We skied three days. Snow, snow, snow. Spring break can be tricky. Taos does a great job of doing what they can with what they get, snow-wise. It dumped snow two of the three days we were there and kept snowing. One day the wind was crazy 60-70 mph. There was an avalanche close to the mountain but safety plans were in effect. Weather is difficult to predict and safety is a top priority here. I rode up the mountain with one of the gentlemen on patrol, just listening to his radio was an eyeopener. We've been when the snow was less than desirable but still had plenty of fun skiing. You have to make of if what you can.

Our kids learned at Taos years ago. My son's girlfriend came with us this year, she went through a day lesson on beautiful day. The next day it dumped 10", it snowed all day. She did pretty amazing, being this was her first time skiing. Lines weren't bad, the new lifts are pretty fast, as long as people aren't falling when getting on or off, some people don't pay attention. I don't remember being in any line longer than a few minutes. The wait time away from lift one were almost less than a minute each day and it got crowded after Sunday.

Prices have gone up a bit, so check ahead of time to avoid sticker shock of it all. Online discounts occasionally happen. The upgraded ski/boot check out from a few years ago is welcomed. My wife and I have boots, but the equipment here is in really good shaped compared to some other ski areas close by. Unfortunately the Martini Tree Bar was closed for the season, I really hope it re-opens. The base looks like it's trying to be a smaller version of Purgatory...very small. We were able to get tables and chairs at the base for a beer pretty easily. Sadly the crepe station outside Whistle stop was gone, my daughter loved those. Organization in the parking lots with tons of people is pretty great. We look forward to next year!

The Taos motto should be "Taos -- don't ski here when there's lots of snow."

Imagine this -- it snows a lot, like 20", so you're looking forward to some amazing skiing. Then you get to the mountain you've been going to for several years on Spring Break (several years during which there was never enough snow) thinking "Wow! Finally! And then you spend all morning in the main quad Chair #1 God-awful lift line. We dropped off the youngest kid at ski school at 8:30, hit the lift line at 8:45 a.m., and with over 1 hour lift line waits, we were doing our 2nd run at 11:15 a.m.. What a waste of great snow conditions and $110 a person. I don't think I've ever been more frustrated in my life. The funnel for the line-up at chair #1 was so badly managed, with ski school going in without waiting even 1 second, that the rest of us did not move at all it seemed. People around me were noticing every chair that wasn't full with 4 people (maybe every 4th or 5th chair) and groaning. I mentioned my displeasure at the situation to Jeff the manager and his response was that no one else complained. That's not what I heard at 10 a.m. in the lift line, or from other families I spoke to. I could have gone to another mountain like Sipapu, Angel Fire or the large number in Colorado, and actually skied on such a glorious snow day.

Either Taos is too cautious on their avalanche management (the stated reason for them closing all the other non-kiddie chairs until 11:30 a.m., and then keeping chairs 7, 7a closed till 2:40 p.m., and if you ask about when they will open Chair 4 or Kachina Peak chair (the chairs that serve the best advanced terrain), they just laugh), or their geography is too avalanche prone compared to other mountains, or more likely both. Total waste of a good snow day and Spring Break ski trip. It only adds insult to injury that they used to have more chairs at the base and they recently increased their ticket prices to over $100 a person.

We have always loved the little community at the Taos Ski Basin! It is sometimes hard to get a hotel but always worth it! The slopes are always fun and our family loves the fact that safety of the the skiers is the most important thing! Last time we were there, 70 mph winds shut the mountain down for an entire day. We were ok with them shutting it down because who wants to be somewhere unsafe?! We used that time to go into Taos and enjoy the town a little bit!