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TR Taos Ski Week Jan. 20-25, 2019 with intermediate Divas
- Thread starter marzNC
- Start date
marzNC
Angel Diva
Nope, not like the group that you and I were in last time. The hard chargers are in the top group. My group is one down from the top, which is being taught by Dadou Mayer (brother of Jean Mayer). We started with blue bumps, and did black bumps today. Fair to say that I'm the best skier in the group. Jason and the other man from NC have had advanced lesson. The NC man has been coming to TSV for a few years after he was old enough for the senior pass. The four from the midwest ski club have old school technique and haven't had lessons. But I'm learning a lot about bump skiing. This group is not ready for Taos double-blacks, which is exactly what Jason and I confirmed was our status two years ago when our 1-shot lesson instructor took us down Longhorn (long, long double black, no trees).
As for the ski off, I mentioned the blacks that I skied two years ago and that I was with Teri K. for the Women's Week last year. The general question is what type of terrain is of interest: green, blue, blue-black, black. It's pretty clear that Sunday is an opportunity for instructors to assess their group and see what moves would be helpful. People who are moving groups are asked to do another ski off.
In general, I'm having a ball with my instructor. I wasn't really interested in being with the top group. Was more interested in being in the same group as Jason. When I'm the one following the instructor, he ups the game in terms of speed. So it makes little difference that the others are not doing as well in the bumps.
I'm getting a sense of what Level 7, 8, 9 groups (Taos 10-point scale) really are when there is black terrain open.
The least experience skier got a solo Ski Week starting on Monday after students were re-arranged a bit. She was moved out of the group that @diymom and Alison's friend are in.
The group that includes @alison wong and @Gidget415 skied a short black today, plus plenty of blue bumps. At Taos, all blacks have bumps. There is no such thing as a groomed black most of the time. Although parts of Hunzinger Bowl are groomed.
marzNC
Angel Diva
DAY 5 - Wednesday of Ski Week
My group was smaller today because three of the people with the midwest ski club took the day off from skiing entirely. It turned out to be a nice day weatherwise, with no wind, temps in the teens, and a fair amount of sun that warmed things up. The mountain temp at 8:00am was 1 degree F.
We skied bumps and trees most of the lesson. The first long challenge was Lorelei because Walkyries Glade was closed. Finished with Spencer's and Lower Inferno. I did the little short section that's called Ernie's BooBoo (just below Jean's Glad). The story behind the trail name is that Ernie Blake totaled snowcat there and trees had to be cut to get it out.
Learned a couple other ways to get to the loading area of Lift 1.
The Phoenix Grill is only open Fri-Sun, 11:00-2:30. The Phoenix Lodge is only open Fri-Sun, 9:00-4:00. The new restrooms that are next to the extension of the Bavarian Inn porch are nice and heated. Water is provided on the deck. The Bavarian Inn was bought by TSV at the same time that the Black family sold to Louis Bacon, which was in 2014.
Having my Stöckli Stormrider 85 skis tuned tonight at Le Ski Mastery. That's where I bought them two years ago after the second demo day. Also where @Gidget415 is demo'ing this week. Nice to support a family-owned business. Alain is also a ski instructor.
My group was smaller today because three of the people with the midwest ski club took the day off from skiing entirely. It turned out to be a nice day weatherwise, with no wind, temps in the teens, and a fair amount of sun that warmed things up. The mountain temp at 8:00am was 1 degree F.
We skied bumps and trees most of the lesson. The first long challenge was Lorelei because Walkyries Glade was closed. Finished with Spencer's and Lower Inferno. I did the little short section that's called Ernie's BooBoo (just below Jean's Glad). The story behind the trail name is that Ernie Blake totaled snowcat there and trees had to be cut to get it out.
Learned a couple other ways to get to the loading area of Lift 1.
The Phoenix Grill is only open Fri-Sun, 11:00-2:30. The Phoenix Lodge is only open Fri-Sun, 9:00-4:00. The new restrooms that are next to the extension of the Bavarian Inn porch are nice and heated. Water is provided on the deck. The Bavarian Inn was bought by TSV at the same time that the Black family sold to Louis Bacon, which was in 2014.
Having my Stöckli Stormrider 85 skis tuned tonight at Le Ski Mastery. That's where I bought them two years ago after the second demo day. Also where @Gidget415 is demo'ing this week. Nice to support a family-owned business. Alain is also a ski instructor.
Susan L
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Alain is not “just” a ski instructor - he was a pro alpine racer in US, France and Canada. So are his daughter and son (who is still currently racing). He is in charge of the Race Week that I am doing this week. I have been watching videos of him skiing for years and I finally got to follow him down our race course yesterday! It was a dream come true to watch him in real life!
marzNC
Angel Diva
Good to know!
Although I think in general anyone who likes to ski groomed blacks out west would be better off going somewhere else besides Taos. There is nothing like the long steep groomers in Utah or Montana.
marzNC
Angel Diva
There are so many senior instructors at Taos who have taught at TSV for 30+ years, I haven't learned who specializes in what. Sounds like the Race Week is a pretty amazing experience!
Susan L
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Oh it is!! But you gotta be comfortable with speed and be good with using your edge. I have learned so much in just a few days and I can already feel the difference in my skiing! This will be a class that I will keep coming back for!
marzNC
Angel Diva
Had a group dinner at the Bavarian Inn last night. Called to make the reservation on Monday for Wednesday night. Since we have 4WD/AWD cars, easy to get an early reservation before 6pm. The Bavarian provide shuttle service but that is more limited. Although it turned out that the place was relatively empty even at 7pm. However, things have changed at the Bavarian. In particular, the head chef moved on in 2018. The interior was renovated to add more seats. The deck was expanded and a separate heated restroom building was built.
The group ended up 7 people, 5 Divas plus my ski buddy Jason, and the older man from NC who is in the same group as Jason and I. We got the round table in the corner.
The apple strudel was as huge and yummy as two years ago, with ice cream included!
The group ended up 7 people, 5 Divas plus my ski buddy Jason, and the older man from NC who is in the same group as Jason and I. We got the round table in the corner.
The apple strudel was as huge and yummy as two years ago, with ice cream included!
marzNC
Angel Diva
DAY 6 - Thursday of Ski Week
My group's Ski Week went a little differently today. Our instructor started working with a boy in the Adaptive program last season. When possible they ski together on Thursday mornings. So our group lesson was in the afternoon, 1:00-3:00, instead of in the morning 9:50-12:00. Weather was pretty much like yesterday, perhaps a bit warmer.
Jason and I spent the morning on groomers, except one run on Lonestar (blue bumps). We watched the group with @alison wong and @Gidget415 work on carving. That included runs on Moe's, which was groomed out. It's short, but certainly qualifies as a black whether groomed or bumped up. We took a couple runs on the sides of the terrain park on the nice soft corduroy. @nopoleskier likes doing that a lot.
Jason and I ate lunch at Hondo to be different. Good food served pretty fast. I think @diymom and Gidget had lunch together. Alison and her friend eat together. In general, our group is big enough that no one has to eat alone unless that's what they prefer.
My group stayed on the frontside. Those who missed the class yesterday were quite ready to go today. It's clear that everyone is much more into the idea of following the tracks of ur instructor compared to the first day or two. We started out with Psycho, a short black that we did yesterday. The adventure run was going in the "Chicken Blitz" entrance to Reforma and Blitz, which are blacks off to looker's right of Lift 2. We also did Poco Gusto and Tell Glade bumps. The drill of the day was mostly for the midwest skiers benefit because then men skied on straight skis and tend to keep their feet too close together for current ski design. It's called Horse or Cowboy and involves making carved turns keeping legs and feet as wide apart as you need for riding a horse. We did the drill for most of Stauffenburg (long blue off Lift 8 good for race speeds).
It's fair to say that everyone who does a Ski Week improves. I know that's true for myself and the other Divas. I can see the difference in the other skiers in my group, including the one who wasn't planning on doing Ski Week. Got a freebie because a ski club member had to cancel at the last minute due to an injury.
My group's Ski Week went a little differently today. Our instructor started working with a boy in the Adaptive program last season. When possible they ski together on Thursday mornings. So our group lesson was in the afternoon, 1:00-3:00, instead of in the morning 9:50-12:00. Weather was pretty much like yesterday, perhaps a bit warmer.
Jason and I spent the morning on groomers, except one run on Lonestar (blue bumps). We watched the group with @alison wong and @Gidget415 work on carving. That included runs on Moe's, which was groomed out. It's short, but certainly qualifies as a black whether groomed or bumped up. We took a couple runs on the sides of the terrain park on the nice soft corduroy. @nopoleskier likes doing that a lot.
Jason and I ate lunch at Hondo to be different. Good food served pretty fast. I think @diymom and Gidget had lunch together. Alison and her friend eat together. In general, our group is big enough that no one has to eat alone unless that's what they prefer.
My group stayed on the frontside. Those who missed the class yesterday were quite ready to go today. It's clear that everyone is much more into the idea of following the tracks of ur instructor compared to the first day or two. We started out with Psycho, a short black that we did yesterday. The adventure run was going in the "Chicken Blitz" entrance to Reforma and Blitz, which are blacks off to looker's right of Lift 2. We also did Poco Gusto and Tell Glade bumps. The drill of the day was mostly for the midwest skiers benefit because then men skied on straight skis and tend to keep their feet too close together for current ski design. It's called Horse or Cowboy and involves making carved turns keeping legs and feet as wide apart as you need for riding a horse. We did the drill for most of Stauffenburg (long blue off Lift 8 good for race speeds).
It's fair to say that everyone who does a Ski Week improves. I know that's true for myself and the other Divas. I can see the difference in the other skiers in my group, including the one who wasn't planning on doing Ski Week. Got a freebie because a ski club member had to cancel at the last minute due to an injury.
marzNC
Angel Diva
The midwest ski club trip included a day off on Wednesday. But some of the people chose to buy a lift ticket or use one from a friend who is skiing less in order to do all the morning lessons for a Ski Week.
For my group, two men decided to do the Wed lesson. But one forgot too many things before leaving his Snakedance condo (ski in/out) and wasn't ready in time. The instructor told him where we would start but he never found the group. Since the tree area that our instructor wanted to take the group to was closed, we only rode Lift 7 twice instead of being over there longer. The alternative was that we went to ski Lorelei, which is off Lift 7A/Lift 2.
marzNC
Angel Diva
DAY 7 - Friday and last day of Ski Week
It was another cold day but very little wind. Plenty of sunshine for pictures.
By the end of the week, I'd figured out what combination of clothing worked best when the temps are about 5-20 degrees from 8am to 3pm. Turned out that not wearing my glove liners on Thursday afternoon wasn't a good idea. My hands didn't feel cold with all the bumps we were skiing. But when we got back to the Columbine Inn, my right thumb was a little itchy and red at the base. Having had frost nip at Stowe on one ear lobe, I knew that was the problem. Didn't itch for long and wasn't as red in the morning. Looked much better by the next day.
My instructor dials it back on Fridays. I would imagine so do the other instructors. The idea was to have some fun based on the new ideas from earlier in the week. We did Moe's, which had been groomed. Short but steep so legitimately black whether groomed or bumped up. One midwest man ended up having to put into practice the self-arrest technique that Trey went over at the top of Moe's. He tried skiing the chop on the side. The only new bump run we did was Zagava (short black on the front side) because that was the way to get over to Porcupine. He didn't use it for teaching. Just showed where the snow was better and told us to get down without worrying much about form.
The Martini Tree tradition has been kept alive. One difference from before the change in ownership in 2014 is that there is a server. My instructor brought stuffed olives. He'd checked the day before if jalapeño was okay. Since a few students (me for sure) said "no," there were a few stuffed with garlic instead.
Server in red, Trey with bag of stuffed olives
Trey's Group: MarzNC, Jason, D from NC, Trey; midwest ski club members (man in yellow on the end came on Wed too)
Jason and I treated Trey to lunch at the St. B. D-NC was going to come but was too tired (has a slope side condo). Trey makes a point to stay open on Friday afternoons when he is doing a Ski Week. I imagine if someone from his group would like a private lesson, he's happy to help.
Turns out that lunch at the St. Bernard or the Hondo is pretty reasonable. There are good options for $10-12 that are good deals in comparison to soup or a slice of pizza in the cafeteria. The food comes out relatively quickly since they are small dining rooms.
After lunch I skied with @alison wong for a bit before heading out early since @diymom and I had to get to Albuquerque on Friday evening for our Saturday mornings flights. The bonus was that my NCS schoolmate, Peter, who is a long time TSV instructor was able to spend a little time free skiing with me and Alison. She's skiing much better in bumps than at the beginning of the week. He helped her practice a bit more with 1-1 supervision and tips. I always learn something observing a very experience instructor working with someone else.
It was another cold day but very little wind. Plenty of sunshine for pictures.
By the end of the week, I'd figured out what combination of clothing worked best when the temps are about 5-20 degrees from 8am to 3pm. Turned out that not wearing my glove liners on Thursday afternoon wasn't a good idea. My hands didn't feel cold with all the bumps we were skiing. But when we got back to the Columbine Inn, my right thumb was a little itchy and red at the base. Having had frost nip at Stowe on one ear lobe, I knew that was the problem. Didn't itch for long and wasn't as red in the morning. Looked much better by the next day.
My instructor dials it back on Fridays. I would imagine so do the other instructors. The idea was to have some fun based on the new ideas from earlier in the week. We did Moe's, which had been groomed. Short but steep so legitimately black whether groomed or bumped up. One midwest man ended up having to put into practice the self-arrest technique that Trey went over at the top of Moe's. He tried skiing the chop on the side. The only new bump run we did was Zagava (short black on the front side) because that was the way to get over to Porcupine. He didn't use it for teaching. Just showed where the snow was better and told us to get down without worrying much about form.
The Martini Tree tradition has been kept alive. One difference from before the change in ownership in 2014 is that there is a server. My instructor brought stuffed olives. He'd checked the day before if jalapeño was okay. Since a few students (me for sure) said "no," there were a few stuffed with garlic instead.
Server in red, Trey with bag of stuffed olives
Trey's Group: MarzNC, Jason, D from NC, Trey; midwest ski club members (man in yellow on the end came on Wed too)
Jason and I treated Trey to lunch at the St. B. D-NC was going to come but was too tired (has a slope side condo). Trey makes a point to stay open on Friday afternoons when he is doing a Ski Week. I imagine if someone from his group would like a private lesson, he's happy to help.
Turns out that lunch at the St. Bernard or the Hondo is pretty reasonable. There are good options for $10-12 that are good deals in comparison to soup or a slice of pizza in the cafeteria. The food comes out relatively quickly since they are small dining rooms.
After lunch I skied with @alison wong for a bit before heading out early since @diymom and I had to get to Albuquerque on Friday evening for our Saturday mornings flights. The bonus was that my NCS schoolmate, Peter, who is a long time TSV instructor was able to spend a little time free skiing with me and Alison. She's skiing much better in bumps than at the beginning of the week. He helped her practice a bit more with 1-1 supervision and tips. I always learn something observing a very experience instructor working with someone else.
marzNC
Angel Diva
DAY 7 - Friday afternoon/evening
The bonus for having a small group at the same place at the same time is not only for skiing together at times, but also being able to share transportation and company for meals. For this trip, there ended up being seven Divas from four states (DC, NC, MA, NM) plus my ski buddy Jason and a few locals SOs. The travelers only needed two rental cars from ABQ for five people. Jason is getting a ride back to ABQ on Saturday with @alison wong and her DC Diva friend.
On Friday, @Susan L offered to let me leave my ski gear at her condo in Taos since I'm going back in a week. She's been getting a ride from a friend since her DH was working and she stayed for the Race Week. So she rode down the mountain with me and @diymom. When I realized her condo was next to Common Fire, I suggested we eat together. One of the features of Common Fire is that it's open noon-9pm so can eat any time in the afternoon. We all had the braised short ribs, which were sooo tender (slow cooked for 7-8 hours).
Made for a perfect ending for a great week of skiing at Taos.
The bonus for having a small group at the same place at the same time is not only for skiing together at times, but also being able to share transportation and company for meals. For this trip, there ended up being seven Divas from four states (DC, NC, MA, NM) plus my ski buddy Jason and a few locals SOs. The travelers only needed two rental cars from ABQ for five people. Jason is getting a ride back to ABQ on Saturday with @alison wong and her DC Diva friend.
On Friday, @Susan L offered to let me leave my ski gear at her condo in Taos since I'm going back in a week. She's been getting a ride from a friend since her DH was working and she stayed for the Race Week. So she rode down the mountain with me and @diymom. When I realized her condo was next to Common Fire, I suggested we eat together. One of the features of Common Fire is that it's open noon-9pm so can eat any time in the afternoon. We all had the braised short ribs, which were sooo tender (slow cooked for 7-8 hours).
Made for a perfect ending for a great week of skiing at Taos.
marzNC
Angel Diva
With so many Divas around, it was pretty much impossible to get a full group picture. Although every Diva skied with most of the other Divas at one time or another over the course of the week. All of Divas doing a Ski Week had another Diva or ski buddy in their group. I knew from last year that having a friend in the same group makes the experience that much more fun. Making new friends in a Ski Week group is fun too but it's harder to know if you are ever going to get to ski the the new friend in the future.
@Gidget415 , DC friend, @alison wong , @Susan L - DC, Albuquerque
One thing that's missing from the TSV base at the moment is the "Don't Panic" sign. I heard that the sign is with a local artist and will be back.
Here's what the signs looked like during my first trip in 2017
@Gidget415 , DC friend, @alison wong , @Susan L - DC, Albuquerque
One thing that's missing from the TSV base at the moment is the "Don't Panic" sign. I heard that the sign is with a local artist and will be back.
Here's what the signs looked like during my first trip in 2017
EuniceG
Diva in Training
Thanks for showing me the way down Moe's. My first black on Taos! (Other than missing a turn and ending up on Poco Gusto.)
Yamaste
Certified Ski Diva
Glad to meet @diymom at lunch, and it was nice to ski with @Susan L, @EuniceG, and Jason for the backside on the last day.
I had a great week at Taos, and I definitely could feel my own improvement and see it with all the skiers in my group. I'll probably be back for more in the coming years and be on the lookout for the 2020 women's ski week dates. I like the sound of free demos and swag.
I had a great week at Taos, and I definitely could feel my own improvement and see it with all the skiers in my group. I'll probably be back for more in the coming years and be on the lookout for the 2020 women's ski week dates. I like the sound of free demos and swag.
marzNC
Angel Diva
For those still reading, the rest of my posts in this trip report will be assorted observations. There is no doubt that TSV has become my #2 favorite after Alta for trips out west. Both places are evolving post changes in ownership and/or management, but the core feeling of the people and the mountain is much the same. Looking forward to more comments from the other Divas who were doing Ski Week Jan. 20-25.
The history of Taos Ski Valley goes back to Ernie Blake's dream in the 1950s. When Jean Mayer came from France, that was the start of a partnership that made success possible for a mountain that's not that easy to reach for travelers that had virtually no beginner terrain. Jean created the Taos Ski Week. He is still the TSV Ski School Technical Director. Jean's brother, Dadou, and their parents migrated to Taos soon after Jean was established. Dadou was the instructor for the highest advanced/expert group this week.
There was a book published in 1992 based on interviews with Ernie Blake and other key people who helped develop TSV in it's early years. Ski Pioneers: Ernie Blake, His Friends, & the Making of Taos Ski Valley is a coffee table book. My ski buddy Bill bought a copy last year. I asked him to bring it to our annual stay at Alta Lodge so that I could read it. Not only are there stories about Taos, there are also stories about the early years of skiing in the Rockies in general. Ernie was one of several men who had dreams that they made into reality by sheer persistence.
Two for the Slopes - About the Mayer brothers, D Magazine, 1984
Mix of New and Old Enlivens Taos Ski Valley - Plans under Bacon ownership, NY Times, Dec 2015
Billionaire hedge fund titan Louis Moore Bacon makes Taos Ski Valley even better - Daily News, Dec 2016
Jean and Dadou are the guest speakers for the Taos Speaker Series on March 14, 2019. My friends and I got to attend a talk by Jean in Feb 2017. It was great fun to hear his stories. The ski technique advice he gave was simple. The idea was that you should be looking towards 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.
A look at our storied Taos Snowsports School and early days through the eyes of Taos pioneers Jean and Dadou Mayer. Come learn what the spirit of the mountain means to these brothers, how they have lived the dream, preserved the traditions, and created the friendships that are as central to our history as the blue skies, rugged terrain, and light powder that grace our mountain.
The history of Taos Ski Valley goes back to Ernie Blake's dream in the 1950s. When Jean Mayer came from France, that was the start of a partnership that made success possible for a mountain that's not that easy to reach for travelers that had virtually no beginner terrain. Jean created the Taos Ski Week. He is still the TSV Ski School Technical Director. Jean's brother, Dadou, and their parents migrated to Taos soon after Jean was established. Dadou was the instructor for the highest advanced/expert group this week.
There was a book published in 1992 based on interviews with Ernie Blake and other key people who helped develop TSV in it's early years. Ski Pioneers: Ernie Blake, His Friends, & the Making of Taos Ski Valley is a coffee table book. My ski buddy Bill bought a copy last year. I asked him to bring it to our annual stay at Alta Lodge so that I could read it. Not only are there stories about Taos, there are also stories about the early years of skiing in the Rockies in general. Ernie was one of several men who had dreams that they made into reality by sheer persistence.
Two for the Slopes - About the Mayer brothers, D Magazine, 1984
Mix of New and Old Enlivens Taos Ski Valley - Plans under Bacon ownership, NY Times, Dec 2015
Billionaire hedge fund titan Louis Moore Bacon makes Taos Ski Valley even better - Daily News, Dec 2016
Jean and Dadou are the guest speakers for the Taos Speaker Series on March 14, 2019. My friends and I got to attend a talk by Jean in Feb 2017. It was great fun to hear his stories. The ski technique advice he gave was simple. The idea was that you should be looking towards 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.
Speaker Series: The History of the Ski Week with Jean and Dadou Mayer
Martini Tree, Taos Ski Valley
Thursday, March 14, 2019
4:00 - 6:00pm
Martini Tree, Taos Ski Valley
Thursday, March 14, 2019
4:00 - 6:00pm
A look at our storied Taos Snowsports School and early days through the eyes of Taos pioneers Jean and Dadou Mayer. Come learn what the spirit of the mountain means to these brothers, how they have lived the dream, preserved the traditions, and created the friendships that are as central to our history as the blue skies, rugged terrain, and light powder that grace our mountain.
