awful filthy invaders.

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Originally Posted by YetiMan

I remember Brian Swinson, Sean Cisneros, Marty Lucero, Josh Carlson, Gabe and hugh. .

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Funny you mention Marty. I missed that the first go around. He's a good dude and the heir apparent to taking Manny's job to run the repair/rental shop. The new one is under construction now. It was good to see him last year, but I unfortunately didn't make turns with him. He and I logged a lot of hours on the hill together. He's a damn good skier.

You're memory with names is most impressive!

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Originally Posted by YetiMan

....The reality of my post-Taos life is that I long, I long for the freedom and sense of adventure I felt living there...and that I puzzle over comparisons of those times in my life, wondering if the changes in myself and the changes I see in my world are really changes in setting or changes in the world at large, of times changing...or is it my own process of aging, or maybe all of those. And I wonder if I'm longing for Taos, or longing for a Taos that only existed when I lived there, or not longing for Taos at all but rather longing for my own lost youth. It's a suite of thoughts I find so maddening that I have to abandon them far prior to resolving anything for my own well-being or face an inevitable aftermath of soul-searching, depression, and anxiety which always saps my life force for a few weeks. I can't tolerate the psychosocial affects, so I have to steer clear of those thought processes.

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Classic YetiMan right there...

Was there at age 18, too, so my feelings are similar. Nicely articulated. :yourock:

^^^ I never lived there but feel the same way and face the same struggles. Well said.

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Originally Posted by YetiMan

longing for a _______ that only existed when I lived there

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Fill in the blank. Thanks for your cool post!

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Originally Posted by strawjack

Funny you mention Marty. I missed that the first go around. He's a good dude and the heir apparent to taking Manny's job to run the repair/rental shop. The new one is under construction now. It was good to see him last year, but I unfortunately didn't make turns with him. He and I logged a lot of hours on the hill together. He's a damn good skier.

You're memory with names is most impressive!

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For me, skiing 1 turn behind Marty over many different occasions was a key to learning how to ski Taos, as the moguls there are, imho, malformed and tend to lack a cohesive, rhythmic line...plus they also tend to have a lot of rocks in the troughs. He had an eye for making tight round flowing turns using the tops and backsides of the bumps that was something I had to follow him to understand. He is a great skier, but especially a great skier of the unique situation of TSV.

Good way to learn... I used to chase Weems Westfield down Al's Run. With or without cigarette in mouth. Learned a ton skiing with him in one week.

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Originally Posted by YetiMan

For me, skiing 1 turn behind Marty over many different occasions was a key to learning how to ski Taos, as the moguls there are, imho, malformed and tend to lack a cohesive, rhythmic line...plus they also tend to have a lot of rocks in the troughs. He had an eye for making tight round flowing turns using the tops and backsides of the bumps that was something I had to follow him to understand. He is a great skier, but especially a great skier of the unique situation of TSV.

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This is amazing to see you writing that. Too funny. It was Plake that talked about making turns on the backside of the moguls waay back and I forget where and when, but it was him that changed my approach (and Marty's) to skiing bumps. The key was keeping edge contact constantly and driving the shovel down over which was the opposite of everything I was doing in JH the previous yrs...point 'em an air it out! Ha! Then again we could avoid bumps at the village back then, not so much at tsv. I learned a lot about skiing and how to ski in taos also.

Gimme some beta!!!

I have to be in Farmington, N. M. for work on 1/20. So I can arrive a few days before...or stay a few days after.

So, should I:

1) fly to Albuquerque and ski three days at Taos (that's appx 5ish hours from Farmington);

2) fly to (and stay in) Durango....drive to ski for 3 at Telly.... then drive back to Farm...

3) Be different and go to Wolf....or someone with a better idea???


I feel the need to go to Taos...b/c everyone should go there once...but I also want best conditions and best experience.

Gimme your thoughts and hook a brother up!!!


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ABQ has the less expensive flights and car rentals. Do the Taos->Wolf Creek->Silverton->Telluride->Taos loop unless someone is footing the flight and rental.
If the flight and rental is covered, just do DRO.

Fly into ABQ and fly out of Durango if someone else is paying. Stay in SF the night you fly into ABQ.

DRO would be my suggestion. Upon landing, you are 2 hours or less from WC, Silverton, and Purg. I think more powder opportunities are possible at these areas than Taos. And, if Taos gets a better storm cycle than SW CO, make the drive after riding WC and staying in South Fork...2 hrs to Taos with the right wax.

Update: ski Taos on Sun/Mon and maybe Wed (Farmington on Tues)...anyone want to grab a beer?

might be able to come up and ski monday. have to work this weekend though :(.

Is this the official Taos conditions thread?

Dunno...I didn't see another thread, so I posted here. I'll be up there today and tomorrow.

Skied Taos last week. Coverage off-piste is pretty thin, but the snow was in good condition (what was left). For me, most fun was skiing the trees skiers right off 2 (Chicken Blitz gate). You had to make precise calculated turns on good steeps to not hit the numerous exposed obstacles.

West Basin was effectively closed. Highline was skiing well with the best coverage, especially Ninos. Katchina Peak is closed (both hike and lift). Looked to me like there was enough coverage to open, but maybe avi was high?

From what I read, they are going to keep some of the terrain off Katchina Peak lift as "hike only" access, to preserve the character of Taos. Not sure how they will enforce this, perhaps a rope line down one of the ridges? Also, they plan to restrict lift operation to "keep the experience special".

Right now, its all just for looks and marketing, as they can tout the top elevation as 12,400'.

One thing I don't understand at Taos is the judicious use of ropes off groomed trails. They have very little terrain open off -piste of the groomers, even where it appears there is coverage.

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Originally Posted by Nevada29er

One thing I don't understand at Taos is the judicious use of ropes off groomed trails. They have very little terrain open off -piste of the groomers, even where it appears there is coverage.

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I think you're looking for a different word here.

ju·di·cious
adjective
having, showing, or done with good judgment or sense.

I suggest copious.

co·pi·ous
adjective: copious
abundant in supply or quantity.

As in: One thing I don't understand at Taos is the copious use of ropes off groomed trails. They have very little terrain open off -piste of the groomers, even where it appears there is coverage.

^That.

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Originally Posted by Nevada29er

Also, they plan to restrict lift operation to "keep the experience special".

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Thanks for responding. What does this mean?

Would you guys say that a 50" base would get the mountain open? Or more like 60"?

I considered 60 a minimum for the good terrain at Taos. You can't start unpuckering and ski flowy and fast in that stuff until 80" or 90" imho.

re: "keeping the experience special"...I think that means they have to take you out for dinner and drinks before they let Kachina Peak date-rape the bottoms of your skis.

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Originally Posted by YetiMan

re: "keeping the experience special"...I think that means they have to take you out for dinner and drinks before they let Kachina Peak date-rape the bottoms of your skis.

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:D Skied it on a full moon and just as we take off some clouds come in and then the sweet spark show ensued!

Ropes along the side are so that people don't wander off into a zone that can get them into trouble. They are funneled to an entrance with signs stating where they are going. If its open you can go under the rope...imo.

So a 40" base, but maybe 1-2 feet FRI-SUN. Locals how is it? CA is dying and can get there, thoughts?

BUmping to ask the same. Might be headed down in a few weeks. How's the snow? Anything new in the forecast?