Hot Springs and Cooking Classes at Taos Ski Valley

Hot Springs
Have you been to the Taos Ski Valley hot springs yet? No? Neither has anyone else. That is because there aren't any hot springs right in Taos Ski Valley, but the resort is located just a short distance from some of the best hot springs in the West in Ojo Caliente Mineral Springs. Every Tuesday during the ski season, there are day trips planned to bring guests for a day of relaxation and soaking.

The excursions are designed so you can still get a morning of skiing and be back in time for an evening meal with the family. Shuttles depart from the Taos Ski Valley Guard Gate at 1 PM and return around 6 PM. On your way to Ojo Caliente, you will take a one hour scenic ride over the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge, one of the highest bridges in the country, and through the mesa for a spectacular Southwest tour.

Indulge yourself with the Ojo Experience package which includes transportation, pool pass (mineral springs), robe/locker and a treatment of choice (custom massage, Radiant Sea Salt Glow or Sundari Custom face treatment). The Ojo Experience costs $155. The other option is the Soak Away which includes transportation and pool pass for $67. A robe and locker are not included in this price, but are available for rental for $15.

Cooking Classes
Every Wednesday, throughout the ski season, cooking classes will be offered with nationally acclaimed and award winning Chef, Chris Maher. Chris heads Cooking Studio TAOS - a teaching and food consortium - where people are encouraged to play with their food! Cuisines taught will vary from New Mexican to Italian, Moroccan to East Indian and everything in between. Classes are 100% hands on participation and learning, lasting approximately three hours and ending with a beautiful, seated meal of the recipes you have all created together. Students have fun and walk away having learned recipes, technique and theory. Fees include recipes, food and beverages.

Some of the recent class topics include "Mediterranean Flavors", "Hearty Winter Soups" and "Elegant Food to serve on the Eve of the New Year". The cost of the cooking class is $115 per person.

United Airlines 4 Day Huge Sale to Albuquerque - Taos Ski Valley

United Airlines just launched a huge sale for reduced airfares on flights going into Albuquerque, New Mexico. Albuquerque is where skiers and boarders fly into for their Taos vacation. With Taos already being one of the biggest values in ski country, these reduced fares will complete the perfect vacation. The sale ends this Friday, December 19, 2009, so make your plans now. Check out these sample airfare deals -

Chicago-Albuquerque	$190
Cincinnati-Albuquerque	$216
Philadelphia-Albuquerque	$220
Pittsburgh-Albuquerque	$236

There are restrictions and terms and conditions for this promotion. Call (866) 250-7313 today and take advantage of these discount airfares. The fresh powder and outstanding ski vacation savings are waiting for you.

Winter Storm Socks Valley!

Storm socks the Taos Ski Valley! "It's a dump!" is the word around the village. Eighteen inches had fallen by Tuesday morning and continues to pound the mountain. White-out conditions and high gusts of wind have made this one a real blow-out. Conditions are ideal now for exciting early season skiing. More snow is expected today and throughout the week.

submitted by Laura Lynch

Snow Blasts Taos Ski Valley

"Snow is blasting Taos Ski Valley," reported KTAO's Nancy Stapp this morning. "Look at that powder!" Five inches in a couple hours fell and continues to pile up. More is predicted Friday and Monday, getting things up to speed for great early skiing.

Last week's predicted storm bypassed Northern New Mexico's Sangre de Cristo Mountains, blanketing instead the Southern reaches of the state. But this one hit!

Taos Ski Valley opened on Thanksgiving with a couple of runs and one lift. As of today, December 3rd, five lifts are open, allowing skiing from the top of the mountain. More snow is expected to kiss the valley with virgin powder. Check out our hot deals page for some great early season specials.

- submitted by Laura Lynch

Yet Another Storm on the Horizon for Taos Ski Valley!!

Opening day for Taos Ski Valley is just a couple weeks away and the forecasters are calling for another storm to come barreling through New Mexico this weekend. After a short, but enjoyable week of sun, the Southwest gets right back into a pattern of unsettled weather. "ANOTHER PACIFIC SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO PUSH THROUGH...ON THE HEALS OF THE UPCOMING ONE." reads the NOAA weather discussion for New Mexico this weekend. Early season is a great time to get some cheap ski packages like this one: $213 per person for 3 Nights/2 Days (includes 3rd night free).

This just in... the 2010 Salomon Extreme Freeride Championship at Taos Ski Valley has opened registration for this year's event. This is a great spectator event and if you have the stuff to prove you can conquer the mountain, sign up! But you better bring your "A" game! Because if the other competitors don't get you, the mountain will!

Big Snow in October for Taos Ski Valley

It seems that the 2009-10 ski season is going to get off to a great start. The latest storm at Taos Ski Valley dumped 14 inches of fresh powder. Even in the Town of Taos, 2,000 feet below, huge quarter sized flakes were spotted. In December and January, that has been known to happen, but not in October. On top of this storm, Taos Ski Valley is reporting 2 Feet of fresh snow in the last five days and even more on famed Kachina Peak.

The first storms started rolling in during the month of September and after a short warm spell in early October, it just turned on again. Could this be the influence of El Nino? The NOAA thinks so. In this article, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officially announced this winter as an El Nino winter. If you aren't familiar with the effects it has on the Southwest, I can personally tell you it means pack your gear and head to Taos! El Nino winters have been known to produce some of the biggest snowstorms the area has seen. I personally remember an El Nino storm where we received 50 inches in a 24 hour period and 75 inches over a four day period.

All I know is it could be one of those years and it is already starting out pretty good. Check back often to get the scoop on what's going on.

Snow In Taos Ski Valley, Already!

Well it wasn't a huge early snowfall, but the clouds rolled into the southern Rocky Mountains and snow actually fell at Taos Ski Valley this week. It was a sight to see, and I'm pretty sure I heard the sound of powder-hounds barking during this first light storm.

A common misconception is that the southwest Rocky Mountains don't get as much snow as Colorado, but here is proof that the snow starts flying just as early (as Colorado recently reported their first snow too). Taos Ski Valley is known for some of the lightest powder in snow country and it looks like this year is getting an early start.

We found some great deals for this season, including 4th Night Stay Free Ski Packages. Everyone is gearing up for another great season (last year was fairly epic!) Check back with us. We'll be sure to let you know what's going on in Taos Ski Valley!

Bud Light Southwest Pond Skimming Championship Hits Taos...

What a long great season it has been! Lots of snow, lots of events and lots of fun. Closing weekend is upon us at Taos Ski Valley and that means the grand-daddy of all the crazy events is set to take place; The Bud Light Southwest Pond Skimming Championship. The party/event splashes down on Strawberry Hill in the base area in Taos and is a can't miss, especially when the "freaks" come out.

What is a Pond Skimming event you ask? Imagine a man-made lake (also known as "Lake Blake") that is approximately 80 feet long filled with icy blue water. The object is to gain enough speed make it across the pond and stay dry. Of course, as this event is meant to entertain, not everyone makes it across and they end up a soggy mess! See exhibit A to the right!

Judges will be giving extra points for costumes, style and distance. Style usually plays a big part in the crowds minds with past years favorites being "Darth Vador", a nearly naked boy, a nearly naked girl and of course there are always the cross-dressers!

The event runs from 2:30 - 5:00 PM and registration ($10 entry fee) will be at the TSV administrative offices.

So summon your inner "Aqua Man" and break out your best Halloween costume and get to Taos this weekend. We still have some great deals to get you there. Check out our hot deals section!

Red Bull 1976 Olympics Qualifier Coming to Taos Ski Valley

TAOS, NM – March 3, 2009 – On March 15th Taos Ski Valley and Red Bull will team up to host one of the seven throwback qualifying events for the upcoming Red Bull 1976 Olympics.

The Red Bull 1976 Olympics will pay homage to the 1976 Winter Games that were awarded to Colorado. Voters in Colorado later voted against hosting the games, even though the state had initially fought hard to be the host. Red Bull 1976 Games brings the games back to Colorado to finally "give the year 1976 its day". The culmination of the qualifiers will be in the main event April 17-18 in Copper Mountain, Colorado.

The Olympics and the qualifying events at Taos and elsewhere include a range of vintage-themed competitions including Snowbladecross and the Old School Air competition and an award for most outrageous costume and team mojo. There will be no snowboarding allowed in these events, as it was not yet an Olympic sport in 1976.

"We are excited to work with Red Bull to bring this throwback inspired event to Taos Ski Valley," said Alejandro Blake, Taos Ski Valley Special Events Director. "Red Bull consistently sponsors fun and innovative events and we know this retro qualifier will draw a great group of contestants to Taos."

Teams for the ‘76 games will be made up of five competitors donning their best ‘70s-style skills, clothing and gear. The winning team from the Taos qualifier will be awarded a free trip to the finals at Copper Mountain. The second and third place teams from Taos will also be invited to the finals.

To sign your team up for the Red Bull 1976 Olympics or learn more about the event go to www.redbullusa.com/1976games. Or contact Hendrick Onderdonk at 505.730.9486 or hendrickonderdonk@redbullu.com

Salomon New Mexico Extreme Freeride Championships...

It's coming soon! The Salomon New Mexico Freeride Championships are slated to hit Taos Ski Valley March 4-7, 2009. This blog isn't really to tell you what it is as much as it is meant to give you a recount of some of my memories of years past. If you want to know more about the competition, click here.

My most vivid memory of the competition was in the first year back in 2005. I was volunteering to help with the event and pretty much did whatever was needed from set up, to break down to clearing the shoots after a competitor took a digger. It was a great start to the event. Day one had to be pushed back a day because Ernie (TSV founder) sent us a storm from the heavens that dumped two feet of fresh snow for the competitors. That only meant one thing; skiers were going to go huge!! The next day, I saw competitors dropping some sick rocks that I have never seen launched at TSV. The biggest was one a skier from Carbondale, CO hit that was about an 80 foot drop (and he landed it).

The biggest was done, but not the sickest! There were three competitors from Japan that came in and they were dubbed "The Japanese Air force". These guys must have had a screw loose because they were all about the big air. So I guess I shouldn't have been surprised when one of them (who later won the "Sick Bird" award) did a front flip off of a 40 foot cliff and landed it with ease. The crowd grew louder as he approached the sheer face and realized what he was going to do. An eruption of epic proportions let out when he tumbled through the air. When he came into the coral at the finish, he was mobbed like the final out of the World Series.

This event never seems to disappoint, so make sure you have plans to get to Taos for the Extreme Freeride!

Photos by Seth Bullington





Bret

Snowboarding Opens Taos to New Events....

Since Taos allowed snowboarding on March 19, 2008, the events staff have been busy filling the calendar with new events and promotion that were always restricted from the slopes of one of the last few resorts that remained snowboard-free. This weekend saw the USASA Skier and Snowboarder Cross hit the slopes just below Kachina Peak on the back side of the mountain. This was the first skier/boarder cross event held at Taos Ski Valley and was not short of thrilling spills and great competition.

The skier/boarder cross course is a hybrid of downhill racing and slopestyle type terrain. Banked turns, table top jumps and rollers lined the course as six athletes compete on each run in a modern day "Chinese Downhill". It may be more like moto-cross on skis or boards!

Taos has always been known as a "no frills" mountain and this type of event definitely goes in a different direction that the traditional roots of Ernie Blake's early beginnings. The question reagarding these types of events is are these events a good thing for Taos or does it shy away from what Taos does best (hardcore skiing and now riding). There will always be doubters and cynic's, but one thing is for certain and that is that this type of event is a lot of fun to watch. (photos by Seth Bullington)

Bret

Over 110 Inches in the Last 4 Weeks and Still Snowing...

I can honestly say I have never seen this much snow at my house, which sits on the "mesa" (the flatlands off the mountains) since I moved to Taos in 1999. The beginning of the season has been pretty epic and shows no sign of stopping. In the last four weeks, we have received over 110 inches of snow and it is still snowing in Taos Ski Valley as I write. The most recent storm has left 20 inches in a 24-hour period, adding to the ridiculous powder stashes that are already in place on the mountain.

At my house, which is located at 7,000 feet surrounded by sagebrush, we usually see an average of 12 inches a year (and it usually melts within a day or two). We have already had about 3 feet of snow here and almost all of it is still here (I took these pictures this morning). My wife and I have now resorted to taking our dogs on their daily walks in snowshoes because we couldn't without them! Tito, the Powderhound, is loving life.

January happens to be a great time (especially with all this snow!) to take advantage of one of Taos Ski Valley's great deals. The world famous Ernie Blake Ski School is offering a $90 Ski Better Week during the month of January. This is normally $234 per person for 6 mornings of this great program. Check it out.

Bret

Oh My Gosh! Ridiculous! Bottomless!

Just spend a minute in any Taos Ski Valley lift line (not that you’re ever likely to spend more time than that!) and that’s just some of the exclamations you’ll hear over and over again. It’s just the most perfect ski conditions you could imagine. The soft dry southwest snow that Taos Ski Valley is known for, in an abundance that’s heading straight for the record books. From fresh tracks to soft cruisers, ski Taos and everyone you see has something to smile about!

There are still some amazing lodging and lift ticket package deals out there. We’d love to help you plan the perfect Taos ski vacation and experience this unique and special place.

I hope to see you smiling on the slopes of Taos soon! If you don’t have plans yet, that’s a New Year’s resolution worth keeping.

Ski Taos!

Kathy