A trip to the land of enchantment

[raisingarizona]

Last week I took Cody on a trip to New Mexico to ski a few spots that have always been on the list and visit a very close and dear old friend and his family. New Mexico is unlike any other ski destinations, it’s hard to describe the uniqueness but it’s something every serious skier should strive to visit and experience themselves. New Mexico.....it’s far out man.

Our first stop was Santa Fe. I’ve always been intrigued by this mid sized ski mountain and the state capital city. The town is quaint with its adobe buildings, cafes, art galleries and New Mexican restaurants and the ski area was surprisingly awesome with so much fun, playful terrain and incredible tree skiing. On our first night there we visited Meow Wolf, a visual art experience that Cody and I really enjoyed. Here’s some photos.

Codes in the trees.

Meow Wolf.

Cody tries on a 1k$ ski coat.

More Meow Wolf.

Cody discovers her inner billy goat.

Did I mention the tree skiing yet? Santa Fe just delivers. It seemed like there were hidden little nuggets like this one in between every run there.

The Totemoff likes to party.

New Mexico is like an alternate ski destination dimensional universe where “normal” tends to melt away.

Looking up at the upper mountain from the quad chair.

Codes blasts out of Big Rocks #7.

Cody threading the needle in some cool boulders.

More to come.......

 

[raisingarizona]

After two nights and a day of skiing in Santa Fe we headed north to Taos to visit my old friend Eli and his family and to of course, ski the legendary steeps at the Ski Valley.

Taos. Wow. What a mountain. It’s crushingly relentless. It just doesn’t quit. All I can say is that You. Must. Go. It’s a world class ski area with a ski town that has a healthy level of grit (this is subjective of course) and seems to attract outliers and outlaws. Forget that fancy ski town fluff you find in Breckinridge, telluride or Jackson. This place isn’t trying to impress you. It’s funky, it’s weird, strange and a little odd and I absolutely loved that about it. And then there’s the food.....it’s fucking insane if you dig on the Chile. I know I sure do.

This mountain brings the spice!

Eli and us on Kachina Peak.

Orlando’s New Mexican Kitchen.

Taos is a four letter word for steep.

Texas was there. Some had on their fruity boots and shiny suits.

Kachina Peaks true summit. We could see a pack of bighorn sheep just a few hundred feet away from here.

The Bavarian. A German styled on slope ski eatery. The Ski Valley is unique in that the majority of on mountain dining options are actually independently owned. It’s euro like and separates itself from the normal American ski experience. If you ever find yourself here make sure to try the pretzel with beer caso.

Cody dropping into this little pinner.

Hunziker Chute on the right. We skied this one three times. The snow was really good in here.

The view of Kachina Peak from the summit of lift 2.

West Basin Ridge. Typical terrain at Taos. It’s not advised to fall here. This place does not F around.

Lift 7a is this old, funky Stadeli.

Lift 7A – Taos, NM

Visit the post for more.

liftblog.com

Kachina Peak from the top of lift seven. We lapped the Kachina chair quite a bit. A lot of locals aren’t a fan of the Kachina Peak chair but as a visitor it really makes sense. If you’re paying for day tickets you wouldn’t want to blow your day hiking and this terrain is an absolute highlight.

 

[raisingarizona]

After two days skiing at Taos Ski Valley I found myself a little stressed out watching Cody ski no fall zones so we headed over to Sipapu to ski for a couple of hours before driving back home.

This place is about as mom and pop as it gets.

But it has a ton of tree ski runs even if their double blacks are more like Taos blues.

Aspen glades.

Me wishing I brought out my carving skis.

We skied Sipapu for maybe two hours and then headed home. The snow was junk but it would have gotten good in a few hours as it softened up in the warm sunshine. We had a long drive ahead of us still though so we unfortunately left a little early for that.

This trip was awesome and New Mexico skiing is legit, especially at Taos. That mountain is a classic and should be on every serious skiers hit list. Now go, get there, before it’s the next Colorado like, fluffy ski town. Actually that is probably never going to happen. New Mexico is unique, definitely authentic and worthy as a bucket list ski destination for those that love spicy food and steep terrain.

 

[jamesdeluxe]

Nice, Santa Fe is one of my Top 10 locals' areas in the U.S.

 

[raisingarizona]

Thanks Harv!

 

[MarzNC]

The Bavarian. A German styled on slope ski eatery. The Ski Valley is unique in that the majority of on mountain dining options are actually independently owned. It’s euro like and separates itself from the normal American ski experience. If you ever find yourself here make sure to try the pretzel with beer caso.

The Bavarian is still great for lunch, especially when it's warm enough to sit outdoors. However, after being bought by the resort, the pretzels aren't authentic any more. <sigh>

 

[Benny Profane]

Taos is so cool. Yeah, the locals weren't really fond of the Kachina quad going in (well, those under 55), but Taos still respects the hiker by not running that chair the first day after a dump, and they get all the first tracks.

The Taos Inn in town is very cool. Music every night, walkable to other places, and for at least the past five years they have a four nights for the price of three deal in winter.