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Crank

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I am trip leader for my ski club's trip to Taos Jan. 27 - Feb. 3. We sold out in under an hour at out trip-opening meeting the other night ! ! I am now trying to get more rooms for wait-listed members.

I am looking for any info any of you have on Taos that might be useful...or interesting: places to eat, see live music, where to find best snow, bums, groomers if they have those...

Thanks.
 

graham418

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Our club went there a couple of years ago. It was the year the Kachina Peak lift was to open, but didn't when we were there because of lack of snow. It was an awesome place nonetheless. We had a blast. Hopefully you will have more snow than we did. A lot of the terrain was a boot walk from top of lift 2. There are bumps everywhere its steep, and even some places where its not steep. I think Kachina Peak is a big bump field now that the lift is open.
In town we stayed at the El Pueblo. It is a kind of ho-hum place , but the staff was so sweet. Bend over backwards to make everything great for you.
The biggest problem we encountered was the town shuttle to the mountain. They are small vans, 16 or 18 passenger, so when you have a crowd of 30, it quickly overwhelms the system. Especially when you are leaving the hill and trying to get back to town. Hopefully the new owner has remedied this.
The town is great , with many places to eat. Gutiz was good, as was the Alley Cantina. There are some excellent mexican restaurants if thats what you like.
Every night we closed off with drinks at the Taos Inn. Live music every night. Great Vibe.
You would have a hard time not to enjoy yourself.
 

Jim McDonald

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The Kit Carson home/museum is worth checking out; good bookstore also.
 

mdf

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pais alto

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Are you staying in town or out at the ski valley?
 
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Crank

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We are staying slopeside. I was wondering about the Kit carson home/museum. I read a biography few years ago and I have always found the history and culture clash in that area to be very interesting.
 

jspsj

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Watching this thread with interest since we are taking a family trip to Taos in mid-January (skiing kids ages 6 and 8; non-skiing kid age 2). We've never been, and we're not yet sure whether we'll be staying in Taos or at the mountain. So looking forward to it!
 

Nancy Hummel

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The Taos Pueblo tour is interesting if people are taking a rest day or for non skiing people.
 

KingGrump

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Doesn't @KingGrump do Taos a lot?

You guys really want me to sweat over this, don't ya? I was hoping to stay real quiet and no one would notice. :D

I'll start off with food.

Lunch.
The deck at St. B have good burgers, brat, salmon & chicken for a very good price. Don't miss the sauerkraut. If it is cold outside, you can take it down stair inside.
The bar area at St. B also serve soup, pasta, salad and sandwiches daily for around $10. Decent food.
Cafeteria (Tenderfoot Kate) - Food is OK. Pretty standard fare.
Rhoda next to the cafeteria is nice & civilized. Prices are good and food is decent.
Tim's Stray Dog Cantina - Very good NM food at a very fair price.
The Bavarian Lodge - Authentic German Austrian food. Well prepared. If Schnitzel, brat & spatzle is your kind of food, you came to the right place. Large steins of German beer usually discourages me from skiing after lunch there.
The Phoenix Grill - Forgetaboutit. Yes, it is that bad. Don't believe I have ever had a decent lunch there yet.

Après.
St. B - My favorite place. Nice & cozy.
Edelweiss - Nice bar at the lobby. Get a bit noisy due to all the hard surfaces.
The Martini Tree Bar - Never clicked with me. Large & impersonal feel.

Dinner.
Tim's is a good bet for a quick bit on the hill.
Orlando's - Good New Mexican food at a very reasonable price.
El Meze - Limited menu but everything is well prepared.
Michael's Kitchen - Good standard fare, large portions.
Medley - Not worth the $.
Sabroso - Good food, decent prices. They also have live music some nights. Jimmy Stadler is a regular there.
Guadalajara Grill - Nice informal local feel. Large portion, good price. The one at the north side of town is the original and better of the two in town.

Skiing wise, if you group could swing it, Have the folks take a ski week . It's very inexpensive. They have not posted prices for the coming season yet. The last couple years were around $185 with a Taos card. You can probably do better with a group discount.

The ski week instructors will allow the group to discover terrain that is appropriate to each group's skill level. It is very easy to get over terrain at Taos.

I'll cover the skiing & terrain aspect in another post when I have a little more time.
 

pais alto

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Good stuff in King G's post. I'll add:
Michael's Kitchen for breakfast if you're in town. Or breakfast burritos from Abe's in Arroyo Seco. Taos cow ice cream treats in Arroyo Seco. Eske's in town for beer. Tim's Stray Dog in TSV. Outback in town for pizza. The Bavarian in TSV for lunch or dinner.

As mentioned, the Pueblo is cool. Also the Mabel Dodge Lujan house, and Harwood museum. Maybe a quick drive out to the gorge bridge. The Martinez Hacienda is interesting.

Skiing: These days the best snow is off of the Trescow Ridge - Corner Chute, North Face, Trescow, etc. If Slap Shot and Twin Trees are open and haven't been baked by sun, hit 'em. Also the farther West Basin shots, starting around St. B and Elevator but keep going farther. Those require hiking. For non-hiking, look for Ech and Jean's Glade, Valkeries, and Pierre's and others near those. North American is good if you get there early. K-chutes off of Kachina are usually better than Main Street. Also Hunziker off of Kachina.

Groomers: Lift 8 leads to a lot of good ones. Bumps: if you can't find good bumps at Taos, you may not actually be at Taos.
 

graham418

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When I was there , there was a guy making crepes out of a little stand in front of the Whistlestop Cafe, by chair 6. They were good, although a bit slow. He only does one or two at a time. Don't know if he is still there. Definitely worth it .
And if you go to the gorge, have a coffee at the Magic Bus.
 
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The "snowsports' week is $180 in our group's package. Most of us will be taking advantage of it.

We do have a bus into town for dinner one evening so any info on town restaurants is appreciated as well. I will be distilling information gleaned here and passing it on to our participants. We generally break up into smaller groups for dinners and have one big group dinner planned. That is being hosted by the owners of Snakedance condos where we are staying. I plan to do a group happy hour as well and am thinking St B., as King G. calls it, would be a good choice for that.

Many of us will be taking a day off and doing some sight seeing. Robin and I usually ski the entire 6 days and I am torn because I would really like to check out the Kit Carson house and possibly the Georgia O'Keeffe museum in Santa Fe.
 

KingGrump

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All of the restaurants I listed, with the exception of Tim's, is in town. I only listed the ones I have been to. Yelp and Trip Adviser also have a decent list.

@pais alto is pretty much on the money regarding the lines off the two upper ridges. TSV opened the Wild West Glade on the other side west basin ridge couple seasons back. Pretty good glade skiing. Not too steep so most advance intermediates would have no issue skiing it. Dumps out to bottom of lift 8.

Groomer wise - Lower Stauffie, Firlefranz Powder Horn are really nice off Chair 8 and bottom of chair 2. The entire area between chair 4 and 7 is one huge groomer heaven. Unlike lots of other areas, Taos groomers generally have more character. The trails will ski very differently all depending which side of the trail you are on. For me, Taos is a skier left mountain.

Got to run and swap out the AC evaporator in my car. Will post more tonight.
 

pais alto

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The "snowsports' week is $180 in our group's package. Most of us will be taking advantage of it.

We do have a bus into town for dinner one evening so any info on town restaurants is appreciated as well. I will be distilling information gleaned here and passing it on to our participants. We generally break up into smaller groups for dinners and have one big group dinner planned. That is being hosted by the owners of Snakedance condos where we are staying. I plan to do a group happy hour as well and am thinking St B., as King G. calls it, would be a good choice for that.

Many of us will be taking a day off and doing some sight seeing. Robin and I usually ski the entire 6 days and I am torn because I would really like to check out the Kit Carson house and possibly the Georgia O'Keeffe museum in Santa Fe.

Orlando's in town for that group dinner. The St. B for hora feliz.

I forgot to mention that Chair 4 also has a good selection of groomers, and a nice view of Kachina Peak.

If you go to Santa Fe for the O'Keeffe, you should know that there are a number of other great museums within a short walk on the historic Plaza. The New Mexico Museum of Art is great, as well as the Museum of History and the Governor's Palace, and the Museum of Indian Art. Then there's Museum Hill...

Santa Fe is about 1-1/2 hour from the town of Taos, 2 from TSV. Also research the High Road between Taos and Santa Fe, a little longer but incredibly scenic. Edit to add: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Road_to_Taos

Oh, and check to see if the Sagebrush Hotel is having dance music - it tends towards two-stepping and is a hell of a lot of fun.
 
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Jerez

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Oh, and check to see if the Sagebrush Hotel is having dance music - it tends towards two-stepping and is a hell of a lot of fun.

This. It is a total hoot. Attracts amazing dancers and is worth it just to watch. The bar itself looks like Kit Carson could walk in any minute. A locals scene worthy of being a tourist attraction.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is the fantasy-style bar at El Monte Sagrado hotel.

All the advice on where to ski is spot on.

Meatball Chute. West Blitz Trees off the traverse and Castor & Pollux. Also if you go past N. American to the next run over, it tends to be less skied and avoids the gully at the bottom.

Longhorn if you want your legs to fall off at the bottom :eek:

(BTW, if you want a great book to read on the plane that will get you in touch with the area, pick up Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides... or watch the Milagro Beanfield Wars on Netflix.)
 

SBrown

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Last season we had dinner at Aceq, a really nice farm-to-table-type place in Arroyo Seco. Definitely recommended. I can also second Tim's, Orlando's, the Bav, St B, and Taos Cow. (Actually I never had a bad meal in Taos yet...)

I think the crepe guy died last year? The stand wasn't there late last season, but I don't know if it's supposed to reopen or not.
 
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This. It is a total hoot. Attracts amazing dancers and is worth it just to watch. The bar itself looks like Kit Carson could walk in any minute. A locals scene worthy of being a tourist attraction.

(BTW, if you want a great book to read on the plane that will get you in touch with the area, pick up Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides... or watch the Milagro Beanfield Wars on Netflix.)

Jackson Hole is like that with swing dancing. Great live music and some serious dancers out there!

Blood and Thunder is the book I read a few years back. Maybe I will pull it off the shelf for a reread on the trip out.
 

KingGrump

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Since most of the ski club will be doing the ski week. An good read book on the Taos ski school philosophy, method, madness, etc.
All the people listed in the front of the book are still there in the ski school with the exception of Gordon. He is still lives in the valley but no longer the COO.

T.A.O.S.: The Art of Skiing
 

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