Headline News
Taos Changes 'No Snowboarding' Policy, Opens to Riders Beginning Mid-March 2008
For years, snowboarders have tried to convince Taos Ski Valley, N.M., to allow them to ride its famous terrain. Last Friday the resort announced that beginning March 19, 2008, it will lift its longtime ban on snowboarding...for good.
The announcement comes at a time when Taos is seeing the best opening-day snow conditions in three decades. Taos officials said they decided to wait until the end of the season to lift the ban as a consideration for those skiers who already bought season passes based on the expectation that there would be no snowboards on the mountain.
Taos has launched a new snowboarding website, www.ridetaos.org, to address the change in policy. The front page of this website announces: "For a long time the discussion has been more focused on when we would open, and we feel like now is the right time. Taos has a longstanding tradition of being family oriented, and now with so many young people snowboarding, we are turning away more and more families, particularly families that traditionally come to Taos."
The statement also mentions that the resort is planning expansion and redevelopment, and it makes sense to include snowboarding in the planning stages.
Taos has a loyal following that worships its powder and steep ridgelines offering challenging hike-to terrain. So it's no surprise that the resort's snowboard website has received hundreds of postings from people on both sides of the fence. However, Taos officials say they anticipated resistance to the decision.
"Any time you have a significant change, you risk upsetting a group of people," a statement on the ridetaos.org website says. "The number of people who will see this change as positive far outweighs the number who will be upset by it."
Taos will not provide snowboard lessons, rentals, repairs and retail sales until the 2008/09 season. Only three resorts that ban snowboarding remain in the United States: Mad River Glen in Vermont, plus Alta and Deer Valley, both in Utah.