JCHIL

Big Sky is great but damn it can be frigid! I skied there on New Year's day three years ago or so and it was -8 - the coldest temp Ive ever skied in - I could ski about 1.5 hours before having to take a break to warm up. 25" base is thin for there but I think more snow is on the way. I have skied there 4-5 times and love the mountain - still havent even covered half of the mtn it is such an expansive resort - have fun and post pics!

Yes we have a place there.

Very well put - especially the distinction between vacation homes and second homes! Having owned both second homes and vacation homes, distance is key but not a deal breaker for me because my vacation home is easily reached by airlines and is in a managed rental pool and maintained by a management company. This relieves the distance factor for me because I am not actively having to maintain it but the trade off is obviously not being able to go as often and someone else is using it when you are not there. I have found if you are super passionate about the location/activities to be had where your second home/vacation home is located, it is easier to overlook the slightly imperfect situations you may encounter or certain nagging costs that come with ownership. In the case of my vacation home, a slope side ski property carries the intangibles of having Owner closets to keep your personal items, alcohol, dry goods/foods, guns, ski gear and fishing gear, hiking gear, camping gear so you do not have to lug it around on planes or in your car or have to go shopping as soon as you arrive there. The rental income roughly covers 2/3 of the bottom line costs each year. In all cases of vacation/second home properties I have bought, the appreciation has been off the charts after 7 years of ownership which ultimately makes the bottom line work if you have the extra cash available to sustain and keep them afloat long enough to allow appreciation to build. Again, my approach has always been my passion for the place/activities and I never went into it with high expectations of profit margins, appreciation or financial gain - if any of these happen, which fortunately for me a few of these have ...well great! I have always taken the approach that they would just break even at best and the number of days I stayed and enjoyed the place with friends and family was my profit.

Wow! Winds are crazy and brutal temps - negative mornings and single digit highs the next several days - Ouch. I'm headed back to TSV in two weeks so hopefully gets some snow and more normal temps/winds by then....

Well, the wind must be the reason our JSX flight cancelled this afternoon. JSX is really convenient until it isn’t as they really have no options if they cancel- you are basically on your own. Sitting in ABQ now, got a SW flight to Dallas (I hope we make it out - high winds in Dallas too?). Anyway we did have some fun skiing this am until noon when the wind picked up and we headed to ABQ. Just like I thought, they did not open the ridge or backside until almost noon. They did open Al’s, Longhorn, and Jeans glade up again on the front side….Still not too crowded , They were lined up for the ridge…

My strategy on major pow days like tomorrow morn will be to ski the frontside blacks first, early and often until they get carved up (for some reason everyone heads to backside or ridge first thing and the touristas stay in the greens and blues which leaves frontside blacks (arguably some of the best runs on the mtn.) wide open - this is a locals strategy. They will probably be dropping some ropes on frontside tomorrow as well so will be on lookout for new openings then head up higher - ridge will be afternoon. Ridge and backside might be closed for a few hours anyway since it is still puking at 6 pm here which is pretty common when they have dumps overnight and don’t have time to safety check them

Lift Lines non existent on a pow day! Every run is a playground . Snowing hard since this am and still puking.

Storm skiing in Taos today. Today and tomorrow should be fun !

Cool . We just got back into our condo at 4 at Snakedance. We started skiing around noon and I was looking for you but I thought you had yellow pants?. Anyway, I saw a guy with yellow pants and blue jacket so I skied up to him and said “Hey, Are you Texas Dago”? He said , “I don’t know what you are talking about.” Sorry dude, wrong guy 😊

I will say you are covering alot of the highlights of TSV, ridge - corner chute, Two Bucks, Lorelei Blitz etc. so much fun in good conditions, - Longhorn is a long run!! The mid-bottom is usually my favorite part:) I'll be out there tomorrow around noon...I'll look for you! Is Hunziker open?

SHhhhh! Hope you are staying tomorrow and Friday! Powder days! Woo hoo! I'll be there tomorrow!

Big fan as well. legit food and new mex mex. My go to stop when driving from ABQ to Taos

61 Osteria is relatively new star in the FW Dining scene and probably the hottest right now - really good - sister restaurant to Grace.... I also recently dined at Emilia's in the newly opened Crescent Hotel - very decent - in mod setting

“Dharma Bums”. Fun and light hearted read…..Big fan - Kerouac and Famous poet Gary Snyder (Japhy Ryder) has everything the OP listed ….

The snowmobile tour to Old Faithful is cool and fun diversion if you are not skiing. What about skiing a day or two at the local ski hill, Snow King? Snow King also has a gravity coaster and tubing as well. Since JH is sold out, I would also recommend booking a back country ski guide and going backcountry skiing in Yellowstone (we did this during Covid and it was crazy awesome) but from what you have described, you would probably need to be more experienced skiers for that to be enjoyable. Maybe take a Sleigh ride in the National Elk Refuge while there?

If you signed up for advanced lessons at Taos, chances are you will not be grouped with anything less than advanced. The terrain there tends to separate the wheat from the chaff quickly and since Taos is so challenging, the Ski instructors I experienced personally and with my kids were always on point and grouped people really well based upon their levels. They really cannot afford to make mismatches as again, well, the mountain will take care of that really quickly. I think it is a great idea if you have never skied there before. Yes, ski weeks are incredible if you have the time. My son has been skiing tele for a few years and Taos is one of the few places that has tele instruction which we will be doing when we visit first week in Jan.....

Just had an impromptu tasting at my local shop of this….It’s special

Salt and Pepper

In general, yes, the Highline Ridge is not as crazy and tight/technical as the West Basin. When conditions are good, the Highline Ridge is the ultimate playground for an advanced skier that wants to experience big mountain off piste skiing with a short hike (15-20 minutes to Hidalgo/Juarez if you are in good shape and adjusted to altitude). Main Street, under Kachina Lift, is very enjoyable for the advanced skier and maybe the most straightforward of all Highline Ridge Runs although it is the farthest hike if Kachina lift is not open. The K chutes are steep! (avalanche that killed 2 skiers a few years ago was on K3). West Basin - Oster (short hike) and Staufenburg most doable though tight and STEEP. If you like steep tree skiing, do not miss the Wild West Glade at the end of the West Basin ridge although it is a trek to get there.....

Correction: I guess technically you can access the ridge from 7a but you would have to walk or traverse uphill about 75 yds against traffic from skiers exiting lift 2 which is not ideal. The ridge hike trail is just on your right as you exit lift 2 which is your easiest route.

That is Juarez on the Highline Ridge. Hike from top of lift 2. Lift 7A is an old school 2 seater that does not provide access to hike terrain, rather it gets you from the backside back to the frontside without having to ski Rubezal (long cat trail) back to frontside.

La Fonda is cool and historic. Right in the Taos Town Square. Walk to shops and restaurants. The drive up the mtn is not bad. They maintain it very well. The only time it will get major traffic is if a major storm cycle blows in and dumps then the powder hounds from Denver will come to poach the goods and it will get crowded....

To add to pudelpointer's very informative post: Another ski in and out is Snakedance Condos - probably the best value for the location if you are not looking for fancy - kitchens in rooms - Solid 3 star property with 5 star location. If you want Fancy, The Blake Hotel. The new Blake Residences that is attached to the Blake Hotel has added a few retail shops but basically you can shop the Village in about an hour. The town of Taos has some really nice art galleries and shops and 3-4 really good museums. As stated, there are a few average restaurants in TSV, but I always stay in TSV and drive down in the evenings to eat dinner in town to get better food as I would rather drive to the food after the ski traffic than to ski area each way in traffic if that makes sense. Favorite restaurants in town are: Lamberts (best in town imo), Medley, Orlandos, Pizanos, Trading Post.

4.5 yo? What says Surly buck gurus?