Up bright and early ready to hit opening day here in TSV. The major news at the bars is that Taos will allow snowboarding beginning at the end of this year's season. This looks to be a permanent thing moving forward. Not sure I am happy about this.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! There goes Taos as one of the places I like to ski. I'm sticking with Wolf Creek now that my smaller places have died.
I wondered when that would happen. I'm not an experienced snow sportsman, but i have noticed that hardly anyone under the age of 25 is skiing where I go.
What is the knock on snowboarding? Obnoxious kids? Incompatible use of the slopes? Messes up the lifts? I don't do either so I don't have a dog in a fight if there is one.
At nicer resorts like Crested Butte, they've never bothered me. Every boarder I saw seemed skilled enough to get on and off the lift without falling on their ***. At a low end place like Ruidoso, they're usually stoned out of their gourds. I lost count of how many times my kid almost got creamed by out of control boarders.
I have skied Taos since the late 70's. One of my favorite things about Taos was they always seemed to go against the grain and do things there own way. I have nothing against snowboards or snowboarders at all, I would love to try it. I think the current management is looking at the bottom dollar and getting away from tradition. What is next a high rise condo with a disco? RIP Mr Ernie Blake
The learning curve for boarding is extremely steep. Seems like anyone bipedal can get to where they can navigate down a gentle hill and stop, on skis, in 1/2 day. Monopeds take days or weeks to learn basic control. also, 95% of boarders are young men between the ages of 12-20, so that can lead to some friction right there. I prefer boarding, now, but it was tough to learn. And painful.
I tried boarding in Santa Fe about a decade ago. I sucked and decided to get drunk instead. I'm pretty competent in that realm.
My knock on snowboarding (and I do snowboard as well as ski) is that: 1) Low skill snowboarders tend to snow plow and it really chews up the runs. 2) Too often do I see some snow boarder flying out of control. I've been plowed into more than once. People that are really good snow boarders aren't a problem. They really don't bother me at all. Unfortunately, it takes a while to get to a decent skill level at it.
it's funny how Skiers always talk about how boarders can't get on and off the lifts but beginner skiers? never a mention, or how they don't snow plow the runs, or the their yard-sales mid slope.
I converted to boarding years ago. It took me much less time to learn boarding than skiing. One self-taught day on the bunny slope and I was competant although my *** hurt something fierce. Boarding is much more fun than skiing. Leaning into the mountain dragging your hand across the slope while making a wide turn makes you really feel like you're part of the mountain. I never got that feeling with skiing. You're simply too upright. I haven't been to the slopes for several years but I'm considering stopping at Taos or Angel Fire for a day on the way to the Fiesta Bowl this year. I'll probably do Angel Fire since they allow boarding but it depends on the snow quality. The last few trips I've taken were to Whistler, Utah and Jackson Hole so my expectations are pretty low for having good snow in New Mexico.
