I figured I couldn’t come to Taos and not visit a ski area, even though I am not a skier. Turns out there is one only 10 miles from where I was staying the last 2 nights of my visit near Arroyo Seco, just north of Taos.
And yes, there is already snow way up there on the highest peak (I thought it looked a little whiteish from town earlier in the day). From the parking area where I took this picture it was 55 degrees, although the wind chill today made it feel like about 15! I was parked at an altitude of 9,517 feet.
Taos Ski Valley has 110 trails, gets an average of 300 inches of snow per year and is among the 3 highest populated areas in the United States (or is the highest, depending on who you ask). Their Kachina ski lift is the highest triple chair lift in the US reaching a peak elevation of 12,481 feet. Up until 2008 this ski area was one of only four in the United States which did NOT allow snowboarding.
This cool dude was ramming around on his bright blue bike wearing his stylish mohawk helmet. His mom said it was ok to take his picture and post it on the blog.
I bought a hat and a slice of pizza to kill time until 3 o’clock when Happy Hour started at the Stray Dog Cantina. I then enjoyed two yummy Bloody Mary’s while listening to the end of the NASCAR race on my phone and watching a football game on their TV.
As I was leaving I noticed that in addition to the pretty-people cars (an Aston Martin and an Audi A8, among them), I was parked next to a pickup truck with a makeshift tailgate.
Now… about those taillights, sir…..
This picture was in an ice cream shop called Taos Cow in Arroyo Seco, where I discovered my new favorite flavor may be Pistachio White Chocolate (in a waffle cone, of course). These ski types certainly have a sense of humor.
And when I was in Breckenridge, Colorado a few weeks ago I asked my brother David, who used to work there for one season, if he wanted me to get him anything while I was there. He said a ski in/ski out condo on Peak 6. I did see a sign for one like that which is available here in Taos.
A steal at only $ 525,000 but hey, you might be able to rent it out on Airbnb and recoup some of that investment.
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