phu's VirtualTourist Home Page

PARENTS WARNING: DO NOT SKI AT TAOS WITH YOUR KIDS UNLESS THEY ARE EXTREMELY EXPERIENCED. THE SO-CALLED "GREEN" (EASY) SLOPES ARE MISLABELED - THEY ARE STEEP AND DANGEROUS. YOUR KIDS COULD BE SERIOUSLY INJURED OR KILLED.

My girlfriend and I recently went skiing in the Taos Ski Valley. As beginners, (It's been a long time since I've been skiing and this was her first time) we examined the Taos ski map carefully looking for "green" (easy) trails to ski on.

Within minutes of leaving the ski lift, she was seriously injured on the so called "easy" trails. To my shock, the "easy" Toas slopes are extremely steep and dangerous. They do not even remotely resemble the slopes marked "green" at the more honest resorts in the state to the north.

It's easy to understand why Taos Ski Valley mislabels the slopes as "green." If they disclosed the true difficulty of their slopes, beginners and parents skiing with their children would change their ski plans to a safe location. The truth is that Taos has no slopes a beginner should ski except for an extremely tiny and overcrowded bunny slope.

During the two hours that we were in the medical facility getting her treated, several children were admitted for serious injuries. One had a fractured femur. Another a broken spine. Furthermore, the medical facility was crowded beyond belief.

If you're a beginner or will be taking your kids skiing with you, avoid Taos like the plague.