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Taos 2022-23, conditions and latest upgrades at TSV
- Thread starter marzNC
- Start date
TNtoTaos
Angel Diva
I know -- it's amazing! May be a record for Ski SantaFe!
TNtoTaos
Angel Diva
I'm sitting here looking at the snow coming down (hard) in Taos (town) -- looks to be around 3-4" on the ground now, and that last inch happened in about 20 min! Not sure of the roads have been plowed yet.
Also watching the TSV cams -- it's a whiteout on the mtn, been watching the Ski Patrol working on the trails:
This is the Highline Trail.
Here's the Base area.
Plowing around the Plaza
List 1 looks like it's surrounded by a huge drift, but the 'boarders are already lining up
Not sure I'm going to be able to make it to the mountain today -- probably could, but not sure I want to try. Guess I'll wait and see how it looks a bit later -- may just have to wait for tomorrow's sunshine!
Also watching the TSV cams -- it's a whiteout on the mtn, been watching the Ski Patrol working on the trails:
This is the Highline Trail.
Here's the Base area.
Plowing around the Plaza
List 1 looks like it's surrounded by a huge drift, but the 'boarders are already lining up
Not sure I'm going to be able to make it to the mountain today -- probably could, but not sure I want to try. Guess I'll wait and see how it looks a bit later -- may just have to wait for tomorrow's sunshine!
TNtoTaos
Angel Diva
Sooo, I did decide to head to the mountain today; left the condo around 10, got to TSV by around 10:45. The road up was again plowed and sanded nicely, and the snow had ended in town, but when I got to about 1/4 mi from the TSV sign, at about 9100', I hit the storm. It was still snowing hard up there, although not windy at all. The parking lot was as full as I've ever seen it, and I had to park all the way at the end of Ocean Blvd, which is farther than I've ever had to park. They had gotten over 19" already by the time I got there, and this snow was absolute fluff! I skied for about 2 hrs, but visibility just kept getting worse, and my last run I could barely see, so I decided to live to ski another day (tomorrow 
).
As with yesterday, they only had the front side open, and although the snow was really fluffy, it was so hard to see the trail that you basically had to ski as though you were skiing bumps, because everywhere had been bumped up. The catwalks were the worst, though, because they had so many snow "lumps" pushed up that they were like washboards, and your skis kept dropping out from under you, to add to the lack of visibilty, so it was very unpleasant, and dangerous. I did run into Erik Nelson, from SkiTalk, on my last lift ride, and we skied down together. He's a very nice guy -- we're going to meet up tomorrow AM to ski together.
PS. It was 3° up there today -- but I wasn't cold. Working too hard, I guess.
).As with yesterday, they only had the front side open, and although the snow was really fluffy, it was so hard to see the trail that you basically had to ski as though you were skiing bumps, because everywhere had been bumped up. The catwalks were the worst, though, because they had so many snow "lumps" pushed up that they were like washboards, and your skis kept dropping out from under you, to add to the lack of visibilty, so it was very unpleasant, and dangerous. I did run into Erik Nelson, from SkiTalk, on my last lift ride, and we skied down together. He's a very nice guy -- we're going to meet up tomorrow AM to ski together.
PS. It was 3° up there today -- but I wasn't cold. Working too hard, I guess.
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marzNC
Angel Diva
Santa Fe was the clear winner for the last storm cycle. But Taos was able to pass the "magic" number for base depth that many regulars are happy to see. The target is 75 inches, although Kachina Peak and other steep terrain off the Ridge can open with a bit less.
From OpenSnow on Feb. 16
From OpenSnow on Feb. 16
marzNC
Angel Diva
Looks like for people willing to do "around the world" on Feb. 16, it's possible to ski down from the top of Lift 2 on Honeysuckle to Totemoff to Winklereid, then must take Rubezahl cat track back to the main base. The short blacks on the back side, Moe's and Street Car, are also showing as open on the website.
TNtoTaos
Angel Diva
Actually, they opened Lift 4 by around Noon, so all lists were open this afternoon. It was pretty awesome; although the actual temp never got above 9° (at about 3 PM), there was virtually no wind, so I never felt cold at all. It did start snowing a little in the afternoon, as a cloud descended into the ski area, but it was very light. Maxie's was really great -- they allowed it to bump up, so it was total bumps, with all the different pitches.
Maxie's, with Upper Totemoff on the left
Some bump trails were still in "proto-bump" stage -- the deep powder had been skied in and broken up, but real bumps hadn't yet formed, and the powder was so deep that pole plants were useless, so you basically had to make powder turns around the "proto-bumps".
Giant, fluffy "proto-bumps" on Shalako
So far, Lonestar has been closed:
marzNC
Angel Diva
Have yet to decide if the Lift Status info on the website and Taos app is worth much.
Sounds like a wonderful day! Thanks for the pics.
I've skied Maxi's when it was fresh snow on top of a groomed surface a foot or so down. Great fun! If it doesn't get groomed for the next few weeks, could be a really good intermediate bump run. With a bail out to Totemoff possible part of the way down, that means don't even really need to groom a strip down one side.
TNtoTaos
Angel Diva
It was -- I skied til I was ready to drop, LOL. My last run was White Feather Gully, and there were some instructors in there with classes. I was so proud of myself to note that I was one of those people just cruising down the bumps around the classes.
Will go again tomorrow -- it should be a few degrees warmer, lol -- and hopefully will still have great powder runs. Then Sat-Sun is Pres Day weekend, so will stay away until at least Mon or Tues. The great news is that there's more snow coming next Wed-Fri, and then again possibly on the first Sunday of Women's Wk, so the damage done this WE will hopefully be covered-up.
marzNC
Angel Diva
My guess is that even Monday won't be that busy. Local powder hounds will be waiting for the next storm system. Long weekend folks may be gone after lunch.
TNtoTaos
Angel Diva
From what I can see, they're pretty worthless. This morning, for example, they listed Lift 1 as open but White Feather and other runs on the front side as closed
floridakeysskibum
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Actually, I’ve lost weight, and they are too big. But they are well built and would love a smaller/shorter pair. Someday in the future I will have a “Julie’s ski closet” sale
MissySki
Angel Diva
How concerning is the wind for Taos? Do they often have lift holds etc.? Or is some protected enough to keep running etc.?
