Taos travel tips and stories. Vacations ideas, cruises, spa and resorts

Taos Ski Valley, is an area in New Mexico, where a snowboarding saga taking place for decades. Nowadays Taos reversed its old policy of banning snowboarders from its slopes. For years, Taos used its skier-only policy as a marketing tool. It did appeal to a certain brand of hardcore skier, but the resort couldn’t continue to ignore the greater market. Snowboarding represents 30 percent of skier visits nationwide, according to the National Ski Areas Association. Families, college groups and ski clubs invariably include snowboarders.

Taos is a Bavarian-inspired ski resort that rises above the red sands and green sagebrush of New Mexico’s high desert. At 1,294 acres and 2,612 vertical feet, Taos is small by Western standards, but its steeps are legendary. From the base, the trails appear nearly vertical.

The resort is owned and operated by Blake family. The atmosphere in the valley, it was becoming stale. Now, you can feel the youthful energy. There’s a happy, euphoric vibe. On opening day this season, nearly half the adult lessons and 50 percent of rentals were to snowboarders.

Taos has never been so busy, attracting roughly 255,000 skiers a season. And in the end, much of the rancor surrounding the snowboarding debate had less to do with sharing the mountain with snowboarders than simply sharing the mountain.

Photos by: Rick Scibelli