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KingGrump

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Taos has always been known as a hill for experts. There are lots of stuff for advanced skiers as well. The entire Hunziker Bowl/El Funko area on skier right of lift 7 is like one big adventure park for adults. Lots of fun lines there. Walkyries Glade is another fun area of moderate angled trees. Best entry is through the gate on top of the terrain park. A more interesting entry is thru Ash Pond. More pucker factor there.

Pioneer Glade off the return trail (Rubezhl) and Japanese Flag Glade are good intros to tree skiing for low intermediate skiers.

For expert skier, Taos is a gem. The hike to terrain has been pretty well written up online. I don’t think I need to cover them much here.

Lift served expert terrain can be divided into four pods. Kachina Peak, Upper Front, Lower Front and the Bambi Chutes.

The Kachina Peak Lift has changed the way we ski the mountain. Won’t go into whether it’s good or bad here. When it is open, it is usually a massive bump fields with a few chutes thrown in. Everybody goes down Main Street. The concavity of the trails, steady pitch and the bumps on it keeps most skier from getting into too much trouble. The bad is oddly shaped bumps and lack of rhythm. The adjacent K6 is a much more enjoyable run. K3 & K4 are good fun. Watch out for the choke on those. Seen lots of carnage there. The traverse getting out to K1 &K2 are usually pretty sketchy. Just more business for Taos Ski & Boot.

One of the area I like to lap in the afternoon is the upper front under chair 2. It stretches from Pipe Line on the skier right to Blitz on the other side. Reforma and Blitz are the classic Taos runs. Steep and bumpy. Pollux is one of my favorite tree run on the hill. Nice, steep, big trees and usually clean. The trees are just tight enough to keep things interesting. Winston has a few very entertaining features under the old chair 6. We usually get to Castor through Pollux. The top entrance to Castor is pretty rocky unless the coverage is phenomenal. The bottom section is open, steep with big bumps.

I'll cover the lower front and the Bambi chutes on another post.
 

Jerez

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Walkyries Glade is another fun area of moderate angled trees. Best entry is through the gate on top of the terrain park. A more interesting entry is thru Ash Pond. More pucker factor there.

Great advice. If you want extra puckering, you can get there from the top of the center pole chair through Valkyries chutes. They aren't open that often so look for them. you can scout the top from the little chair. The Ash Pond entrance is like a miniature version, without all the pointy rocks on each side. I've only done it once and it was first :eek: and then :beercheer::yahoo:made it!
 

clong83

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Taos has always been known as a hill for experts. There are lots of stuff for advanced skiers as well. The entire Hunziker Bowl/El Funko area on skier right of lift 7 is like one big adventure park for adults. Lots of fun lines there. Walkyries Glade is another fun area of moderate angled trees. Best entry is through the gate on top of the terrain park. A more interesting entry is thru Ash Pond. More pucker factor there.

Pioneer Glade off the return trail (Rubezhl) and Japanese Flag Glade are good intros to tree skiing for low intermediate skiers.

For expert skier, Taos is a gem. The hike to terrain has been pretty well written up online. I don’t think I need to cover them much here.

Lift served expert terrain can be divided into four pods. Kachina Peak, Upper Front, Lower Front and the Bambi Chutes.

The Kachina Peak Lift has changed the way we ski the mountain. Won’t go into whether it’s good or bad here. When it is open, it is usually a massive bump fields with a few chutes thrown in. Everybody goes down Main Street. The concavity of the trails, steady pitch and the bumps on it keeps most skier from getting into too much trouble. The bad is oddly shaped bumps and lack of rhythm. The adjacent K6 is a much more enjoyable run. K3 & K4 are good fun. Watch out for the choke on those. Seen lots of carnage there. The traverse getting out to K1 &K2 are usually pretty sketchy. Just more business for Taos Ski & Boot.

One of the area I like to lap in the afternoon is the upper front under chair 2. It stretches from Pipe Line on the skier right to Blitz on the other side. Reforma and Blitz are the classic Taos runs. Steep and bumpy. Pollux is one of my favorite tree run on the hill. Nice, steep, big trees and usually clean. The trees are just tight enough to keep things interesting. Winston has a few very entertaining features under the old chair 6. We usually get to Castor through Pollux. The top entrance to Castor is pretty rocky unless the coverage is phenomenal. The bottom section is open, steep with big bumps.

I'll cover the lower front and the Bambi chutes on another post.
Lower front:

DIrectly under Lift 1, you have the infamous Al's Run. It's steep. It is long. It can get very icy. It has enormous bumps. To the skiers right of Al's at the top of Lift 1, you have North American, Ernies, and Longhorn. You can also get to Longhorn from Bambi, but I'll mention that later. North AMerican is a very long glade run. Really nicely spaced trees, very steep in spots, including a section that is a bit like a gully. You can often find stashes of fresh snow if you know where to look. Ernie's is similar, it's a glade that runs to the skier's right of North American. I'd say it is slightly mellower and gets a bit less traffic. One of my favorites when I am on the frontside. Next up is Longhorn. One of the longest, most consistent mogul runs I've ever seen. It has a few 'shelf' sections where it gets steep then flattens out, but almost none of it is "easy". The steepest section is up high, above Lift 1 and can only be accessed from Bambi.

To the skier's left of Al's Run at the top of Lift 1 is Rhoda's Revenge. It's a glade run. Tight in some areas, and pure heaven in others. It can be a bit ahrd to follow in spots because it crosses the path of some of the other runs in the area. I often do this as an alternative to North American if there has been recent snow as it gets considerably less traffic as everyone rushes to find the powder on NA. Wayne's Abbey and Snakedance go off to the skier's left from lower Al's. Snakedance turnes into a steep gully which can be very hard to navigate. Beyond this, there is a hodgepodge of intersecting steep, open piste mogul runs accessible off of Porcupine. Of particular note are Etch's Glade and Jean's Glade, which are off of lower porcupine. Both are a bit unique from the rest of the area as they are gladed out nicely. Jean's is very steep.

To the skier's left off of porcupine is Hannes Schneider (rarely open), and psychopath, which is a short steep mogul run. Hannes Schneider is a tree run, but not what I'd really call a glade. It's weird, but fun if conditions are good. But for some reason it doesn't hold snow at all. It's usually only open in a good snow year within a few days of a big dump. Watch out for rocks, roots, etc. Further to the skier's left and closer to lift 8 is Tell Trees/Glade, which is a nice little glade run near the bottom of Lift 8. I don't usually go over here, but if I am skiing with some intermediates doing laps on Lift 8, I will hit this up while they take on the groomers around the trees. Snow can be surprisingly good.

The Bambi chutes.... Maybe I should let Grump cover this as there is a lot over here. But the basic lay of the land is as follows:

Get off of lift 2, and go to the top of lift 7a. There is a gate there. Going straight through the gate gets you into Walkyries chute, which dumps you right into Walkyries Glade below. Go through the gate and to the skier's right gets you to the "What" chutes. There are 5 of them, all incredibly steep and narrow. What 3 is the 'easiest', but that's a hugely relative thing at this point. None of these are for the feint of heart, and they dump you into Walkyries Glade. Someone told me that if you go past What 5, there is a run called "What Trees" which dumps you in around the bottom of Ash Pond. Never went down that far myself. If you go left through the gate, you get into the "Bambi Chutes", although I prefer to access thiese from Sir Arnold Lunn.

Back to the top of lift 2. If you ski down Bambi just a little ways, you will see a gate on the skier's right, marked Sir Arnold Lunn. Arnie is a great and steep glade run, but it can get a bit sunbaked if there hasn't been fresh snow. It dumps into Walkyries Glade. If you cut right through the gate, there are a number of open chutes and pseudo-gladed areas which are collectively called the Bambi chutes. Steep, sometimes mogully. Not as hardcore as the What chutes, but nothing to sneeze at. Again, dunps into Walkyries Glade. If you enter the gate and cut left, and stay as high as you can, you will top out on Lorelei Ridge. There's a rope separating the Lorelei side from the Arnold Lunn side. Coming down on the Arnold Lunn side, there are a couple of marked chutes that are short, but pretty fun. One is marked as "Ho Chi Minh Trail", and another is "Air America". I've never heard anybody ever talk about these runs, and it seems like most people have never heard of them at all, but there are regularly tracks through here and they do have signs. I think people just don't distinguish this as separate from Arnold Lunn, or cut in below the signs and never see them. DOn't really know. But they are short little chutes, dumping into the bottom of Arnold Lunn.

Back to the Arnold Lunn Gate. COntinue down Bambi and you'll see another gate on the skier's right marked "Lorelei Trees". This is a very steep gladed run. The entrance can be pretty nasty, but it is usually great if you can get through the first 100 yards. If you cut very hard skier's right through the gate, you will again wind up on a ridge separating Arnold Lunn and Lorelei basins, this time on the other side of the fence. There are a few nicely gladed pitches over here marked "Big DIcks" and "Hail Mary", and a few others that I can't remember right now. Again, I've never talked to anybody that seems aware of these names, but the pitches have decent traffic. They dump into the bottom of Lorelei Trees, which spits you out on a catwalk (but not a stupidly flat one) that takes you to Lift 7.

Back to the Lorelei Trees gate. Go further down Bambi, and on the skier's right is another Lorelei gate. You can go straight through and down, which is an open piste, mogul run of moderate difficulty. Cutting right gets you back over to Lorelei Trees. Cutting hard left will get you to the top of another ridgeline and the top of a number of other runs. There is a gate here. The runs are named things like R&R, Pierre's, etc. These are all steep, and they are all glades with narrow regions of chutes through them. Do any of them, they are all great. They all dump out on Longhorn. If you finish one chute, you can sometimes cut hard right back into the trees at the bottom and then go hit the next one.

Back to the Lorelei gate. Go down Bambi some more until you get to the hairpin turn at the top of Zagava. Zagava is a steep, windswept, icy mogul run that is never very much fun. But to the right of that is a gate to get into upper Longhorn. The entrance is usually rocky, but the uppoer portion of Longhorn is usually fantastic. Going to the right gets you to a very steep open piste which usually has large moguls on it. Going a bit to the left gets you into a very steep and very narrow chute through the trees. The snow here can be very good. After you get down to the same elevation as Lift 1, you will be joined by the skiers off this lift, and it is a very long mogul run from here on out.

I think that about covers it... I am sure there is more, but I don't want to give away too many secrets. :)
 
Thread Starter
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Great info. I really appreciate it. Most of my group range from intermediate - advanced. But most have been to Taos before, loved it and are excited to be going back. I skied 2 days there back in the mid 90's and have been wanting to return ever since.
 

Burton

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Back to the Lorelei gate. Go down Bambi some more until you get to the hairpin turn at the top of Zagava. Zagava is a steep, windswept, icy mogul run that is never very much fun. But to the right of that is a gate to get into upper Longhorn. The entrance is usually rocky, but the upper portion of Longhorn is usually fantastic. Going to the right gets you to a very steep open piste which usually has large moguls on it. Going a bit to the left gets you into a very steep and very narrow chute through the trees. The snow here can be very good. After you get down to the same elevation as Lift 1, you will be joined by the skiers off this lift, and it is a very long mogul run from here on out.

I grew up skiing at Taos a lot. And there's lots of great runs, but 25 years later I can still remember one perfect run down Longhorn from the top. It may have been my best single run ever. A good coating of fresh powder, blue bird day, skiing with two buddies who knew Taos, and could ski it, as well as anyone. Started at the top, took the chute. Then the first leveled off section with perfect bumps, down the next pitch, level again, pitch again, repeat. Perfect, consistent bumps the whole way down. Must have taken half an hour to ski it.

Taos is the one area I'm glad the chairlifts are slow.
 

Jim McDonald

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All this is making me want to hit Taos for a couple of days post-Gathering. Funny, but I remember really enjoying Lorelei Trees when I was there in the mid-90s, an aspiring intermediate at best, on long skinny skis. Must've been one of my rare "in the zone" mornings. :roflmao:
I was doing the four-day a.m. group lesson with Jim Henderson, who was just an outstanding instructor.
 

mdf

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I find it amusing that all or most of the "hidden" trails at Taos (the ones that aren't on the map) actually have names and trail signs at Taos. That isn't normal, is it?
 

clong83

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I find it amusing that all or most of the "hidden" trails at Taos (the ones that aren't on the map) actually have names and trail signs at Taos. That isn't normal, is it?
Signs are odd, but names aren't. Think about it this way: Ski Patrol knows about all the chutes and stashes, and they have to have a way to communicate exactly where they are on the mountain if someone gets hurt, etc. So every little chute or grove of trees has a name. Even in the backcountry, it seems like there are more or less agreed upon names for most of the big features.

Taos signage is weird. Some minor and off-the-beaten-path runs that are not on the map and definitely don't need a sign have an official sign. Arnie Hilldriver comes to mind. Some major chutes on the ridge that are on the map don't. Go figure.

Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but the names of some features aside, I don't think I mentioned too much on here that would be considered very "secret". Nothing a halfway adventurous soul wouldn't find over the course of a long weekend. Just saves you some time.
 

pais alto

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Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but the names of some features aside, I don't think I mentioned too much on here that would be considered very "secret". Nothing a halfway adventurous soul wouldn't find over the course of a long weekend. Just saves you some time.

I have to admit that I was holding my breath while I was reading to see if you'd give away any of my stashes, but you did okay. You stopped in time. ;)
 

mdf

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I'm sure ski patrol at every mountain has lots of "extra" names, but I would not expect them to be in general use. And especially not to be signed. Of course, as you point out, some of them are not all that well signed. I was surprised going into the area around Werner Chute (I think) to see all the signs with arrows near the entrance to the group...but then there aren't anymore and it is hard to tell which chute you are actually in.

I spent an excellent week at Taos a couple of years ago, ski school in the morning and following the Grumps and their friends around in the afternoon. But because I was following, I did not actually learn my way around all that well. I was looking at the map and reading these posts, trying to remember where everything is. For example, we skied Pipeline over and over again, and I still cannot remember which trail it drops off from.
 

clong83

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I have to admit that I was holding my breath while I was reading to see if you'd give away any of my stashes, but you did okay. You stopped in time. ;)
Ha, sorry to keep you in suspense! Glad I didn't cross any lines. I try to give away just enough. :)

I'll have two girls this winter under the age of two, so I sadly expect that I won't be up there very much this year. But it'd be fun to meet up and hit a few of those stashes with you if I get the chance.
 

pais alto

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Ha, sorry to keep you in suspense! Glad I didn't cross any lines. I try to give away just enough. :)

I'll have two girls this winter under the age of two, so I sadly expect that I won't be up there very much this year. But it'd be fun to meet up and hit a few of those stashes with you if I get the chance.

Sure, let me know if you head up. And I work at Ski Santa Fe, so I might be able to help with a pass or two if you head that way, depending.
 
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I (nod nod, wink wink) will be available 1/28 - 2/2 should anyone want to lead a willing Taos newb around a bit.ogsmile
 

NickZ

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There is always a pile of fun in town. I like to describe the place as an "adult" ski area, which means every bar I've ever been to, whether in town or at the mountain, has its own intrigue and on the hill you can drop the kids off at what I consider to be a darned good Children's Ski School while you get involved in a darned good Adult Ski School. I'm always inspired by Doug DeCoursey's "tech talk" ... Tuesdays, I think, at the St. Bernard. A very strong video commentary by an excellent public speaker and he is not heavy on PR hype - plus it's free. Watch for flying ice cubes ... his fellow instructors like to see if he can retain his train of thought while under fire.

If you have an overflow crowd and need rooms ... I hesitate because it's not the cleanest place in town ... no hot tubbies ... but consider the Abominable Snowmansion ... especially if there are hippies in the crowd. Good for kids as well. Fairly cheap to stay.

Haven't been back to Taos for a couple of years. I love this place.
 

mdf

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Of course, as you point out, some of them are not all that well signed. I was surprised going into the area around Werner Chute (I think) to see all the signs with arrows near the entrance to the group...but then there aren't anymore and it is hard to tell which chute you are actually in.
This is the sign I was thinking of, scraped from a YouTube video. It says Werners, R&R, Pierres. Turns out it doesnt even have arrows. Just that they are around here somewhere....
20170823_234700-01.jpeg
 

clong83

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This is the sign I was thinking of, scraped from a YouTube video. It says Werners, R&R, Pierres. Turns out it doesnt even have arrows. Just that they are around here somewhere....
View attachment 28418
I seem to think that sign is arrowed as well, so maybe it is an older video? Or maybe there is an arrowed sign just inside. In any case, you are right about kind of being on your own after you go through the gate, as I don't think I've seen other signs back there either.

Pierre's didn't used to be on the map, which might help explain the poor signage. That gate used to open only to Werners, and the rest of the ridge was perma-closed, but people would go back there anyway as it was a not-so-secret powder stash. It wasn't even that long ago, maybe 10 years or so. I guess they thought it was easier to patrol it and put it on the map than to pay someone to monitor and enforce the rope line, but someone in the know can chime in if they have better info.

Just wanted to share a bit of history, not at all advocating rope-ducking in-bounds to try and find pow. Don't do that. You can get seriously hurt. You could get caught in a slide, or fall into a tree well. They could even be doing avy control in those zones, making it possible that a batch of explosives will go off somewhere around you. Or you could just crash and hurt your leg and nobody would find you. (Not directing any of that to you, mdf, just making it clear to any other readers since this is published on the internet...)
 

Jim McDonald

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Or worse, someone could get injured or killed trying to save you!
 

KingGrump

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Or worse, someone could get injured or killed trying to save you!

That is a very valid point. I was told by patrol that they will close a trail if they do not feel they can evacuate a 250 lb skier safety from that area. I have seen Mugzy (then ski school director) clipped skier's pass when they are found pass the rope line. They take it pretty seriously.

There are other good reasons not to ski in closed area. One of them is avalanche danger. The reason Ernie's and Etches are skiing so well lately is due to the late season avalanches (April 2015) that happened in those areas. The slide in Ernie's actually crossed the Return Trail into Pioneer Glade. Etches slid onto Lower Inferno. Passed Jean's Glade and blocking the exit into White Feather. Lots of destruction when viewed up close.

Taos is not a mountain to be taken lightly. Please ski with care.

@mdf the entrance to pipe line is off skier left of Bambi directly opposite Lorelei entrance.
 

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