Well, I've been AWOL for awhile because I just got back from my holiday visit to family in NM. After driving there in my van, and spending 13 days quarantining, I got to visit Taos for 3 days on Jan 3-5, the day after
@Susan L left (see
https://www.theskidiva.com/forums/index.php?threads/first-day-reports-2020.25188/post-424479). What a difference a day makes!
Here's my first day report: first of all, there were very few noses in view, and most of those were accidentally exposed. I noticed that there were "mask police" posted in the main plaza during the busy part of the day, reminding anyone who needed it to put on their masks. It was also not very busy, back to being a normal TSV weekday crowd -- waits for the main lifts were less than a minute, and only because many people were riding solo.
One thing I did learn is that
everything you do has to be planned out and done slowly. Dealing with the masks and having to do the social distancing, etc., just takes more time for everything, so you just can’t be in a rush. Not to mention walking around at 9500 feet for the first time this season, certainly takes a lot more energy until becoming acclimated to the altitude. And walking was the name of the game -- even though I know that resort like the back of my hand, all the changes in place for Covid safety made everything much more complicated.
There was no eating indoors (they had outdoor 'designated eating areas’, with heaters that never seemed to be on - luckily it was pretty warm), so you had to get limited take-out from Rhoda’s/Hondo/Bumps Mkt and sit outside to eat. They also now have the Blake Residences built, and have built a really nice walkway between the main plaza and Thunderbird Rd (where all the offices & Alpine Suites face), so it’s really easy to walk across now. They also have a lg heated tent next to the Residences where the ice-rink will be that they’re now using to serve food.
The biggest hassle was the lack of shuttle svc. The walk from the pkg lot, even a relatively close lot, was murder! The first day I parked right in front of the Kiddie School, and took the Gondolita across to the main area, but the second day I forgot to drive down from the Gila (RV) lot to get a spot early, so I had to park in a 2nd-level and walk (after dropping off my skis at the drop area) in my ski boots (TG for cat tracks!) — OMG! The locker rm was not open (except for BRs), and they are renting baskets near the gear-drop area on Thunderbird Rd, but I didn’t check on how much they were charging, since I had my van.
Basically, you have to not be in a hurry, and be prepared to get in a lot fewer runs than in normal times. The snow, BTW, was pretty good - it was what I call typical TSV "January snow": well-kept, but crunchy/icy until the sun hit it, and most small moguls on the blues were groomed off, so mostly only the lg, scary moguls were left. And I did notice that there were proportionally more snowboarders to skiers than usual.
I still had fun, though -- any day on the mountain is better than any day at work (or not at work, lol)!