Dirt, Sweat, Freeze-Dried Food, and Nutella: Ski Trip to Taos, NM

After weeks of very little snowfall here in Colorado, we decided to head down south where powerful storms rolling in from the South Pacific were pounding the mountains by Taos. Taos Ski Valley, locally known as TSV, boasted a 50 inch base and more than of 150 inches of snowfall that had fallen so far this season. We made the 6 hour trip down and enjoyed delicious New Mexican cuisine at Orlando's, one of our favorite eateries in Taos. The next day I went skiing at TSV. The skiing at TSV was great with good coverage and some soft snow to be found up along the ridges that border the resort, Highline Ridge and West Basin Ridge. These ridges, along with the crown jewel of TSV, Kachina Peak, host the annual Taos Extremes, a qualifier event for the Freeride World Tour. After only the first day, I already had decided that TSV was one of my favorite ski areas. The second day I met up with Brett, an Albuquerque local who often comes up to TSV. He showed me around his home mountain and we did some filming with our GoPros (I'm saving the footage for later!). After skiing, we stopped by Taos Mountain Outfitters and the Good Sole, 2 stores owned by my second cousin Sean and his business partner Kara. The showed us their stores and took us to a ceremony put on by the Taos Pueblo for Christmas (sorry no photos were allowed). The Pueblo had constructed massive piles of logs that were burnt in the largest bonfires I have ever seen. The experience was pretty awesome. Unfortunately we eventually had to go back to Boulder but I hope we can make this Taos trip a tradition every winter.