Spring Means Abundant Sun and Awesome Events In Taos Ski Valley

Wet and Wild
"A Long Cold Winter" usually has a negative connotation, but in the ski industry, it often means there has been lots of wintry weather and that's a good thing. Taos Ski Valley experience, what seems to be the new-norm in the Southwest, which is big snow storms all winter long. Now is the time to shed the down parka's and expose a bit of skin, skier-style. One of Taos' marque events is the Bud Light Pond Skimming Championship held at the base of Strawberry Hill. It seems competitors look for any reason to shed their clothes (and in some cases, almost all of their clothes!) during this event. This year's event will be held April 4, 2010 at 2:30 PM. Competitors must skim across an 80 foot pond of icy cold water for slush supremacy. Entry is $10 and will be held at the administrative offices.

The Record is 28
Fallen local, Ben Myers, was crazy about his home mountain and was known for "living on the ridge" during powder days. When he succumbed to cancer, his friends decided the best way to honor his life was to raise money for cancer research and ski the ridge. Out of those two thoughts came the Ben Myers Ridge-a-thon. The idea is to hike the Highline Ridge, West Basin Ridge and Kachina Peak as many times as humanly possible in one day. What is amazing is the record is 28 hikes in one day! Consider that at 11,000 feet, you receive less than 50% of the oxygen you get at sea level and that once you have made your hike up to Taos' famed steep terrain, you have to ski down it as fast as you can (if you are going for a record). Don't worry. If you aren't going out to impress everyone and just want to raise money for a good cause, you can go at your own pace. Everyone is welcome to participate, but if you hear heavy breathing and fast foot steps behind you, you may want to step aside. More information can be found at http://www.taoscf.org/about_us/news.php?ID=58

Don't miss our spring deals to see these great events with packages from $71/person/night.

More Snow At Taos Ski Valley, Ready for Extreme Competition

The Storm
Whether it is global warming or El Nino or some other phenomena, Taos Ski Valley has benefited from it. Another 18 inches of snow fell yesterday in Taos and the conditions are epic. Everything is open and the ski area already recorded one of the snowiest February's on record. The big 40 inch storm that hit last week turned the mountain into a virtual powder playground. "Yahoooo's" and "Oh Yeah's" were heard all over the chutes and glades. And of course there were a bunch of snorkel sightings too. Kachina Peak, sitting at 12, 491 feet, was caked with snow and provided the perfect turns every skier remembers for the rest of their lives.

The Event
This storm comes at the perfect time as Taos Ski Valley is hosting the Salomon Extreme Freeride Championship March 11-13. Whenever there is this type of snow before the competition, spectators should keep an eyes out for the really big cliff jumps that the competitors seem to take on without a thought. The first day of the event takes place on the West Basin Ridge, home to 80 foot cliff drops and some of the steepest chutes in the country. Spectators should watch from the top of chair 8 in the viewing gallery. Day two is back at the West Basin Ridge where half of the competitors get cut. The final day of competition brings competitors to famed Kachina Peak where athletes must first make the hour-long trek to the peak before going all out for the glory of being crowned champion. The Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships at Taos has inked a partnership deal with the SCOTT Big Mountain Fieberbrunn / Pillerseetal event, Austria. As part of the relationship, the winners of the Fieberbrunn event will receive complimentary entry and accommodations to the Taos event, March 10 – 13. In addition, the event is a Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) event, allowing athletes to gain entry to the FWT's four showcase events: The Nissan Russian Adventure (Sochi, Russia), Nissan Tram Face (Squaw Valley, USA), Nissan Freeride de Chamonix (Chamonix, France) and Nissan Xtreme (Verbier, Switzerland). Taos also joins an elite group of venues, from Italy and Norway to Austria and Slovakia as a FWQ venue. The Taos event is one of the great spectator events in ski country and we've put some super discounted packages with $14 Off Lift Tickets and 30% Off Lodging to get you hear.

Big Winter Storm System Hits Taos Ski Valley

A large storm system made its way into the Southern Rockies on Saturday, beginning one of the bigger storm systems to New Mexico for the 2009/10 ski season. So, far 18 inches has fallen as of 6 AM mountain standard time with no end in site. To add to that total, forecasters are calling for 16+ inches more before the storm is said and done.
The NOAA site said "...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM MST TUESDAY...

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 11
AM MST TUESDAY.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...NEW SNOWFALL THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY WILL
RANGE FROM 4 TO 8 INCHES BELOW 7500 FEET AND 8 TO 16 INCHES
ABOVE 7500 FEET. LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER
THE HIGHEST PEAKS AND ALONG NORTH AND EAST FACING SLOPES."

Taos Ski Valley has already experienced an epic ski season with numerous days of pure powder runs for skiers. All the terrain is open, including Taos' famed Kachina Peak, however some delays in certain area openings are expected as avalanche control will be extensive. Southern Rockies Reservations very own powderhound report has kept tabs on the storm. Check back with Tito often!

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!

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

Town of Taos Closed due to Blizzard!?!?!?!

"Town of Taos Closed due to Blizzard..." - That was the headline this morning from the municipal offices in Taos. If you don't know already, Taos Ski Valley has received 37 inches of snow in the last 3 days!! Weather watchers are expecting another 1-2 feet between now and Thursday. That would put the storm total somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-5 feet of fresh powder by the time everything is said and done! Needless to say, the skiing is pretty epic in Taos right now. The best source for finding out the real "poop" when it comes to new snow is Tito, the Powder Hound Investigator.

I've got to let you know about a great new restaurant that opened up in Taos recently. It's called the Love Apple, which is named after the French saying for tomato. It is located on the north side of town next to the Blake's Lotaburger and is hosted in a great old Spanish mission church. The food there was amazing (been there twice now) and it is getting rave reviews from the locals. I had brazed lamb chops on a bed of baby spinach and blue cheese with a polenta cake. All I can say is it was delectable. My wife had a homemade chicken pot-pie, which was delicious. It is a little tough to find, even though it is on the main drag, but worth it.

The First Big Storm Of The Season Hits Taos

If anyone had any doubt that winter was on its way to New Mexico, those doubts have been covered up by the heavy early season snow that was deposited over the Sangre de Cristo's on Tuesday, October 14. Up to a foot of snow has been reported on the high terrain near Taos Ski Valley. This is good news for powder hounds everywhere with the season only six weeks away.

The snow that fell was very wet and heavy and that is the kind of stuff you need early in the season to create a good stable base. The more water content the snow has, the better it will bond to layers that fall on top of it and that means less avalanches. Less avalanches means the base builds quicker. Keep the storms coming!