TR First Impressions of Taos, early Feb 2017

[marzNC]

Once Taos Ski Valley (TSV) was added to the Mountain Collective Pass (MCP), planning a trip to Taos was high on the list to think about during the summer of 2016. In particular because my main ski buddy, Bill, lives in Albuquerque, NM. The end result was that my “crew” spent about a week at TSV in early Feb 2017. Bill and @Olesya Chornoguz did a Taos Ski Week (Sun-Fri mornings). @nopoleskier, my ski buddy JC, and I were on a slightly different schedule so no Ski Week . . . this time. What follows are my first impressions of TSV.

The trip covered Feb. 1-11, but that included travel days and we all had slightly different schedules. Conditions varied quite a bit. The first few days were sunny with packed powder on groomers and relatively soft bumps, there was a bit of fresh snow in the middle of our trip followed by poor visibility due to fog and clouds, and the last couple days was spring skiing with temps in the 50s. Even the coldest days were only in the 20s.

Bottom line is that we all really liked TSV. A return trip is likely sooner rather than later. The terrain variety on the mountain plus the Taos Ski School is quite a combination. Positives included lack of crowds, plenty of sunshine, bumps at all levels from easy to expert, and a vibe that reminds me more of Alta than Snowbird or JH. Alta remains my favorite out west, but Taos is in my personal Top Five at this point, along with Aspen/Snowmass, and Big Sky.

The Crew at the main base: Bill, JC, nopoleskier, Olesya, MarzNC

 

[marzNC]

JC and I flew to ABQ to meet up with Bill on Wed, 01Feb. Stayed in an airport motel that evening to help with altitude adjustment. Albuquerque is at about 5000 feet. For this trip, we used Bill’s Range Rover Sport (two Thule boxes) per usual, plus I rented a small AWD SUV ($20/day rate) for more flexibility instead of take the shuttle between TSV and ABQ at the end of the trip.

On Thu JC and I warmed up at Santa Fe, which is about 1.5 hour drive from ABQ. The road up to the ski area from Santa Fe is a mountain road. Good to have AWD. Santa Fe doesn’t get as much snow as Taos but supplements with snowmaking. With 660 acres and three main chairlifts, there is good variety of terrain. It’s a local’s mountain and clearly a good place to learn to ski. The main lodge was expanded recently and is pretty nice. Coverage was a bit thin and frozen in the mellow trees marked as blue terrain.

Views at the top of Santa Fe, summits are about 12,000 ft, base at 10,350 ft





View from the Super Chief quad (base lift) of terrain served by the two triples


Bill joined us at lunch time. We left Santa Fe together about 4:30 for the 2-hour drive to Arroyo Seco. We stayed in a VRBO house in AS for a few nights in order to sleep at about 7600’, instead of 9500’ at TSV. Lodging is a lot less expensive in AS compared to TSV, but there isn’t much in the town. AS is between the town of Taos and TSV. Definitely should plan to buy food for breakfast and dinner before reaching AS. We drove 20 min to the edge of Taos for dinner a couple times. Best discovery was the Taos Common Fire, a new place with locally source dishes that were all excellent.

 

[marzNC]

On Friday, TSV was pretty empty. Olesya flew in that day and took the shuttle from ABQ to meet us at TSV in the afternoon.

Taos is going all out to make MCP holders feel welcome. Setting up the MCP for TSV is done in a separate Welcome Center room between the ticket windows and the locker room at the main base. It’s a bit annoying to have to get a MCP day ticket (50% off) after the included 2 (or 3) days are used up. Hopefully that will get simplified by next season. However, the free mountain tour only for MCP holders at 10:30 is well worth the time. They are also providing cookies and coffee in the afternoon at the Welcome Center for MCP holders starting around 3:30.

Welcome Center on left, looking up Lift 1 and Al's Run, walk straight and turn left to go down the stairs to the locker room, also Season Pass office where MCP holders can get a discounted lift ticket after 2:30 for the next day.


On 03Feb, Bill, JC, and I were the only ones doing the MCP mountain tour. Our guide has been at TSV for a few decades. He knew lots of stories about the history of the place, plus provided plenty of info about how to get around between the different areas. Definitely worth knowing how to handle the entrance to the Kachina lift. That's been made deliberately a bit difficult to help discourage people who would find skiing down even Main Street pretty challenging. It requires a little bit of a side-step or herringbone, plus a steep, slick entrance to the loading spot. That’s a change from the previous season. On busy days (Sat and/or Sun), people are asked to only load every other chair to reduce the volume of skiers on the Kachina slopes.

The Welcome Center is also used for talks on Sat afternoons at 4:00pm. On 04Feb, the guest speaker was Jean Mayer. He was asked by Ernie Blake to move from France to help start the Taos Ski School in 1957. Jean created the Taos Ski Week and the St. Bernard Hotel just below Lift 1. His younger brother came a little later and eventually created the Edelweiss next door. Jean is full of life at age 81. Still an active instructor. He mostly talked about a few basics that make skiing easier. What I remember most was the idea of looking where you want to go next, without worrying about where your skis are pointed, meaning looking DOWN the hill even when there are steep bumps and your skis are pointed across the fall line.

Mayer brothers

 

[marzNC]

On Sat morning, we parked near the base of Lift 4, next to the Bavarian Inn and Restaurant. Requires 4WD to drive up the extra few miles from the main base. That allowed Olesya to warm up for her first ski day on empty groomers since most people start at the main base and Lift 1 and it takes a while to get to Lift 4 from there. Saturdays are the busiest because locals show up.

Given the sunny skis and low winds, Bill, JC, and I decided to follow the advice of the mountain tour guide to hike to the starting point for West Basin and Highline Ridge skiing for the view. We left our skis and took poles. Olesya sensibly opted out.

The hike is considered 5-10 min by locals. On the way down, there were a couple groups of kids on the Taos ski team hiking up fast. The youngest was a girl probably no more than 7 or 8 years old, carrying her own skis. The boot pack was pretty slick in spots. The view was worth it though. On the way down, we opted to walk down in the soft snow that was about calf deep on me. By then, it was about 11am and there was a steady stream of hikers going up.

Highline Ridge to the left, West Basin to the right


Looking along Highline Ridge (on right) towards Kachina (center)
Before the Kachina lift was built, hiking from this spot was the only way to ski Kachina

 

[marzNC]

Since there was a big snowstorm a couple weeks before we arrived, the base was just over 100 inches. That meant coverage off Kachina was quite good. Bill, JC, and I went up after lunch the first day (Friday) since you never know when conditions will change. I think the bumps on Main Street (easiest way down) were no more than medium size for Taos. The top is pretty steep but that doesn’t last too long. There were very few other skiers around.

View of Kachina from near top of Lift 2


Midway down Main Street


Not many rocks to worry about


After following Bill’s Ski Week group up the Kachina lift on Sun morning (Day 1), JC and I decided to do the little walk to the summit where there is a collection of flags. Helpful to bring along poles. There is a metal box there that apparently people leave small momentos. A father and son were checking it out when we were up there. The view is pretty amazing on a clear day!

Top of Kachina lift


JC at the summit of Kachina


View from top of Lift 4 looking towards Kachina (lift tower in center on ridge line)


Sunny view of Kachina from near top of Lift 2

 

[marzNC]

For this trip, I wasn’t that interested in lessons for assorted reasons. But decided doing a 2.5 hour group lesson for only $70 was worth while. JC and I signed up for Monday morning, 06Feb, when it would be less busy. We ended up with no one else in our group. Our relatively young instructor (20-something) was new to Taos. He's a former college and pro racer (bad non-racing injury ended his racing career a few years ago). He is not PSIA certified. However he obviously knows plenty of drills, has had lots of coaching, and can ski anything at Taos.

The start of the lesson was typical. A few drills on groomers as we made our way over to the area where we would ski next. He demo'd a few drills (thousand steps, pick up the inside ski) and watched us ski. Next we did some short bump lines on the sides of groomers. Ultimately, we did a double black after about 90 min. That took a lot of work, but I and JC were glad to have the experience. The double black we did was Longhorn. Longhorn is long . . . really long . . . but only a few sections are very steep. It’s a marked trail, just bumps, no trees. Snow was good, blue sky day. The last lesson run was on easy bumps for a positive finish to the morning. JC and I had skied that set of bumps a few times during our first few days at Taos. The difference after the lesson was very obvious. Meaning we definitely learned from the lesson, even if it was mostly because of deliberate mileage on good terrain for working on bumps.

We gave our instructor a tip based more on the length of time than the cost of the lesson. At Alta, a semi-private for two skiers for 2.5 hours costs $325, or $162.50 per person, or $65/hour. For an experienced instructor, any rate less than $75/hour is good. TSV lesson prices are a great deal.

For those who don't know us, JC and I are about the same age (~60) and quite close in skiing ability at this point. We’ve done trips out west together almost every year starting with a Diva Week in 2010. He is an old family friend of my non-skiing husband. JC’s wife stopped skiing a while ago.

If you are interested in learning more about the Taos Ski Week, check out this thread:

Taos Ski Week 2017

Top of Longhorn, instructor in yellow (on right), JC in blue (middle)


Lower section of Longhorn

 

[marzNC]

I usually try to do a few “adventure runs” during a ski trip out west. Usually only one per day, but can be more if conditions are good and my ski buddies are up for it. After doing Longhorn with the instructor, JC and I went in Lorelei Trees and Spencer’s Bowl later in the trip. I did Lorelei on a different day with Bill when the snow was better.

I'd heard about Lorelei, which is black. Lorelei Trees is double black. I asked a patroller about Lorelei but got info about the double black instead. The additional factor for choosing the wrong entrance was that there was a marshal there for the Ski Mountaineering race happening that morning who said we might see some racers. We got down and over to Lorelei, but actually skiing Lorelei Trees will take more lessons first. We didn't see any racers but did see the flags for the course going down, and for going up. I went down Lorelei starting from the correct gate with Bill a few days later when the snow was much softer. That run was less of an adventure and much more fun.

Spencer’s Bowl is a black on the lower part of the front side and leads to Edelweiss Trees. We were following a lesson group in the middle section and then an instructor checking out the easy way down for a bit. JC and I can ski bumps on TSV black trails.

Lorelei Trees (taken while seated)


Lorelei, top section looking down, snow was soft due to warm temps


Lorelie, top section looking up


Spencer's Bowl, JC in blue on left


Edelweiss Glade, JC near the bottom

 

[marzNC]

Walkerie Glade is a black area next to the terrain park under Lift 7. We were lucky enough to free ski one afternoon with my schoolmate from North Country School (boarding middle school in Lake Placid). Peter has been an instructor at Taos for a few decades (PSIA RM Ed Staff, Examiner). He showed us how to get into the Tower 10 entrance to Walkerie Glade. Like many Taos blacks, there are harder and easier sections. The lowest section is called Panama’s Pitch with wide open trees and a mellow pitch. I went into Walkerie Glade often enough after that introduction with either JC or Bill that I was even comfortable doing one run solo later in the trip while nopoleskier cruised the corduroy in the terrain park.

Tower 10 entrance to Walkerie Glade (fence)


A steep section in Walkerie Glade


Fun! Good snow even in warm temps, not too soft or frozen


Lowest section is called Panama's Pitch, run out goes to base of Lift 7

 

[marzNC]

A few misc photos . . .

Main base locker room
Can pay $10 for a in/out basket for the day, can pay an additional $2 to store stuff overnight. Overnight ski storage is possible too. Electronic lockers were $8. We just left our boot bags under the benches. Restrooms are big next to the locker room.


Base of Lift 4, Bavarian behind the lift, Phoenix Grill has beer and good pulled pork,
also a coffee and hot chocolate hut (up the hill from the Phoenix)


Bavarian Inn, just below base of Lift 4 on the Kachina side
We could make a reservation calling around 4:30pm for the same night because we had our own 4WD transportation. The Bavarian has a shuttle but then scheduling is a bit more complicated. Food was very good. Desserts were wonderful!


TSV base village
Children's Ski School has two chairlifts and two magic carpets (left)
Parking is mostly angle parking along one-way roadways, open shuttle helps but is a rough ride


Main base, Lifts 1 and 5
Locker room is on the lowest floor of the building on the right, Martini Tree Bar is the top floor
Beige building is Snakedance Condos, The Blake (taller building, white, green, brown)


St. Bernard (far left), Snakedance, The Blake (new in 2017)

 

[nopoleskier]

Nice Trip Review! It sure was a fun Mountain and I look forward to going back!!

 

[Olesya Chornoguz]

Great trip report @marzNC ! I will add a few words from my standpoint. I think TSV is a great place to progress in your skiing, the ski week helps, yes, but just even the variety of terrain and the range of different levels of terrain available provides a lot of possibilities for easy fun and adventure/challenge. If you wanted to scare yourself, khm-khm I mean challenge yourself, there are plenty opportunities for that kind of skiing too. I skied a number of single black diamond runs runs both in lessons within ski week and when free skiing with friends. I did not ski any of the double black - they looked mostly scary, not fun for me. Main street off Kachina I think is probably the most obvious candidate to ski double black at TSV for me in the future. I didn't ski it this time, but maybe I will next year..

The single black diamond runs vary widely in their difficulty at TSV. I will say the most enjoyable single black run was Hunziker bowl, a portion of it had no bumps and even though it was a bit firm, not icy but firm in the middle it had great soft bumps on the sides. Also when traverse a bit further into the bowl there were some really fun easier bumps next to steeper bigger ones, so one has a pick of easier or more challenging way down. My least favorite black was Walkyrie Glade, even though it doesn't look very challenging in the pic above and there was a section that was fun, more open, not too steep, there was also a section that had huge bumps, it was also steep and trees were pretty tight, I was too scared to turn in that. Needless to say I side-slipped and side-stepped that section until I could bail to the adjacent groomer/terrain park. There is also a steep short black run that is groomed in the middle (Papa Bear) and it has bumps on the side of the run, the bumps are quite big in some places. I skied the groomed portion and enjoyed it a lot too. Other single black runs I skied were not as wide open - Ruby Gully, Psycho Path, so I had some initial trepidation when entering (narrower entrances), but after I was able to start turning I was mostly enjoying myself, because bumps weren't huge in those and snow was soft. Other favorite trails were Firlefanz (ungroomed blue - fun short section of bumps) and Japanese Flag trees (glade that is rated blue, had some big bumps, but not steep). There are also a number of short ungroomed shots from the sides of groomers where one can go sample the bumps and come back which is a lot of fun too.

All in all I loved TSV, yes TSV is in top 5 ski resort for me too and I will back, hopefully next winter. TSV has great food, both at the base of the mountain and in Taos town itself. The locals, staff on the mountain and lifties are very friendly and fun. I too loved the absence of crowds and I also thought TSV does have the laid-back vibe and character that Alta has, and I love that part too.

 

[marzNC]

Bill kept looking for the "dummy" he'd seen during a past trip. Here's a pic of Slim Slidell near the top of Lift 2. The sign is about self-arrest. Slim is demonstrating 1) feet down and 2) hands digging in. Note now the new snow overnight blew in to almost cover Slim.

Under Lift 8 that morning, we found that an inch of snow became 4-6 inches in between bumps. JC and I both ended up falling when our skis stuck in the new snow on relatively small bumps. Very different from the day before. There was more wind on the West Basin side. We headed over to the other side and didn't have the same problem.

 

[marzNC]

A little hard to see the terrain, but here's a pic taken somewhere in the middle of Hunziker Bowl. We heard about it from the mountain tour. Our host mentioned that there are lots of short shots to be found on that side off the greens and blues "if you keep your eyes open." He was talking about finding powder in steepish trees I think.

 

[marzNC]

The Columbine Inn turned out to work well for us. Better than a condo at TSV. Mostly because our little group of 4-5 prefers having separate bedrooms. The midweek rate for 4 nights at the Columbine was comparable to splitting the cost of a TSV house/condo with enough bedrooms, if not a little less. A hot breakfast was included. Has an outdoor hot tub with a view. Plus cookies, coffee, and hot chocolate in the afternoons. While the Columbine has it's own van shuttle for skiing, it runs at a few fixed times in the morning and afternoon. Although if someone gets hurt and needs to return early, they will do a pick up. But no midday pick up just because someone is tired. We ended up driving in order to have more flexibility after we were done skiing. For instance, one evening we went straight to the Bavarian for an early dinner instead of going back to the Columbine to change.

There is no special ski storage. Apparently people who take the shuttle leave their skis in the van or at TSV. Also okay to bring skis into the rooms.

There are a few other Inns in the same area as the Columbine, which is about a mile from TSV parking.

Sunrise


Outdoor hot tub on the second floor


TSV trail map on the shower curtain

 

[marzNC]

Parking notes . . .

Wasn't too hard to get a good parking space arriving 8:15-8:30 midweek. Lifts start at 9:00. The road into the main base is a one way loop, with angle parking on either side. There are people trying to direct people to keep the parking organized. The best approach is to keep going around and park on the road that heads out. Then it's a short shuttle ride in the afternoon. The shuttle is an open one pulled by a pickup. To get the shuttle to stop by your car . . . you yell or whistle. Needs to be loud enough for the driver to hear. They drive with the window open. When it's busier, there are two shuttle routes. When not busy, it can be a long and bumpy ride. Pays to have relaxed knees, just like skiing bumps.

There are very friendly TSV staff in blue coats or vests who are happy to answer questions when you get off the shuttle about where to go. Also help to make sure you get on the correct shuttle in the afternoon when there are two routes. The parking areas are marked with various animals such as Bison, Bear, etc. to help people remember where they parked.

There is a parking lot near the Children's Ski School. Also a lot where RVs can park.

Apparently the shuttle bus from the town of Taos is free this season. Runs on a schedule. The last bus leaves at 4:30pm. Sometimes the 4:10 is full.

 

[Olesya Chornoguz]

I really liked the trail map shower curtain! Was studying it while I was in the bathroom. ;)

 

[Christy]

I like that too.

 

[newboots]

Awesome pictures, @marzNC ! Seems like an amazing trip.

 

[marzNC]

Notes about lunch options . . .

As already mentioned, on the Kachina side there is the Phoenix Grill (has beer) and the coffee & hot chocolate bar.

The simplest eating place at the main base is right below Lift 1. The Martini Tree Bar is on the top floor. Can order from that menu or bring food from the cafeteria on the main floor or the Mexican place (starts with an R). The offerings in the cafeteria included chili, a soup, a by-the-ounce salad bar, pizza, hot sandwiches, made to order pasta, basic mexican-american. First impression was that the pasta seemed expensive at $12-15. But turns out to be a huge plateful.

Walking back towards the shuttle stop there is a crepe hut, and a pizza place (with beer). The crepes were fresh and quite good. Includes veggie options. Pizza was good too.

A little farther is Tim's Cantina. Don't know how crowded that gets at lunch time. We went for a late dinner. Good stuff!

 

[snow cat]

Great pictures and report! Sounds like it was a lot of fun. I'm sorry that I missed this trip and it sounds like TSV is a place I need to visit.