2022 Taos Mini-Gathering, January 22 - January 29, 2022
NOTE : This is a living post and will be changed as new information becomes available (last updated 10/21/2021)
NOTE : This is a living post and will be changed as new information becomes available (last updated 10/21/2021)
West Basin Ridge from Lift 2, January 2020. All of the ridge is hike-to double-black terrain.
After much debate in the date picking thread, the final call was for next season's Taos Mini-Gathering to be the week of January 22-29, 2022. ... The first Taos gathering was 2 people, the second was about 20, and in 2020 we had about 40. 2021 was a year off unfortunately, but we'll be back in 2022!
As always, anyone and everyone is welcome at a Gathering and the planning and coordination is minimal. Just show up on the right week, and you'll have some great folks to ski with! And at Taos most folks will likely do a Ski Week (week's worth of lessons). Personally, this will be my 4th Taos Gathering, and I'm really looking forward to it.
If you haven't done a Ski Week before, it's been a good deal, and well worth it. You get six 2-hour small group lessons - one each morning Sunday through Friday - for a good price. The price for 2022 is up slightly over 2020, at ~$356 including tax. You can find the info or order here: https://www.skitaos.com/things-to-do/snowsports-programs/ski-weeks
Taos instructors and lesson programs are very well regarded, and I've always had a great time and learned a lot, though YMMV. One thing to note is that for about the same price, if you can get a group of 5 together who would like to take a lesson together, you can book a private Snowsports Week. That would let you not get randomly assigned to a group and make sure you ski with the people you want to.
If you're planning to come, please add yourself in the roll call thread, here: https://www.skitalk.com/threads/2022-taos-mini-gathering-roll-call.23842/
Lift Tickets
Taos is part of the Ikon Pass, and Mountain Collective Pass, so those are good options. But it's not a terribly expensive walk-up rate typically either. For the 2021-2022 season, the weekday rate is ~$75, with weekend days quite a bit more at $110 - $135. Discounts are available for multi-day tickets.
Ikon Reservations Required
For 2021-2022, Taos is requiring Ikon pass holders to reserve their days. This can be done on the Ikon pass website by going to your account.
(NOTE: The information below was accurate a couple of seasons ago... but Taos has been adding buildings and changing the village as it grows. So things are subject to change.)
Taos Ski Valley
Taos is well known for having difficult terrain, with an abundance of steeps and chutes, many of which are hike-to terrain. But there's plenty of tough stuff that doesn't require a hike too. Taos is also known for an abundance of bumps, and many of the lessons will spend time in bumps, at pretty much all skiing levels. And for anyone that doesn't ski the more difficult stuff (like me much of the time) there are some nice groomers, easy trees, and easier bumps too!
You can view the trail map here: https://www.skitaos.com/sites/default/files/2020-10/taos __ trail map __ 2020.pdf
Parking
If you're not staying at the base village, the drive up is typically easy on a well maintained canyon road. And parking is easy, with "cattle car" type shuttles that circulate the lot to take you up to the base.
Boot-Up
Taos has a nice locker room in the lower level of the cafeteria building. It has pay lockers and cubbies.
Daily meet-ups
Typically, folks tend to meetup in the locker room or at lift 1 at opening (9:00 AM) to get a warm-up lap or two in before the morning lessons (which start at ~9:30).
Then after lunch, there's another chance to meet-up and form some groups at ~1:00, again near lift one, as shown in the diagram below. And Taos is not all that large, and there's a pretty good chance you'll run into folks around the mountain during the morning or afternoon too.
Past Gatherings
If you'd like to see a bit about prior Taos Gatherings, here are my trip reports from the last couple:
https://www.pugski.com/threads/taos-the-mini-gathering-2019.14160/
Arizona/New Mexico - The Taos Mini-Gathering 2020 Wasn't So "Mini"
Kachina Peak in some wind and clouds during the Gathering Two season ago (2017-2018) there were rumblings of a Gathering at Taos, but the low snow year kept it from happening (well, I still went, and the Grumps were there, but no one else ogsmile). Last year, there was a better snow year, and...
www.skitalk.com
I hope to see a lot of folks make it this season!
Kachina Peak behind the Highline Ridge
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