wtcobb
New member
The trip I've been looking forward to all year, especially as this season has been a wash at home and a lottery windfall for New Mexico... but then it stopped snowing in the west.
Despite no powder dumps, I enjoyed 40+ temps and sun (real feel at least 50) every day. Valley temps were in the 60's. If it's not powder, I'll take sun any day.
As abc reported, the bumps at Taos never ice up. With warm sun, they softened nicely. With ~10% humidity, they softened without turning to mush. A nice chalky feel to the snow all week.
Day 1: fast groomer laps in the AM as we get to know the layout of the hill. Explored looker's right first from Lift 1 over to Lift 8 and up to 2. Lorelei and the glades off 7 were a bit firmer in the shade but a thrill. Back down to the base for some lunch, then up to Highline Ridge. The 15-minute hike from Lift 2 did a number on our east coast lungs, but we took a needed "photo break" to gasp and recover. Steep trip down Juarez was great, and the bumps at the bottom in Walkeries Bowl seemed like cake after the ridge dive. Afternoon spent traveling over to looker's left to lift 4, Hunziker's Bowl, and planning chutes for the next day.
Drop-in for Juarez with Kachina's Main Street in the back right.
Day 2: Just the boys today as the ladies headed off to Santa Fe for a winery/museum day. Two on skis, one on board as we explored more of what we knew and tried to hit terrain we hadn't the day prior. The run of the trip here. Up to Kachina and down skier's right, avoiding some of the bare spots on Main Street. Traversed far right to reach the chutes above Hunziker Bowl - probably the steepest piece of skiing we hit. Once down the chute we kept right to the far side of Hunziker's and off into El Funko. Somewhere in the midst of El Funko my friend exclaimed, "It just keeps going! The bumps keep going!" Excitement, not fear here. Our snowboarder friend in tow was less amused. A long, burning run, but by far the best we had all week. A second run up Kachina taking skier's left down the ridge to hit the chutes in the trees didn't turn out as well: my buddy took a nasty core shot somewhere along the ridge, which ended his day with a trip to the ski doctor. Dinner and karaoke at Taos Mesa Brewery, a cool spot not far from town or the mountain.
Steeps coming down the chutes into Hunziker.
Day 3: Bumps, bumps, and pretzels. The girls joined us again for more fun. Another trip up Highline, more dives into Hunziker, glade chutes off 7... an all-out assault on the quads. Lunch-time stop at the Bavarian for pretzels, brats, and "Radlers" - lager mixed with grapefruit juice. I remained skeptical of fruity beer, but damn if that wasn't the most refreshing thing on a sunny ski day. Bud's fiance took the chance to demo a new board while my lady took a rest, leaving me the opportunity to lap more bump runs. A final set of steep bumps down Ronda's Glade sealed the day.
Day 4 had much of the area on wind hold, so we ventured to the Rio Grande Gorge and Ojo Caliente hot springs. The "natural" hot spring spa wasn't exactly what I had pictured, though the girls enjoyed the spa trip. Great lunch at Eske's brewery and really nice dinner at Martyr's steakhouse.
Awesome trip to Taos. As noted in abc's report, this is a very unique mountain with features unseen at other locations. The vibe of the hill is very unique too - incredibly laid back and unpretentious. Come here to ski, and ski hard. We laughed a good deal at the "ski bros" in the tune shop who insisted only to "hit the tip jar, brah" for any repair. The town of Taos is very cool as well. Countless art galleries, great coffee shops, amazing food.
I'll add more pictures later on.
Despite no powder dumps, I enjoyed 40+ temps and sun (real feel at least 50) every day. Valley temps were in the 60's. If it's not powder, I'll take sun any day.
As abc reported, the bumps at Taos never ice up. With warm sun, they softened nicely. With ~10% humidity, they softened without turning to mush. A nice chalky feel to the snow all week.
Day 1: fast groomer laps in the AM as we get to know the layout of the hill. Explored looker's right first from Lift 1 over to Lift 8 and up to 2. Lorelei and the glades off 7 were a bit firmer in the shade but a thrill. Back down to the base for some lunch, then up to Highline Ridge. The 15-minute hike from Lift 2 did a number on our east coast lungs, but we took a needed "photo break" to gasp and recover. Steep trip down Juarez was great, and the bumps at the bottom in Walkeries Bowl seemed like cake after the ridge dive. Afternoon spent traveling over to looker's left to lift 4, Hunziker's Bowl, and planning chutes for the next day.
Drop-in for Juarez with Kachina's Main Street in the back right.
Day 2: Just the boys today as the ladies headed off to Santa Fe for a winery/museum day. Two on skis, one on board as we explored more of what we knew and tried to hit terrain we hadn't the day prior. The run of the trip here. Up to Kachina and down skier's right, avoiding some of the bare spots on Main Street. Traversed far right to reach the chutes above Hunziker Bowl - probably the steepest piece of skiing we hit. Once down the chute we kept right to the far side of Hunziker's and off into El Funko. Somewhere in the midst of El Funko my friend exclaimed, "It just keeps going! The bumps keep going!" Excitement, not fear here. Our snowboarder friend in tow was less amused. A long, burning run, but by far the best we had all week. A second run up Kachina taking skier's left down the ridge to hit the chutes in the trees didn't turn out as well: my buddy took a nasty core shot somewhere along the ridge, which ended his day with a trip to the ski doctor. Dinner and karaoke at Taos Mesa Brewery, a cool spot not far from town or the mountain.
Steeps coming down the chutes into Hunziker.
Day 3: Bumps, bumps, and pretzels. The girls joined us again for more fun. Another trip up Highline, more dives into Hunziker, glade chutes off 7... an all-out assault on the quads. Lunch-time stop at the Bavarian for pretzels, brats, and "Radlers" - lager mixed with grapefruit juice. I remained skeptical of fruity beer, but damn if that wasn't the most refreshing thing on a sunny ski day. Bud's fiance took the chance to demo a new board while my lady took a rest, leaving me the opportunity to lap more bump runs. A final set of steep bumps down Ronda's Glade sealed the day.
Day 4 had much of the area on wind hold, so we ventured to the Rio Grande Gorge and Ojo Caliente hot springs. The "natural" hot spring spa wasn't exactly what I had pictured, though the girls enjoyed the spa trip. Great lunch at Eske's brewery and really nice dinner at Martyr's steakhouse.
Awesome trip to Taos. As noted in abc's report, this is a very unique mountain with features unseen at other locations. The vibe of the hill is very unique too - incredibly laid back and unpretentious. Come here to ski, and ski hard. We laughed a good deal at the "ski bros" in the tune shop who insisted only to "hit the tip jar, brah" for any repair. The town of Taos is very cool as well. Countless art galleries, great coffee shops, amazing food.
I'll add more pictures later on.
