It’s hard to believe that another season at Taos is wrapping up this weekend. It’s been a year with a historically great start, one huge announcement, and multiple great, late-season storms.
To celebrate another excellent year, we’ve selected a few of our favorite images of the season from this stunning place.
Unless otherwise noted, all photos are by Ryan Heffernan.
Click on images to enlarge.
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Why does Taos close so early?
Like many ski areas, Taos has a contract with the Forest Service to operate from day X to day Y.
Pure economics, Bob. TSV relies heavily on the destination skier to come in and buy daily/weekly passes, take lessons, etc. NM is too sparsely populated to support the area with day skiers, and no one wants to spend a lot of dough and travel far for questionable spring conditions; even with great snow pack the surface is ice and/or slush. Once the spring break peak is over in mid-March there are very few skiers at TSV. And those who are there are pass-holders. Even the pass-holders taper off as, after skiing since Thanksgiving, everyone is off running the Rio, mountain biking, golfing, etc. Just no money in staying open past the first week in April even though, as Jonathan said, the USFS would gladly work out a contract for them to stay open longer.
But they could expand their season via contract. Mgmt chooses not too. Ernie was once quoted saying that with the new kachina lift that he envisioned, skiers could begin to take advantage of the late season april storms….