TR Taos Ski Valley (TSV) Jan. 28 thru Feb. 5, 2023

[marzNC]

and the terrain park part of it is really only several ramps.

Not sure what this means . . . I skied Lonestar the last weekend to take a look. After the terrain park entrance, the initial section has one side is for small features and the other is for medium features. There is the standard variety of features as far I noticed. It does seem narrow and there isn't much distance between the features. That's in comparison to what I've seen in the northeast in a few places.

Using Maxi's as a terrain park seemed like a waste based on the number of people I've seen in January or February actually playing on a feature. There were far more people lapping Lift 7 in late January than before. Many were on Maxi's, not Totemoff or the Lonestar terrain park, especially midweek. What I never got the answer to was when Maxi's was turned into a terrain park. I'm thinking it was after 2008 when TSV was opened up to snowboarders.

My impression is that any time a beginner/intermediate terrain is changed, there are instructor complaints. Unless of course an entire new section is opened up for teaching beginners such as happened at Jackson Hole and Steamboat. I remember plenty of instructor complaints at Alta when the cat track that cut across Lower Rustler wasn't being groomed any more. Or when the old Cecret lift was removed and couldn't be replaced with a mid-station off-load on the replacement Supreme lift. Doesn't mean the complaints aren't valid. However, it's never as simple as assuming that keeping things the same forever is the best decision for the resort as a whole.

 

[TNtoTaos]

Not sure what this means . . . I skied Lonestar the last weekend to take a look. After the terrain park entrance, the initial section has one side is for small features and the other is for medium features. There is the standard variety of features as far I noticed.

OK, I guess I didn't see the smaller features on the right side, I stayed to the left. But from what I heard from Henry, it sounds like the Maxie's/Lonestar changes are not panning out as well as they had hoped for, so stay tuned for more changes next year.

 

[marzNC]

OK, I guess I didn't see the smaller features on the right side, I stayed to the left. But from what I heard from Henry, it sounds like the Maxie's/Lonestar changes are not panning out as well as they had hoped for, so stay tuned for more changes next year.

Hard to see in the picture, but the sign on the far left at the entrance to the terrain park is labeled SMALL and the sign on the far right is labeled MEDIUM. There are industry guidelines for what features qualify.

Would not make much sense for a Ski Week instructor to take a class down the few bumps at the beginning of Lonestar and then just cruise through the terrain park afterwards.



Agree that TSV needs to keep thinking about how to use Lonestar and Maxi's going forward.

What they could use is a way to count how many people actually go into the terrain park. Or ride any of the lifts for that matter. TSV is behind the curve when it comes to being somewhat data driven, as opposed to making operational changes based on gut feeling.

 

[marzNC]

That reminds me . . . since TSV hasn't installed RFID yet, there is manual scanning at Lift 1 at the main base and at Lift 4 on the back side near the Bavarian. I brought a lanyard for my Ikon pass, which was direct-to-lift. Ikon reservations are required this season. I made reservations fo 7 days (Sat-Tue and Fri-Sun) and had the MCP for Wed and Thu. When I set up the MCP at the Ticket/Season Pass building, I had to deal with a separate online waiver and got a Taos lanyard. The Ticket Office hours are 8am to 4pm.

Some people had a ring for their pass (Ikon or TSV season pass) or used a plastic loop fastener (in cups near ticket machines).

The Ticket Office is near the bridge on the way to the main plaza next to the base of Lift 1. Wasn't obvious this trip, but the plaza surface is heated so when it snows no one has to do much shoveling.



Single restrooms at the end of the Ticket Office building, with an exterior door to the hallway

 

[MissySki]

Not really. It's an expression that captures the idea of keeping the vertical speed so slow overall regardless of the pitch that there is plenty of time at the top of every bump in order to make a deliberate decision of what to do next. Looking ahead and having a dynamic plan for where to go next is a key skill too. It's NOT about going the same slow speed all the time. There is a very clear fast/slow change of speed. Watching Derek ski down blue or black bumps made far more sense towards the end of this second Ski Week with him than it did a year ago.

When I came across a regular Ski Week finishing on Street Car (short black) on Feb. 5 (Day 1), that instructor was starting to work on the same technique that Derek had been teaching my class. I stopped to watch because included a couple friends were in it. It was a class for advanced skiers and probably was going to be working their way up to skiing a double-black as a teaching run if things went well.

Fair to say the way I skied Street Car at the end of my Ski Week wasn't how I would've skied it without the lessons with Derek and other Ski Week instructors in the past five seasons. It's a short run, relatively wide, and not that steep for a Taos black. Learning where and how to practice on bumps of all types is a key reason I do Ski Weeks. Also why I don't care if there isn't powder to ski when I'm at TSV. Sunshine, little or no wind, temps in the 20s, and plenty of bumps is the ideal ski day during a Ski Week for me. Worked out well for the Ski Week that started Jan. 29, 2023.

The fundamentals we would start with each morning on groomers are pretty common. However, Derek put them in the context of how the skills would apply in bumps of all sizes. The focus in 2023 was different than in 2022, partially due to the different makeup of the class as well as the difference a year made for the three students who had worked with Derek before. I'm a visual learner. So improving a skill by following an instructor is the best way for me to learn. At the same time, hearing why a skill applies when skiing bumps helps in the long run. Seeing repeated demonstrations when skiing bumps of what Derek wanted us to be able to achieve was . . . as they say . . . priceless.

Gotcha!

 

[marzNC]

Gotcha!

The Ski Week class I watched on Street Car on Sunday morning did in fact ski Main Street off the Kachina Lift more than once later in the week. They were skiing Lorelei and Blitz black bumps by midweek. By then the Blitz bumps were probably pretty big. They were already big on Sat morning, Feb. 4, when I skied it with Jason.

Since I'd skied Blitz in the past, the size of the bumps weren't a surprise. What was different during the Ski Week lesson when Derek took us to Blitz was the entrance he picked. There are three ways to get to Blitz. The top entrance means skiing all of Blitz, including the steepest part at the top. The second entrance has a trail sign for Upper Pollux (double black). That's a steep and narrow route through trees (2 bumps wide at most) that leads to the traverse that goes under Lift 2. Derek knew we could deal with it and went ahead without any real advice besides making it clear he didn't care how we got down. The third entrance is called Chicken Blitz, which is a well-traveled traverse through the Castor and Pollux trees.

None of the entrances off Bambi that lead to Blitz are on the trail map. There are trail signs if you are paying enough attention to spot them. It's easy to blow by the trail sign for Chicken Blitz. The gate that you'll hear people talk about related to Blitz is called the "rabbit hole." That goes over to West Blitz Trees and you come out near the top of Lift 8 but that's only fun when there is lots of soft snow.

Pretty sure the first time I skied Blitz was in 2019. Didn't do a Ski Week during the first trip in 2017. There was no black terrain open due to low snow conditions for the Women's Ski Week in 2018. In 2019 I did two Ski Weeks, the first during MLK week with a class where I was the most experienced skier on Taos bumps. The second Ski Week was a regular Ski Week with Stephanie as a replacement instructor because the original instructor's knee was acting up. There was fresh snow midweek that was not the driest but meant there were soft bumps all over the place.

 

[Flowergirl88]

mething adv

It pays to remember that someone who has very good form on a groomer can end up in a Ski Week group that is a bit too adventurous. For instance, if the group is skiing black bump runs on Day 1 and someone isn't comfortable, it could be worth talking with the instructor after the Sunday lesson. Doing another ski off on Monday is perfectly fine.

Chemistry matters too. For instance, suppose a group is mostly seniors from a midwest ski club who are over 60. That might not be the best fit for someone who is in their 30s. Or someone who mostly skis out west on soft snow.

I've had friends who didn't understand that Sunday is a warm up day. The instructors are evaluating the group chemistry and individual skills. The detailed lessons start on Monday morning.

This trip report is super helpful! A lot of things for me to keep in mind for next year! I'll have to revisit this again. And I love all the photos!!!