TAOS New Mexico....BETA.....?

[up an down]

I'll be skiing Taos Monday through Wednesday. Anyone that wants to hook up, pm for cell #

[LongShortLong]

Ranchos Plaza Grill in Ranchos de Taos (next to/behind the adobe church). Food was great, NM style, but what do I know, I was just visiting.

[up an down]

I have eaten there..yes it is very good

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[Ski to Be]

Taos & Northern NM will always hold a special place in my heart. Let me preface that my experiences were from the early to late eighties and I grew up in Dallas and had to deal with all of the negative wrath that comes with that (20 days a year). There is a kind of a wild west vibe there that I have not found anywhere else. I remember sitting in a bar in Red River talking to an old guy about his army tank that he kept in Raton and how he was ready for the inevitable government takeover. Once a buddy and I missed a turn and ended up in Los Alamos late at night surrounded by low riders. This was so crazy to us as in 1984 I had never seen a low rider and the whole block was filled with them. One Easter weekend I drove up without checking the weather and it was close to 90 degrees in Taos and I thought for sure the resort was bare and had some of the best spring skiing ever up at the ski valley. There really is no place like it that I know of. I was last there 15 years ago and remember a couple from Chicago bought the Eidelweiss lodge and seemed really nice . Are they still around? Can't say I would want to live there but I loved the food, sunsets, terrain, and the vibe. I would go back there again from Seattle if the right storm cycle and timing works out. During a good storm cycle it is one of the best places in America IMO

[up an down]

I'll be skiing Taos Monday through Wednesday. Anyone that wants to hook up, pm for cell #

No phone reception here with my virgin mobile service...so if anyone cares ...look for a red and white shell.black pants .no helmet

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[up an down]

started dumping at the ski valley at 8 am... high winds, only the bottom chair is currently running... even if upper chairs start later, no hiking today.... if clear tomorrow should be quite good depending on wind speed...high winds late last week hammered the area. pretty hard snow, and a lot of the troughs on bump runs were shallow because of being somewhat filled it.

[BrianH]

CYA soon!

[rinsed]

Was geared up to head to Wolf Creek for the weekend and then realized that this "storm" is tracking south a bit. Wanted to know if anyone has been skiing Taos lately and what the conditions are like?

[SkaFreak]

Snow was nice last weekend. I was volunteering for the FWT, so I didn't get to make too many turns but from the people I talked to, the new snow was killer, but the top of Kachina was starting to get a little wind affected. There is enough snow that a 6 inch storm will ride great other than the inevitable rocks that you will hit on a powder day at Taos. Shark fins everywhere, and that fresh snow does just enough to keep you from seeing them.

[arroyonm]

I have to admit, I gave up on this thread three days after I posted it....and left NM shortly after that.
Dear Taos,
You kicked my ass! It was good idea on paper! Sent me packing within 6 months! I def. will visit again, yet live there? Probably never!, even if julia roberts gave me her house in arroyo!!!. Taos is def. steep, technical, and a serious resort!
sincerely,
former arroyo loc.

Ps. oh yeah.
Dear Raising " garlic " Arizona,
Yesterday on the cirque beach was a good one.! Great talks and memories shared. Laughter, spirits, and emotions pouring out ... Stay true my good friend!...and keep skinning those monsters bro!

[capitalismo]

this thread is hilarious.

A bunch of defensive, racist, undereducated, corrupt, entrenched local interests fighting tooth and nail to find some way to keep getting "anglo" money without having to meet "anglo" standards of craftsmanship, knowledge, and ethics.

you mean these kind of standards Yeti.....












this state has many problemas, but I'm sure the people of NM are happy you and your standards have moved on.

[ill-advised strategy]

this state has many problemas, but I'm sure the people of NM are happy you and your standards have moved on.

Meh, some are, some aren't. The reality of my Taos life is that I did pretty well there. I had good friends, good jobs, great times, and I was just too young and foolish to steer my life correctly and handle everything that came at me. The reality of my post-Taos life is that I long, I long for the freedom and sense of adventure I felt living there...and that I puzzle over comparisons of those times in my life, wondering if the changes in myself and the changes I see in my world are really changes in setting or changes in the world at large, of times changing...or is it my own process of aging, or maybe all of those. And I wonder if I'm longing for Taos, or longing for a Taos that only existed when I lived there, or not longing for Taos at all but rather longing for my own lost youth. It's a suite of thoughts I find so maddening that I have to abandon them far prior to resolving anything for my own well-being or face an inevitable aftermath of soul-searching, depression, and anxiety which always saps my life force for a few weeks. I can't tolerate the psychosocial affects, so I have to steer clear of those thought processes.

In that Taos cultural game of "who belongs here most" you immediately lose me, that's a given... I'm a white guy from Michigan...so you know, fuck me...but pretty soon you lose all white people, even the old school commune hippy white people. Then you lose all the spaniards, I mean those are just natives who inbred with the enemy. Then you have all those sellout indians, with their running water and their pickup trucks and real jobs in town. Eventually you're left with like 10 super inbred homeless Pueblo guys living in the caves on Taos mountain. Those are the only people really allowed to live there. The rest of us, and I mean us because those 10 dudes are not in the internet, are awful filthy invaders.

[strawjack]

I remember Brian Swinson, Sean Cisneros, Marty Lucero, Josh Carlson, Gabe and hugh. .

Funny you mention Marty. I missed that the first go around. He's a good dude and the heir apparent to taking Manny's job to run the repair/rental shop. The new one is under construction now. It was good to see him last year, but I unfortunately didn't make turns with him. He and I logged a lot of hours on the hill together. He's a damn good skier.

You're memory with names is most impressive!

[BigDaddy]

....The reality of my post-Taos life is that I long, I long for the freedom and sense of adventure I felt living there...and that I puzzle over comparisons of those times in my life, wondering if the changes in myself and the changes I see in my world are really changes in setting or changes in the world at large, of times changing...or is it my own process of aging, or maybe all of those. And I wonder if I'm longing for Taos, or longing for a Taos that only existed when I lived there, or not longing for Taos at all but rather longing for my own lost youth. It's a suite of thoughts I find so maddening that I have to abandon them far prior to resolving anything for my own well-being or face an inevitable aftermath of soul-searching, depression, and anxiety which always saps my life force for a few weeks. I can't tolerate the psychosocial affects, so I have to steer clear of those thought processes.

Classic YetiMan right there...

Was there at age 18, too, so my feelings are similar. Nicely articulated.

[Shorty_J]

^^^ I never lived there but feel the same way and face the same struggles. Well said.

[SKIP IN7RO]

longing for a _______ that only existed when I lived there

Fill in the blank. Thanks for your cool post!

[ill-advised strategy]

Funny you mention Marty. I missed that the first go around. He's a good dude and the heir apparent to taking Manny's job to run the repair/rental shop. The new one is under construction now. It was good to see him last year, but I unfortunately didn't make turns with him. He and I logged a lot of hours on the hill together. He's a damn good skier.

You're memory with names is most impressive!

For me, skiing 1 turn behind Marty over many different occasions was a key to learning how to ski Taos, as the moguls there are, imho, malformed and tend to lack a cohesive, rhythmic line...plus they also tend to have a lot of rocks in the troughs. He had an eye for making tight round flowing turns using the tops and backsides of the bumps that was something I had to follow him to understand. He is a great skier, but especially a great skier of the unique situation of TSV.

[BigDaddy]

Good way to learn... I used to chase Weems Westfield down Al's Run. With or without cigarette in mouth. Learned a ton skiing with him in one week.

[strawjack]

For me, skiing 1 turn behind Marty over many different occasions was a key to learning how to ski Taos, as the moguls there are, imho, malformed and tend to lack a cohesive, rhythmic line...plus they also tend to have a lot of rocks in the troughs. He had an eye for making tight round flowing turns using the tops and backsides of the bumps that was something I had to follow him to understand. He is a great skier, but especially a great skier of the unique situation of TSV.

This is amazing to see you writing that. Too funny. It was Plake that talked about making turns on the backside of the moguls waay back and I forget where and when, but it was him that changed my approach (and Marty's) to skiing bumps. The key was keeping edge contact constantly and driving the shovel down over which was the opposite of everything I was doing in JH the previous yrs...point 'em an air it out! Ha! Then again we could avoid bumps at the village back then, not so much at tsv. I learned a lot about skiing and how to ski in taos also.

[smartyiak]

Gimme some beta!!!

I have to be in Farmington, N. M. for work on 1/20. So I can arrive a few days before...or stay a few days after.

So, should I:

1) fly to Albuquerque and ski three days at Taos (that's appx 5ish hours from Farmington);

2) fly to (and stay in) Durango....drive to ski for 3 at Telly.... then drive back to Farm...

3) Be different and go to Wolf....or someone with a better idea???


I feel the need to go to Taos...b/c everyone should go there once...but I also want best conditions and best experience.

Gimme your thoughts and hook a brother up!!!


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[Buster Highmen]

ABQ has the less expensive flights and car rentals. Do the Taos->Wolf Creek->Silverton->Telluride->Taos loop unless someone is footing the flight and rental.
If the flight and rental is covered, just do DRO.

[concretejungle]

Fly into ABQ and fly out of Durango if someone else is paying. Stay in SF the night you fly into ABQ.

[SKIP IN7RO]

DRO would be my suggestion. Upon landing, you are 2 hours or less from WC, Silverton, and Purg. I think more powder opportunities are possible at these areas than Taos. And, if Taos gets a better storm cycle than SW CO, make the drive after riding WC and staying in South Fork...2 hrs to Taos with the right wax.

[smartyiak]

Update: ski Taos on Sun/Mon and maybe Wed (Farmington on Tues)...anyone want to grab a beer?

[skinipenem]

might be able to come up and ski monday. have to work this weekend though .