Just got back from skiing Taos with the old man, the ski highlight of 2012 for me so far. Every year (for the last 6 years or so) my Dad and I have gone on a father/son ski trip either out of state or at least well off the beaten path here in Colorado, the idea being to get away from it all, see some new places, and spend some time together.
Quality snow comes secondary to quality time, though we really strive to find both. Silverton has been excellent the past few years, but I would be lying if I didn’t admit that this year’s Taos trip may have topped it. Lots of hike to terrain, amazing trees and steeps, and a 95 inch base contributed to 4 straight days of great skiing in an awesome setting. Without further ado, here are a few of the better shots from our trip (with captions)…
On the summit of Kachina Peak after an hour long hike, Wheeler Peak is back there somewhere.
The ensuing ski run, “Main Street” is a Taos classic.
We spent a great deal of time hiking both of Taos’s featured ridge lines. Some of the better runs accessible from Highline Ridge include “Purgatory”, “Ninos Heroes”, “Two Bucks”, and “Tresckow”. Off of Kachina Peak, “Hunziker” was our favorite.
Hiking along the ridge.
The Highline Ridge and Kachina Peak with weather moving in.
Dad ripping it up on the West Basin Ridge, we skied probably 80% of the runs across the ridge line over 4 days.
“Meatball” was the name of this run, some of the other notables are “Stauffenberg”, “St. Bernard”, “Elevator”, and “Wonder Bowl”.
A look down “St. Bernard”, some steep, classic Taos terrain.
Kachina Peak on a cloudy day.
…and one last shot of Dad and I.
That’s all I got, the rest will live on as cherished memories. I know I’m sounding like a salesman here, but with a cultured, historically rich town, a challenging and spectacular ski hill, and Happy Camper IPA on draft, the Taos experience is a hard standard to measure up to. If you have not been, you need to make it a priority.
Thanks Dad again for a special trip, can’t wait to see where we head next year!