Taos Expansion?

[Tech Tonics]

Check it:

http://a123.g.akamai.net/7/123/11558...LT2_030780.pdf

http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/carson/plans...?project=34310

Certainly have mixed feelings about it, but overall I think it would be pretty cool. A chair straight to the top of Kachina Peak...
And another little chair that access some of W. Basin...

thoughts?

[Tech Tonics]

oh. and "the Minnesotas" would be effn sick. That whole zone is closed now and could make a great bunch of tree runs.

[MontuckyFried]

I kinda have mixed feelings about the lift to the top of Kachina. As sweet as that would be to have a lift up there, I think the hike is half the fun. However, I think it's going to make the mountain SO much more accessible. Whether or not they actually do anything, I think it's great they're looking forward.

[raisingarizona13]

I have never skied at Taos but i always liked how they had hike to terrain especially since there are no bc gates. I think the plans look cool if there were gates, why not get a group together to put pressure on the NF and push for access off the area? Only lift served skiing kind of sucks, your mountain will be tracked in an hour.

[The Duke of Hurl]

I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say (all due respect to the Taos faithful), that place sure could use some chairs that go all the way up the mountain. I mean, I get the whole earn your turns ethic but isn't there a lot of BC in the Sangres?

[Tresckow]

The only constant is change, and Taos is slow at that. I wouldn't worry too much about a lift up the promised land anytime soon. As far as glading out and opening up terrain already inside the ropes, sounds like a good plan.

keeping the hiking ethic should be preserved though

[MJbumper1121]

I am not a fan of a lift to the top. Taos is one of my absolute favorite resorts, mainly because of the hike-to terrain. It keeps people off runs they don't belong on. I am not looking forward to sitting on a lift that keep stopping due to people falling off the chair at the top and bottom.

[Tech Tonics]

if you note the map, there will still be a fair amount of hike-to terrain (Treskow, Twin Trees, Billy Sol/Two Bucks, etc. Also Stauffy. infact, i'll bet those areas would see a decrease in traffic if people could make laps on the peak or further out W. Basin.

I wonder how the best way to access treskow would be...the same as it is now, or take the new W.Basin chair and hike "backwards" to highline? downhike the peak (joke)?

as much as I'd like to be a curmudgeon about this, I think it would be pretty cool.

oh, and I think getting open gates on Kachina out to Lake Fork would be amazing, but I think the chances of it happening are nil. ("sacred" to the locals, super avy danger, etc). but, if it happened, Taos would suddenly have lift accessed BC that rivals anywere I've ever skied, except maybe JHMR

[alTAos]

Lift up to Kachina is neither here nor there for me. I don't think it's that great of an investment due to wind issues and it never opening, but I think it would have some appeal to a lot of folks, intermediate "above tree line" skiing that a lot of folks would buy into. Would make upper hunzi terrain and all a lot more accessible and reasonable to ski rather than hiking for 30 minutes for 500 vert. Once that stuff gets more skier compaction a lot of lines would open up, never gets skied right now and rips out/rots all year.

The lift up to west basin is probably the most ridiculous idea out there. That terrain is a 5 minute hike from the top of 2, and the reason it is so sweet is it keeps people away. Putting a lift up there isn't going to give them anymore skier visits from TX, as they aren't looking for that terrain. What they need to do is put a lift from amizette up to the top of wild west and open up that terrain. Maybe not for texans, but would increase acerage by adding a ton of extremely good terrain (not that i'd know, that stuff is closed right?).

Minnesotas: sick, should be open now. They have issues of avi danger onto the return trail, get some skier compaction in there and the issue is gone. Once a year someone poaches this shit and it rips out, leaves a pile on the return and they get all scared. If it were open, this issue would not be there, control it, ski it, open it.

And of course BC gates would change the place forever...but back to Taos and change, not gonna happen for a bit.

And lastly they need to remove 95% of ropes. I've never seen a mountain that ropes more trails. Let us have the woods on the sides of all trails. Get the stuff skied, avi danger goes away, again.

Bike trail is a great idea also!

[SILENCER]

Lift to Kachina...not a fan.
Lift up West Ridge...not a fan.
Minnesotas glading....fan.

[grskier]

I would actually ski the hunzi stuff if there was a lift.. but still not a huge fan. West ridge, maybe, but man that would be short. Minnesotas glading looks great.

[SickerThanYou]

alTAos, x2... Taos is a great mountain but management has really declined. I understand the concern for safety but often times it goes too far. A few years ago we waited for an extra hour for them to open due to avy control... come to find out it was because they were dropping charges on the exposed terrain directly above Whitefeather. WTF?

[alTAos]

alTAos, x2... Taos is a great mountain but management has really declined. I understand the concern for safety but often times it goes too far. A few years ago we waited for an extra hour for them to open due to avy control... come to find out it was because they were dropping charges on the exposed terrain directly above Whitefeather. WTF?

That was ridiculous, and that blame is straight to management, not patrol. Patrol does an amazing job with what they are given from upstairs. I also believe that was the day we saw an inch and a half of water from 3am-9am and they didn't come in early due to what they saw when they looked at the dataloggers at 3. One time occurrence is excusable, but it's all too often that shit like that happens.

As the mountain is setup now, Patrol has a huge job every morning to get even lift 1 open. There is nothing at Taos that isn't exposed to avi danger from above. The issue is that their current view of the system is to keep folks out of those areas permanently because of this danger. If they got rid of this attitude, opened the place boundary to boundary (obviously still need sections for avi control like every other mountain), that shit would get skied in, and the avi danger would be decreased significantly.

Glade the mountain from one end to the other and save some money on ropes, done deal. The MN's and wild west is a great start. Finish it out with a better glading of the entire lower front side, from long horn all the way to chair 8. Allow us to ski small section such as skiers left of zagava, skiers right of pierre's above the MN's, etc.

The management there is getting better. Mickey is slowly on the way out, Kei is now up on the 4th floor and there are folks there that want to progress the place in the direction of its full potential...but as mentioned before, it's a slow process and will take time. There are really only a few old timers holding up that process, I can only hope that over time the place will improve in the right direction.

[Canada1]

Change is slow, at best. Having grown up on those slopes, I would put this decades out, or at least a decade. Change anything, and there will be a strong vocal (minority voice) outcry to fight it. That said, this is what makes Toas stand out from all of the other real estate driven extravaganzas through the west. I could see all three working, but do not believe any would drive additional skier visits. The people who go there to ski that do so because they can hike it for some shots. It isn't bumped out, or shaved off. On all but the best of years, would the stuff off the top hold up to skier numbers that list access would create? It will be fun to stand back and watch it all play out.

[raisingarizona13]

Did you know that that NF land is actually all of ours and a ski area only has a lease with the NF? If you have the energy and the will you really can organize a group to get things done. T-Ride has gates and I'm sure the pack is comparable. Get ti together up there and make the NF listen to your group, it can happen, I see pics of that place and the side country looks SICK! The new lifts would be a great addition if there were gates.

[raisingarizona13]

Change is slow, at best. Having grown up on those slopes, I would put this decades out, or at least a decade. Change anything, and there will be a strong vocal (minority voice) outcry to fight it. That said, this is what makes Toas stand out from all of the other real estate driven extravaganzas through the west. I could see all three working, but do not believe any would drive additional skier visits. The people who go there to ski that do so because they can hike it for some shots. It isn't bumped out, or shaved off. On all but the best of years, would the stuff off the top hold up to skier numbers that list access would create? It will be fun to stand back and watch it all play out.

Change is always slow, try and look at the big picture, if you don't start putting pressure on the NF agency that actually works for all of us then nothing will ever happen. It won't happen tomorrow but it can happen.

[Meadow Skipper]

Lift to Kachina...not a fan.
Lift up West Ridge...not a fan.
Minnesotas glading....fan.

Me too. That proposed lift up to the West Ridge is a lot more surprising than the proposed Kachina lift - that's true stash territory whereas Highine/Kachina is pretty much an open book.

I guess Tresckow Ridge/Twin Trees would still be hike-to. Edit: Oh, that's what TT said.

Glade on.

[telepop]

I am for new terrain. I volunteer to start building the mountain bike trails tomorrow

[grskier]

I am for new terrain. I volunteer to start building the mountain bike trails tomorrow

I know YOU have more to say than that

[strawjack]

Lift to Kachina...not a fan.
Lift up West Ridge...not a fan.
Minnesotas glading....fan.

^yes.

the west ridge lift would be a joke and the 'wild west glading'...is that worth it? as i recall the vert drops off significantly as you head out the ridge.

[raisingarizona13]

It kind of looks like every good run takes two chair rides?

[alTAos]

^yes.

the west ridge lift would be a joke and the 'wild west glading'...is that worth it? as i recall the vert drops off significantly as you head out the ridge.

The wild west ridge is some great skiing, a little mellow, but awesome snow, and consistent. They've already opened up a lot from the top of high somewhere...to open that all the way to the bottom of 8 would be nice, but to open it all the way down to the lower parking lot or even amizette would make it incredible. Probably pushing 2500 vert of consistent steep trees.

[grskier]

It kind of looks like every good run takes two chair rides?

No, not always. Plenty of great laps off of 2 or 1 for that matter (when there is snow). But many do require 2 chairs 7->7a etc...

[strawjack]

The wild west ridge is some great skiing, a little mellow, but awesome snow, and consistent. They've already opened up a lot from the top of high somewhere...to open that all the way to the bottom of 8 would be nice, but to open it all the way down to the lower parking lot or even amizette would make it incredible. Probably pushing 2500 vert of consistent steep trees.

ya, there is a lot of terrain all the way to the lower lot. how is North American...i haven't noticed that before. it's been way too long since i've skied that place...there and jh are my two favorite hills that i've held passes to.

[alTAos]

ya, there is a lot of terrain all the way to the lower lot. how is North American...i haven't noticed that before. it's been way too long since i've skied that place...there and jh are my two favorite hills that i've held passes to.

North American was much much better prior to them cutting the "trail ". The trail isn't cut fall line at all, and all the good terrain in there is left beyond the ropes still. It gets a lot of ski school classes in there and ends up scraped and bumped quickly. Again back to their view on the whole mountain...rope everything!! If they had lightly gladed (or just left alone) the entire area between long horn and al's it would have been such a better decision. It will be interesting to see how they deal with the MN's, as that's much wider and shorter...they're almost forced to just open the entire thing....but who knows.