Taos Ski Week, a 6-morning lesson program, 2022-23 notes

[Frankie]

I'll be there then, and doing a Ski Week.

How do you meet the Diva's at Taos when your new to the group?

 

[diymom]

Now that you just hit 25 post, it gets easier to meet up with us. Now you'll be able to see posts in the Divas Only section, like the MOTH (meet on the hill) threads. We'll set up times and locations to meet. Also, if you see a group of women with the same bright colored plastic tape tied to the back of their helmet, it is most likely a group of divas. Which makes me wonder, what is a group of Divas called?

The 50 oddest names for groups of animals

Find the oddest of these collective nouns in the slides below:

www.businessinsider.com

 

[marzNC]

How do you meet the Diva's at Taos when your new to the group?

Once you meet one in person . . . you'll find other Divas pretty quickly. Can always PM beforehand to exchange contact info. Look for the envelope icon (top right on the desktop) to start a "Conversation" within TheSkiDiva .com .

In general, we keep dates for trips in the Meet On The Hill section that is for Divas Only. Looks like you should be able to see all the Divas Only sections soon. May take a day after you have made 25 posts for the software to adjust.

Ski Week groups don't all finish at the same time. A group may start a little late, or go a little long. There are times when an instructor has a reason they need to stop a little sooner. A Private Ski Week can start at 9:00, 9:30, or 10:00 on a given day since that's up to the instructor and the students. If an instructor has another lesson booked that starts at 1:00, they need to allow time for a rest and lunch break that day.

A nice feature for Taos is that often it's sunny and warm enough to eat lunch outdoors. During a Ski Week, there is usually an area where Divas and their friends gather for lunch. Those who finish earlier get the table and those who finish later can join in afterwards. If you make a new friend in your Ski Week group, feel free to bring them along to the lunch spot. SOs/husbands and male friends are welcome too.

 

[marzNC]

Interesting to see a number put on the capacity limit that TSV has in mind to keep the slopes from getting too crowded. It's similar to the number I've heard for Alta, which is comparable in terms of skiable acres and the number of lifts for two distinct sections with separate base areas. TSV requires reservations for Ikon holders, but not for the Mountain Collective Pass. Ikon passes went off sale in early December. The MCP stopped sales in mid-December.

People with Ikon Base that only provides 5 days at Taos generally make Ikon reservations for the weekends and buy a day ticket in advance for midweek day(s). Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are typically the least expensive days when buying a day ticket in advance online. Any discounts such as Ikon Friends & Family or 50% off for the MCP are based on the full day rate, not the rate for a particular date. That can mean an advanced ticket bought directly from TSV is the best deal.

Note that the author of this article stated that day tickets are $95. That was true in early December but is not the full day rate mid-season.

January 3, 2022

This High Desert Town Is a Skier's Dream — and It Has the World's Only Certified B Corp Mountain

Here's what it's like to experience Taos Ski Valley, the world's only Certified B Corp mountain.

www.travelandleisure.com

" . . .
One more way Taos is helping to keep its environment pristine is by limiting the number of guests to just 5,000 riders per day. By doing so, the mountain isn't overburdened, and every skier and rider has plenty of space to make big, open turns.

"We feel that growth in skier visits is not the best approach for us. We always look to improve the experience," [CEO David] Norden said. "If we can refine [our facilities] and really focus on an improved and heightened experience, then that is more important than just pure growth."
. . ."

 

[skinnyfootskis]

I actually love Lift 7a, and I hope they never "update" it. Besides giving us a connection with TSV history, the ride is so beautiful and relaxing. Anyway, by the time you're able to do the runs around that lift you shouldn't need a safety bar, LOL.

I found heaven on 7A. Turn around and breathe it all in.

 

[marzNC]

I found heaven on 7A. Turn around and breathe it all in.

Also have enough time to see the view since the 7A double is a slow ride.

The best view of the base is from the Pioneer lift.

 

[marzNC]

I'm in the midst of packing for my upcoming trip to Taos. Went looking for the "tour" that I've given to newbies and remembered I stuck it in this thread.

The tour I did with Bill and Jason in 2017 was an experiment for MCP holders (first season for MCP). The tour guide was one of the long time managers. We rode every lift except Kachina (already open) and the beginner lifts at the main base (Pioneer, Rueggli). That meant starting with Lift 1, Lift 8, and Lift 2 before heading over to the Kachina side. The top of Lift 4 provided a closer view of Kachina. We headed back to the main base via Lift 7 and Lift 7A. Those are the two old, slow lifts without safety bars. The longer trails we skied were White Feather (green, return to main base), Honeysuckle (green to Kachina side), and Bambi (blue from top of Lift 2).

I like to ride Pioneer on a day with blue sky. It has a good view of the main base. Although the footprint of the base isn't any bigger, there are a few taller buildings constructed in the last six years.

View from Pioneer, February 2019


Main base before St. Bernard taken down, top of Reuggli on the far left, 2019

 

[marzNC]

The Taos ski school is using a new computer system for stuff like waivers. Signing up in advance online has the advantage that the lesson waiver will be done before you arrive at TSV.

For a Private Ski Week, paying before arriving at TSV is a bit more complicated. As long as the instructor of interest is scheduled based on a phone or email request, it's okay to wait to pay just before starting the Ski Week. The ticket for the Private Ski Week won't be issued until everyone has signed the waiver one way or another. Can do it via an email link if TSV Snowsports has a good email address or can do it at the ski school office.

 

[marzNC]

Hello. I have been reading through some of the reviews of Taos Ski Weeks. Could anyone please give me their pros/cons of doing Women's Ski Week vs just regular/mixed ski week? I see some of the instructors people are raving about would be only teaching the mixed week? Also would the Women's Ski week be less crowded? Thank you in advance for sharing your views.

@WhyKnot : I'm going to answer your questions in this thread that has more current info about Taos Ski Weeks. The other thread you found has some obsolete comments as Taos Ski Valley continues to move forward. The quality of the instructors and value of a Ski Week remains wonderful but exactly how things run in terms of online registration and payment getting better.

For women who prefer a female instructor and a class that is all women, doing a Women's Ski Week is an obvious choice. For a woman who doesn't mind a co-ed class or a male instructor it may not make much difference.

Sometimes intermediate Ski Week groups end up all women or all men, with either a male or female instructor. In fact, a couple I know from NC are doing a Ski Week for the first time this week. The husband is in an advanced group that has five men. The wife is in an intermediate group of four women. Other groups this week include all male groups and co-ed groups. TSV ski school works hard at coming up with the best possible groups from an ability level and personal chemistry standpoint. If someone isn't happy after Sunday's lesson, they can do another ski-off and switch groups on Monday.

Note that the Women's Ski Week is only held once per season. It's the same week as Diva West for 2023. The regular Ski Weeks are offered from mid-December thru late March. The price is the same, $360 for 2022-23, plus tax and tip.

The max group size for a Ski Week is 7 students for Women's Ski Week or a regular Ski Week. Idea is to have no more than two quad chairs per class. Instructors often actively teach on chair lift rides and rotate who they ride with each time.

The top female instructors are tapped for Women's Ski Week. Those who already have private lessons booked won't be available though. In the event there aren't enough female instructors, the most advanced groups might have a male instructor. Advanced reservations are encouraged but not required for Women's Ski Week or regular Ski Weeks.

 

[marzNC]

For folks who are doing a ski-off on Sunday, it happens on a groomer just below Whistlestop. that section of Powderhorn (blue) is roped off first thing in the morning. If there are Ski Week guests ready a bit before 9:30, as soon as the instructors are in place then the supervisor will start sending people down one at a time. In addition to whatever the guest tells the supervisor, it takes about 3-4 turns to decide which instructor the skier should start with. A supervisor standing in the middle of the slope points a ski as soon as it becomes clear which group a skier should go to first, instructors yell as needed.

For 2022-23, the most advanced skiers are grouped at the top of the hill below Whistlestop. For the ski-off on Feb. 5, there were a few guys who like to ski double-blacks who missed the fact that the supervisor waving a pole and shouting at them to turn to the right and stop. Those guys had to climb back up to get to where they were supposed to be. The instructor at the bottom started the Ski Week with an advanced beginner who was going to get a solo lesson on Sunday at least. The next-to-last group was four intermediates, all women.

Once skiers are sorted out in general, then final groups are created with no more than 7 students in each class. For instance, in this case there were a bunch of folks at the top. They were split into 2-3 groups. At one point the supervisor seemed to ask a question, perhaps about whether people had experience skiing Taos double-blacks, and hands were raised. When my ski buddy Bill did regular Ski Weeks in the top group for a couple seasons, he was skiing double-black terrain by Day 2 or Day 3.

There is another ski-off on Monday, usually with far fewer people. The guests making turns are the few who needed to shift to a different group and those who are starting their Ski Week on Monday for whatever reason. For the Jan. 29 Ski Week, there were about a dozen skiers who didn't have their skis on Sunday morning and opted not to rent skis. They were incorporated into existing groups. A couple of my friends were warned that their intermediate group of 6 on Sunday would probably shift on Monday. What happened on Monday was that one skier was added and then the group was split into two, a group of 3 and a group of 4 that was closer to being ready to learn how to ski easy bumps. Both had very experienced instructors (15+ years).

Whistlestop, view from Lift 2
Ski-off happens on the right of the building, must take Lift 1 to get to Whistlestop


Ski-off in progress on Feb. 5, 2023, about 9:30am
Far left (lowest on the hill) for advanced beginners and intermediates, far right (highest) were folks who ski blacks/double-blacks.


Start of first run for two Ski Week groups, heading towards Lift 8 after ski-off grouping complete
1) Group of 4 intermediate women (left), after a chat they skied down the next section of White Feather (green)
2) Group of 5 advanced men (strung out behind their instructor) heading down to White Feather Gulley (blue bumps)

 

[marzNC]

Given that the lifts open at 9:00, and there is not really much of a lift line on a Sunday morning, getting to the Whistlestop by 9:30 is fairly straightforward. There are a few choices:

1). Ride up Lift 1 and ski back to the main base on White Feather, a green groomer. Ride up Lift 1 again.
2). Ride up Lift 1, ski to the left of Whistlestop, and ride up Lift 2. Ski back to Whistlestop on Bambi (blue).
3). Ride up Lift 1, ski to the Whistlestop.

If not doing a second lift ride, there is plenty of time to stop by the restroom on the lower floor of the Whistlestop.

White Feather is always groomed. Keep an eye out for trail signs if you don't want to end up on sections of Powderhorn (blue). White Feather has several switchback turns so possible to ski a combination of White Feather and Powderhorn. Also possible to do the bumps in White Feather Gully. Note that while it's possible to get back to Whistlestop riding Lift 8, that is a slower lift. So generally going back to Lift 1 (high-speed detachable quad) is a better idea.

Bambi off Lift 2 is usually a blue groomer. However, if it snows heavily overnight then it might have several inches of fresh ungroomed snow first thing in the morning. That can either be fun as a warm up, or too much work for someone without much powder skiing experience.

Tickets/passes are manually scanned at Lift 1. Can put Ikon passes on a lanyard, a ring, or use a plastic tie (available near ticket machines). Also scanned at Lift 4 (Bavarian/Phoenix base). No scanning on mid-mountain lifts (Lift 2, Lift 8, Lift 7, Lift 7A, Kachina Lift).

 

[marzNC]

After Monday, many of the Ski Week classes start off by meeting at the Whistlestop at 9:30. It means that the lesson starts with a warm up run with the instructor, not a ride up Lift 1. Also easier to get a class together in a smaller space with few other people around. The restroom is more convenient than at the main base if someone needs to go again just before starting to ski.

For my Private Ski Week, our instructor did a little dry land teaching on Days 2-4 in the Whistlestop before we headed out.

 

[Frankie]

@WhyKnot : I'm going to answer your questions in this thread that has more current info about Taos Ski Weeks. The other thread you found has some obsolete comments as Taos Ski Valley continues to move forward. The quality of the instructors and value of a Ski Week remains wonderful but exactly how things run in terms of online registration and payment getting better.

For women who prefer a female instructor and a class that is all women, doing a Women's Ski Week is an obvious choice. For a woman who doesn't mind a co-ed class or a male instructor it may not make much difference.

Sometimes intermediate Ski Week groups end up all women or all men, with either a male or female instructor. In fact, a couple I know from NC are doing a Ski Week for the first time this week. The husband is in an advanced group that has five men. The wife is in an intermediate group of four women. Other groups this week include all male groups and co-ed groups. TSV ski school works hard at coming up with the best possible groups from an ability level and personal chemistry standpoint. If someone isn't happy after Sunday's lesson, they can do another ski-off and switch groups on Monday.

Note that the Women's Ski Week is only held once per season. It's the same week as Diva West for 2023. The regular Ski Weeks are offered from mid-December thru late March. The price is the same, $360 for 2022-23, plus tax and tip.

The max group size for a Ski Week is 7 students for Women's Ski Week or a regular Ski Week. Idea is to have no more than two quad chairs per class. Instructors often actively teach on chair lift rides and rotate who they ride with each time.

The top female instructors are tapped for Women's Ski Week. Those who already have private lessons booked won't be available though. In the event there aren't enough female instructors, the most advanced groups might have a male instructor. Advanced reservations are encouraged but not required for Women's Ski Week or regular Ski Weeks.

We started with only 4 of us on Sunday and went to 6 on Monday. We have a great group and all of us ski with very similar skills. We have a male instructor and everyone in my group are females.

 

[WhyKnot]

@WhyKnot : I'm going to answer your questions in this thread that has more current info about Taos Ski Weeks. The other thread you found has some obsolete comments as Taos Ski Valley continues to move forward. The quality of the instructors and value of a Ski Week remains wonderful but exactly how things run in terms of online registration and payment getting better.

For women who prefer a female instructor and a class that is all women, doing a Women's Ski Week is an obvious choice. For a woman who doesn't mind a co-ed class or a male instructor it may not make much difference.

Sometimes intermediate Ski Week groups end up all women or all men, with either a male or female instructor. In fact, a couple I know from NC are doing a Ski Week for the first time this week. The husband is in an advanced group that has five men. The wife is in an intermediate group of four women. Other groups this week include all male groups and co-ed groups. TSV ski school works hard at coming up with the best possible groups from an ability level and personal chemistry standpoint. If someone isn't happy after Sunday's lesson, they can do another ski-off and switch groups on Monday.

Note that the Women's Ski Week is only held once per season. It's the same week as Diva West for 2023. The regular Ski Weeks are offered from mid-December thru late March. The price is the same, $360 for 2022-23, plus tax and tip.

The max group size for a Ski Week is 7 students for Women's Ski Week or a regular Ski Week. Idea is to have no more than two quad chairs per class. Instructors often actively teach on chair lift rides and rotate who they ride with each time.

The top female instructors are tapped for Women's Ski Week. Those who already have private lessons booked won't be available though. In the event there aren't enough female instructors, the most advanced groups might have a male instructor. Advanced reservations are encouraged but not required for Women's Ski Week or regular Ski Weeks.

@marzNC, appreciate your moving the thread here. That's an interesting point about the private lessons and instructors. I have no real attachment to which gender and I am imagining the folks that make it to a place like Taos are all quite nice so you helped me understand the specifics that you answered — Also - Does Women's ski week not have the "ski off" as I read on that older thread ? I also can call them to ask but something else I read was there were free demos during the WSW? Where can I find info on Diva West? Thanks.

 

[WhyKnot]

We started with only 4 of us on Sunday and went to 6 on Monday. We have a great group and all of us ski with very similar skills. We have a male instructor and everyone in my group are females.

Thanks! Sounds terrific!

 

[marzNC]

@marzNC, appreciate your moving the thread here. That's an interesting point about the private lessons and instructors. I have no real attachment to which gender and I am imagining the folks that make it to a place like Taos are all quite nice so you helped me understand the specifics that you answered — Also - Does Women's ski week not have the "ski off" as I read on that older thread ? I also can call them to ask but something else I read was there were free demos during the WSW? Where can I find info on Diva West? Thanks.

The specialty Ski Weeks keep evolving. Even with the Regular Ski Weeks, there was some experimentation when a new Ski School Director was hired. There was an attempt to eliminated the ski-off. But most people are pretty bad at describing their capabilities, so I gather that didn't work out so well. The ski-off process isn't perfect but has clearly worked better than any other system. Jean Mayer used to be helping to sort people out every week. He invented the Taos Ski Week decades ago and probably made it possible for TSV to survive as a business.

The reason I started a dated thread for Ski Weeks was to describe the current situation. For 2022-23 apparently there will be a ski-off for Women's Week. That has not always been the case, just as the dates for Women's Week have moved all over the place in the last 5-6 years.

The free demos for Women's Week happened when I and @santacruz skier opted to do it in 2018. We didn't even know when we picked the week that Women's Week was an option at TSV. When we were registering for a Ski Week, we were asked "regular or Women?" When we heard about the perks that season, it was a no-brainer to go with the Women's Week. Pretty sure free demos from the resort ski shop is not a perk this season.

As for Diva West, look under Divas Only. There is a subsection with the threads related to Diva West planning.

 

[marzNC]

That's an interesting point about the private lessons and instructors.

At Taos, a popular instructor may be booked weeks or months in advance for with private lessons for a full-day or half-day, or for a Private Ski Week. There can be last minute shifts. I remember being in the ski school office a few years ago when it was announced that no more walk-in private lessons would be available because all advanced level instructors would be needed for Ski Week groups. I think there were 2-3 ski clubs at TSV that week. Most of the Ski Week instructors are PSIA Level 3 or Level 2 with comparable years of teaching experience (10+).

Last week I heard that the octogenarian, Stuart, had a Private Ski Week. I remember seeing him with two students. The year before two of the people who were part of the extended group of Divas and Friends were in Stuart's Regular Ski Week.

The maximum number for a Private Ski Week is 4 students. The cost is a just a bit higher split four ways compared to a Regular Ski Week.

While I've been setting up a Private Ski Week with friends for several years with a couple different instructors, it's not as easy as just finding three friends willing to go during the same week. Ideally you want to have four people of a similar ability level, experience on terrain of interest, and similar long term goals, as well as learning style. I've done semi-private lessons with friends of mixed ability and age elsewhere. That can work well for a half-day or even full-day lesson. Working together for a full week is different.

The group I had for Feb 2022 was the best class so far. It was the second time together for three of us, working with the same instructor as a year ago. Hoping the same group of four can do it again next season.

 

[Susan L]

Ideally you want to have four people of a similar ability level, experience on terrain of interest, and similar long term goals, as well as learning style. I've done semi-private lessons with friends of mixed ability and age elsewhere. That can work well for a half-day or even full-day lesson. Working together for a full week is different.

I have mentioned it multiple times that you DO NOT have to ski as a group during a private ski week. You can split the 15 hours however you want to - ski with your friends or have a 1-on-1 lesson. That way, you don’t need to find people with the same interest/level to share the lessons with. You can arrange with the instructor to use up those 15 hours in 2/3/4/5 days or start/end any day of the week.
I have done numerous private ski weeks (usually 3 privates/season) and have split them with friends and we usually don’t ski together.
As for reserving an instructor, I have already “reserved” my week for 2024 with the same instructor, for the same week that I have been doing in the last few years. Many of the popular instructors have people returning at the same time every year and their schedule fills up before the season starts.
One of the higher level instructor has gone rogue this season and started giving private lessons outside of the ski school at Taos. His students aren’t being discreet about it so I wonder how the ski valley will respond and if that will change things in the future.

 

[marzNC]

I have mentioned it multiple times that you DO NOT have to ski as a group during a private ski week. You can split the 15 hours however you want to - ski with your friends or have a 1-on-1 lesson.

Quite true, but I happen to learn more in a semi-private lesson over solo lesson. Splitting the cost, which is about $1600, between 3-4 people means it's about the same investment as a regular Ski Week. For someone paying for travel expenses for a week in Taos, that's a factor to consider. Your situation is different since you live within a few hours drive of TSV, are lucky to have a husband who also likes to ski, and don't feel the need to ski in the afternoons during a Ski Week.

I have set up semi-private lessons with friends elsewhere at other destination resorts since 2015. That means either a full-day with 4 people or a half-day with 2-4 people. My comparison for a Ski Week is to that situation, either a regular Ski Week or a Private Ski Week. There is no doubt that $400 for 6 morning lessons is a great deal. Especially for someone over 60 still interested in improving as an advanced skier. More importantly, it's a more effective way to improve as compared to a single semi-private lesson elsewhere for which I must fly.

I've found that I learn a great deal from how a very experienced instructor teaches a friend in a semi-private lesson. A Private Ski Week is a series of semi-private lessons for me. I not only learn in a multiple ways during the morning lessons, but I continue learning from what was taught over the course of the week when I ski together with Ski Week classmates in the afternoons. Not all of afternoon skiing is spent practicing or skiing with Ski Week classmates, but my friends and I usually do some homework each afternoon. Even if it's only a few drills that are easy to do when on the cat track at the end of the afternoon. That's what makes it worth the effort for me to find people to do lessons with in the mornings. Others may not feel that way.

For example, Jason and I skied Blitz and Inferno together after we had skied those runs with our instructor last week. We also skied Edelweiss Glade from Spencer's Bowl the same day. Could we have skied those runs earlier in the week? Yes, given we have skied those runs as far back as the first time we went to TSV in 2017. However, for us the fact that what we had had a teaching run there made experience less stressful (less worries about snow coverage) and effective as a way to improve our bump technique. Jason and I have non-skiing spouses (my husband and Jason are family friends who grew up together in the midwest), so we are essentially solo travelers for ski trips that require flying from the east to destination resorts in the west. In our situation, we prefer to plan a Ski Week with friends as ski buddies as well as travel buddies to make getting to Taos worth the effort.

 

[marzNC]

As for reserving an instructor, I have already “reserved” my week for 2024 with the same instructor, for the same week that I have been doing in the last few years. Many of the popular instructors have people returning at the same time every year and their schedule fills up before the season starts.

I need to wait until I know what week is going to work for a return trip to Taos before requesting a favorite instructor for a Private Ski Week. Usually that's possible by early summer. I make the request via email, and confirm in the fall after the TSV ski school office re-opens after Labor Day.

It's nice that reserving a particular instructor doesn't require a deposit far in advance. As is the case for popular slopeside lodging. However, there are times when an instructor turns out not to be available that particular week at short notice. That happened to one of the Divas who had arranged a Private Ski Week months ago for the 29Jan Ski Week. Needless to say, that was a big disappointment.

It took some effort to work with TSV ski school to come up with an alternative instructor. The alternative did turn out to be very experienced, but not necessarily the best fit for the group for assorted reasons. As Divas who have set up Private Ski Weeks know, personal chemistry with an instructor and within a group of friends can be tricky.