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

[marzNC]

My understanding is that Women's Ski Week will start Feb. 26, 2023. That's also the Diva West week.

While the goal for Women's Ski Week is to have all female instructors, there have been times that an advanced group has had a male instructor.

The season I did the Women's Ski Week there was a group of ski club women who were in the intermediate group. That was a low snow season so there weren't many advanced skiers around in general. I was in the top group with @santacruz skier . We learned a lot doing all sorts of drills on groomers and baby bumps. It did finally snow midweek so there were a couple days with better snow to work with.

 

[santacruz skier]

My understanding is that Women's Ski Week will start Feb. 26, 2023. That's also the Diva West week.

While the goal for Women's Ski Week is to have all female instructors, there have been times that an advanced group has had a male instructor.

The season I did the Women's Ski Week there was a group of ski club women who were in the intermediate group. That was a low snow season so there weren't many advanced skiers around in general. I was in the top group with @santacruz skier . We learned a lot doing all sorts of drills on groomers and baby bumps. It did finally snow midweek so there were a couple days with better snow to work with.

It was fun and definitely a low snow year.... part of the mountain wasn't open, right?

 

[TNtoTaos]

They are from an era when seatbelts weren't required either. That didn't start until the 1970s. By 1989 less than 2/3 of the states had seatbelt laws of any kind.

Lift 7A was originally used on the frontside after being installed in 1961. Ernie Blake and the Mayer brothers were stubborn enough to create a destination resort in the 1950s without the help of having deep pockets for capital projects like chairlifts. The charm and advantages of TSV after the current ownership was able to update lifts and the base area stem from that history, along with the Ski Week program that makes it the best place to improve technique at any level. For people who want to ski bumps and trees, there is really no other resort like it.

Lift 7 – Taos, NM

Visit the post for more.

liftblog.com

Lift 7A – Taos, NM

Visit the post for more.

liftblog.com

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.

 

[santacruz skier]

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.

Is that the one where off to the left you see those chutes WTF 1, WTF 2, and WTF 3?

 

[TNtoTaos]

Yes. It takes you up to the top of Honeysuckle and Bambi.

 

[santacruz skier]

Yes. It takes you up to the top of Honeysuckle and Bambi.

a double chair?

 

[Olesya Chornoguz]

Is that the one where off to the left you see those runs WTF 1, WTF 2, and WTF 3?

Yes that is the one a double chait with bar in the middle. It is a beautiful ride, @TNtoTaos is right
Hahaha I think Mel and I named those chutes WTF. Because when we looked over into those chutes 5 years ago my reaction was WTF - people ski that? I think the actual names are What 1 and What 2, I heard instructors also call them Bambi chutes. Last year Stephanie said that is good snow I could ski one of them, and I was like yeah right lol, not sure I want to.

 

[TNtoTaos]

Yes that is the one a double chait with bar in the middle. It is a beautiful ride, @TNtoTaos is right
Hahaha I think Mel and I named those chutes WTF. Because when we looked over into those chutes 5 years ago my reaction was WTF - people ski that? I think the actual names are What 1 and What 2, I heard instructors also call them Bambi chutes. Last year Stephanie said that is good snow I could ski one of them, and I was like yeah right lol.

I think WTF 1&2 are better names for them!

 

[santacruz skier]

Yes that is the one a double chait with bar in the middle. It is a beautiful ride, @TNtoTaos is right
Hahaha I think Mel and I named those chutes WTF. Because when we looked over into those chutes 5 years ago my reaction was WTF - people ski that? I think the actual names are What 1 and What 2, I heard instructors also call them Bambi chutes. Last year Stephanie said that is good snow I could ski one of them, and I was like yeah right lol, not sure I want to.

You go first and let me know.

 

[santacruz skier]

I think WTF 1&2 are better names for them!

Maybe it was @nopoleskier who told me the names.......

 

[Susan L]

When is the Race Week usually held? Per usual the Taos website hasn't been updated for the coming season yet. Maybe in a few weeks.

It usually starts on MLK weekend. Alain is recovering from knee replacement surgeries so likely have to wait for him to recover before planning.

 

[Olesya Chornoguz]

You go first and let me know.

Yeah right. Nope probably not that one!
If I ever ski Zdarsky (chute off the Ridge that I skied and fell on) without being scared I may attempt it with instructor. Or not.

 

[Olesya Chornoguz]

It usually starts on MLK weekend. Alain is recovering from knee replacement surgeries so likely have to wait for him to recover before planning.

Oh no wishing him speedy recovery! He is amazing, I want to take a lesson with him at some point, also very charming and flirty in a French way. His daughter is super cool, she works at Le Ski Mastery sometimes.

 

[Olesya Chornoguz]

Maybe it was @nopoleskier who told me the names.......

Most likely it was her, because that is what she and I called them. Stephanie apparently likes to ski them in good snow. But I mean she likes tight steep trees so her bar of what's fun is very different than mine and then there is her experience as being instructor at Taos for decades. She is amazing, I can't wait to ski with her again.

 

[TNtoTaos]

It usually starts on MLK weekend. Alain is recovering from knee replacement surgeries so likely have to wait for him to recover before planning.

Oh, dear -- none of us are getting any younger, are we? Hard to imagine Alain needing knee replacements, but I'll bet he was one of those zipper mogul skiers in his earlier racing days.

 

[marzNC]

It was fun and definitely a low snow year.... part of the mountain wasn't open, right?

In Feb 2018, there wasn't any black or double-black terrain open at the start of the Ski Week. I don't think Lift 4 was running much that week either. After the snowstorm midweek, Maxi's Terrain Park was open as an ungroomed run. There wasn't any point to try to build terrain park features. There were plenty of soft bumps after a day or two. We did a fun run with the class down Stauffenberg with a few inches of powder on top of a groomed surface.

I still remember "chin up" from that Ski Week.

 

[marzNC]

As expected, the Taos website was updated for 2022-23 shortly after Labor Day. The prices for Ski Weeks are posted, along with dates for the specialty clinics for racing and women.

Regular Ski Weeks remained $360. Have to add tax and tip, so best to plan for $400-500. Only starting at 9:30am.

The price for Private Ski Weeks is $1540, which is a bit higher than last season. Also noted that the max for a Private Ski Week is 4 students. A Private Ski Week can start at 9:00, 10:00, or 1:00. Once a group gets started, the instructor and group can be a bit flexible on the start time for a given day.

Race Week is Jan. 22-27 and costs $530. Runs a bit differently since each session is 4 hours, not 2.5 hours.

Women's Week is Feb. 26 thru March 3. That's the same week as Diva West 2023.

 

[marzNC]

While it's good to go ahead and book a Ski Week in advance, there isn't much reason to do it until late fall at the earliest. There is no cap for the number of people who can take a regular Ski Week.

Booking a Ski Week requires full payment. The cancellation policy has been up to two weeks before the start date.

For a Private Ski Week, there are two separate tasks that need to be done in order to get one set up in advance. The first is to contact TSV ski school and request an instructor of interest. Best to have a 2nd and 3rd choice from the start. That can be done as early as late season of the season before. For instance, can get a favorite instructor lined up in April for the following February. The payment must be done with one credit card and is separate. Hopefully for the 2022-23 season, that can be done online instead of by phone. The person setting up the Private Ski Week needs to know the name and birthdate of the other participants. If someone already has a TSV account, that makes it a bit easier for them to e-sign a new waiver for the upcoming season.

 

[skinnyfootskis]

While it's good to go ahead and book a Ski Week in advance, there isn't much reason to do it until late fall at the earliest. There is no cap for the number of people who can take a regular Ski Week.

Booking a Ski Week requires full payment. The cancellation policy has been up to two weeks before the start date.

For a Private Ski Week, there are two separate tasks that need to be done in order to get one set up in advance. The first is to contact TSV ski school and request an instructor of interest. Best to have a 2nd and 3rd choice from the start. That can be done as early as late season of the season before. For instance, can get a favorite instructor lined up in April for the following February. The payment must be done with one credit card and is separate. Hopefully for the 2022-23 season, that can be done online instead of by phone. The person setting up the Private Ski Week needs to know the name and birthdate of the other participants. If someone already has a TSV account, that makes it a bit easier for them to e-sign a new waiver for the upcoming season.

Thank you for the details

 

[mustski]

They went to Mount Rose for the first time (diva west) and neither liked it that much. That surprised me as I thought they both would really like it.

In fairness, conditions were terrible that day. It was slush by 11:00 on the groomers. I heard the bumps were good that day but injured hand meant no pole which meant no bumps for this novice!