Hello, I am contemplating booking a ski trip to Taos Ski Valley for the first week in March 2025, and I would greatly appreciate any and all advice and input before I do so. The Taos ski school offers a private lesson ski week (6 half day private lessons that run Sunday-Friday) that sounds very attractive. And a relative bargain compared to the cost of private lessons at other resorts. My question/concern really is about whether Taos would be too difficult of a mountain for someone at my level of ski ability and experience. I’ve read a few reviews that concern me that say Taos would not be a good choice for someone who isn’t an advanced or expert skier, that there are only a few beginner and true intermediate runs at Taos and those runs tend to get really crowded, and that green marked beginner runs are really for intermediates, blue intermediate runs are really for advanced, etc. I skied last year for the first time in many, many years at Sun Valley and I experienced there some of these same issues being a low level intermediate skier skiing on a very difficult mountain (Baldy). After three weeks of lessons skiing at Sun Valley, I improved a lot (which is why I am a big fan of lessons), but not to the point where I didn’t still find myself limited on Baldy to a just handful of green and blue runs. My husband and I will be skiing Deer Valley for a week in early February 2025 so I will have some skiing in beforehand if I decide to ski Taos in March. Many thanks in advance for sharing your collective wisdom and guidance.
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Taos Ski Valley
- Thread starter NYCSkier
- Start date
teppaz
Angel Diva
The Taos ski week is a huge favorite here! You’ll hear from many people who do them regularly. I would say it’s going to be effective for you because the instructor will take you to appropriate terrain where you can really learn— and yes that terrain exists at Taos!
One of my favorite things at Taos is that there are runs with all kinds of moguls, which is perfect for practice.
One of my favorite things at Taos is that there are runs with all kinds of moguls, which is perfect for practice.
marzNC
Angel Diva
Welcome!
Bottom line is that a Taos Ski Week is good for people who are intermediate and above, including cautious intermediates who learned as adults or have fears after a serious ski injury such as blowing an ACL. I know this because of my own experience with Ski Weeks starting in 2018 and the experience of assorted friends, both Divas and men I know who I've skied with at Taos. I'm an older skier pushing 70 at this point. I was an adventurous intermediate skiing blues at Alta fifteen years ago during spring break trips with my then tween daughter. While I'd taken some lessons before doing my first Ski Week in 2018, the lasting impact of a Ski Week cannot be matched by even 1-2 private lessons in the same week. Having the afternoons to ski more, practice, or just take it easy made a big difference. I learned to enjoy bump terrain at TSV.
Check out this thread about Taos Ski Weeks from a couple years ago. There have been some changes to lifts and lodging since then, but the Ski Week lessons themselves are the same as they have been for decades. There are links to trip reports in Post #1, including for a few trips that included intermediates.
Taos Ski Week, a 6-morning lesson program, 2022-23 notes
Couldn't decide if this topic should be in Skiing Tips or Resorts . . . so General Skiing was simplest. It wasn’t that long ago that I didn’t know much about Taos Ski Weeks or Taos Ski Valley terrain. Going to a resort that requires a 2-3 hour drive after flying to NM didn’t seem worth the...
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If it's any consolation, greens at Sun Valley on Bald Mountain are steeper and longer than some blues at other destination resorts. The blues there are definitely steeper than many blue groomers at other destination resorts in the Rockies.
I think you'll find plenty of trails at Deer Valley that will be fun, including perhaps a few of the easier black groomed trails.
marzNC
Angel Diva
If it could fit in your schedule, the annual Women's Ski Week is in late February. Same price as a regular Ski Week. Difference is that the groups will be all women and most, if not all, of the instructors will be women. Some of the most experienced instructors at Taos Ski School are women.
While a Private Ski Week is a good deal compared to private solo lessons at other destination resorts, you might consider a regular Ski Week. Those are offered every week of the season from mid-December through late March. The intermediate groups tend to be smaller. While they are technically co-ed, often I've seen groups of 2-4 women with the instructor (male or female). An advantage of a regular Ski Week or the Women's Ski Week is that often people in the group make a new friend who is interested in doing some runs together in the afternoon.
Bookworm
Angel Diva
I am wholeheartedly encouraging you to do the Taos Ski Week, Women's week if you can swing it. Don't be dismayed by the comments from people who say that it's not for beginners and intermediates. While, I wouldn't recommend it if you are going on your own because it can be difficult to navigate at that level, I would say that doing the ski week will greatly improve your skills and that's what you want, no? Your not going to go zooming down difficult runs with your instructor. You will work on the basics. Plus, Taos is a wonderful place. Don't be put off. You will fall in love with it and the ski week like many of us here.
I've skied Deer Valley, too. I had a great time, but I was there the first week it opened so a whole section was closed. I'd love to go back there, too. It will be a good place to get your sea legs.
I've skied Deer Valley, too. I had a great time, but I was there the first week it opened so a whole section was closed. I'd love to go back there, too. It will be a good place to get your sea legs.
TNtoTaos
Angel Diva
Also an ex-NYC and Long Island person here...I've been doing Taos Ski Weeks every yr for over 12-13 yrs. They are the best bargain for ski instruction just about anywhere, and you're getting the benefit of very experienced instructors at a very highly-rated ski school. The great thing about them is that you will be put into a group of people at your level (as assessed by an instructor, not self-assessed), and the instructor will usually ask what everyone is interested in working on, so that's another way groups can be different. And as @teppaz mentioned, your instructor will take you to the appropriate terrain for your level, which will help you learn where it's best for you to ski.
(And if you're not happy with your group or instructor after a day or two, you're encouraged to ask to change groups. And don't be afraid to ask, if you think you need to -- there's no judgement -- the idea is for you to enjoy the week and get the most out of it). You will learn more in a wk than you ever imagined you could.
Another plus is that since the lessons are usually in the morning (you can take the afternoon class, but I don't recommend that), you can use the afternoons to work on what you learned at your own pace. You'll also make friends with your classmates, and people often ski together in the afternoons.
In short -- DO IT! You won't regret it!
BTW, I'll be at TSV from Jan 25-Mar 8, so if you're there during that time, feel free to holler at me. I'd be happy to give you "the Tour".
(And if you're not happy with your group or instructor after a day or two, you're encouraged to ask to change groups. And don't be afraid to ask, if you think you need to -- there's no judgement -- the idea is for you to enjoy the week and get the most out of it). You will learn more in a wk than you ever imagined you could.
Another plus is that since the lessons are usually in the morning (you can take the afternoon class, but I don't recommend that), you can use the afternoons to work on what you learned at your own pace. You'll also make friends with your classmates, and people often ski together in the afternoons.
In short -- DO IT! You won't regret it!
BTW, I'll be at TSV from Jan 25-Mar 8, so if you're there during that time, feel free to holler at me. I'd be happy to give you "the Tour".
cosmicplanks
Angel Diva
If you sign up for a ski week, I don't think you will have issues with the terrain available. Your instructor will gradually get the group (or you) comfortable with the terrain. Also, in March, most of the mountain is usually open, which spreads skiers out a lot (although the dates could coincide with Spring Break dates, and in that case, yes, the beginner/intermediate runs will be crowded). I think the Women's Ski Week is a great idea. I've done it a couple of times. I feel like I improved a ton and met some great people.
Sokolva
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Taos is my closest mountain, my husband and I go there often throughout the ski season. I’m so excited to finally get out there this season! I can give you an answer from both of our perspectives, me as an advanced skier, and he as a beginner skier who has done almost all of his learning and growth at Taos.
First, the lessons at Taos and the Ski weeks from what I’ve heard, are actually what make the mountain incredible for people who are learning. Compared to other large mountains the ticket prices are very affordable, and even more so for beginners getting the “Novice Pass” and staying on the greens of Pioneer and the learning lifts. This meant that my husband was able to very affordably ski all day with a very cheap ticket on the terrain he felt comfortable, and buy the full pass when he wanted to challenge himself. The instructors at Taos are another aspect very worth noting; they are all incredible, experienced, fun, and great at teaching. I’ve taken a ton of lessons there too each season to improve and grow and my husband has gotten more out of the lessons at Taos than those he took at even larger ski resorts. We have also brought many friends with us to Taos for their first time skiing who loved it so much they immediately went back during their next vacations and are excitedly planning for this year. They had a blast and they are absolute beginners.
Taos is a really a steep and intense mountain overall. However there are plenty of chill runs that aren’t strange for typical Rocky Mountain level skiing steepness. One thing to keep in mind is the run length at Taos, as some of the runs from top to bottom are quite long, but have plenty of places to rest and people do. You can stop at a cabin and eat home baked cookies and soup off of the main chair which goes pretty high up, and there are pull off places to rest and sit down if you just need to pace yourself. These green runs are steep somewhat, but not any more so than Jackson of Steamboat or other large Rocky Mountain resorts have, the biggest difference is just how long they can be if you are new and taking your time going down. This can be a good thing because the chairs never get super busy and once you ride the main one up you can spend the whole day up there without having to wait in another heavy line, just going to the many offshoot chairs and exploring the front, backside, and many forests and tree runs of the mountain. My husband might just go up once and then the rest of the time he will ski smaller runs because of how tiring it can be for a beginner because you are still using your muscles less efficiently and building up muscle and muscle memory.
These mountains are really something special. We have fallen in love with Taos, it feels like a little piece of the older ski mountains and ski culture that I remember from the 90s when I was a kid skiing with my grandparents and parents. And the area is so uniquely beautiful. I hope you choose to come! I have a feeling you will love it, even if the mountain is challenging.
First, the lessons at Taos and the Ski weeks from what I’ve heard, are actually what make the mountain incredible for people who are learning. Compared to other large mountains the ticket prices are very affordable, and even more so for beginners getting the “Novice Pass” and staying on the greens of Pioneer and the learning lifts. This meant that my husband was able to very affordably ski all day with a very cheap ticket on the terrain he felt comfortable, and buy the full pass when he wanted to challenge himself. The instructors at Taos are another aspect very worth noting; they are all incredible, experienced, fun, and great at teaching. I’ve taken a ton of lessons there too each season to improve and grow and my husband has gotten more out of the lessons at Taos than those he took at even larger ski resorts. We have also brought many friends with us to Taos for their first time skiing who loved it so much they immediately went back during their next vacations and are excitedly planning for this year. They had a blast and they are absolute beginners.
Taos is a really a steep and intense mountain overall. However there are plenty of chill runs that aren’t strange for typical Rocky Mountain level skiing steepness. One thing to keep in mind is the run length at Taos, as some of the runs from top to bottom are quite long, but have plenty of places to rest and people do. You can stop at a cabin and eat home baked cookies and soup off of the main chair which goes pretty high up, and there are pull off places to rest and sit down if you just need to pace yourself. These green runs are steep somewhat, but not any more so than Jackson of Steamboat or other large Rocky Mountain resorts have, the biggest difference is just how long they can be if you are new and taking your time going down. This can be a good thing because the chairs never get super busy and once you ride the main one up you can spend the whole day up there without having to wait in another heavy line, just going to the many offshoot chairs and exploring the front, backside, and many forests and tree runs of the mountain. My husband might just go up once and then the rest of the time he will ski smaller runs because of how tiring it can be for a beginner because you are still using your muscles less efficiently and building up muscle and muscle memory.
These mountains are really something special. We have fallen in love with Taos, it feels like a little piece of the older ski mountains and ski culture that I remember from the 90s when I was a kid skiing with my grandparents and parents. And the area is so uniquely beautiful. I hope you choose to come! I have a feeling you will love it, even if the mountain is challenging.
