Taos Ski Valley is a village and alpine

ski resort A ski resort is a resort developed for skiing, snowboarding, and other winter sports. In Europe, most ski resorts are towns or villages in or adjacent to a ski area – a mountainous area with pistes (ski trails) and a ski lift system. In N ...

in the southwestern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, located in

Taos County Taos County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 32,937. Its county seat is Taos. The county was formed in 1852 as one of the original nine counties in New Mexico Territory. Taos County compri ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

. The population was 69 at the 2010 census. Until March 19, 2008, it was one of four ski resorts in America to prohibit snowboarding. The Kachina lift, constructed in 2014, serves one of the highest

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

s of any triple chair in North America, to a peak of above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardise ...

. The village was originally settled by a group of miners in the 1800s, but in 1955,

Ernie Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis (bor ...

and Rhoda Blake founded the area as a ski mountain. The village was incorporated in 1996. In 2013, Taos Ski Valley, Inc., was sold by the founding family to billionaire conservationist

Louis Bacon Louis Moore Bacon (born July 25, 1956) is an American investor, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist. He is the founder and chief executive of Moore Capital Management. ''Forbes Magazine'' estimates his net worth to be US$1.81 billion, maki ...

. It has 110 trails with 24% beginner, 25% intermediate, and 51% advanced/expert. The Ernie Blake Snowsports School is one of the highest rated

ski school A ski school is an establishment that teaches skiing, typically in a ski resort. The modern version of the ski school was invented by the Austrian ski pioneer Hannes Schneider in the early 1920s when he formalized instruction methods and establis ...

s in North America.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy An economy is an area of th ...

, the village has a total area of , all land. Taos Ski Valley is one of the highest municipalities in the US, sited at an elevation of ; however, the village limits reach and the highest residential dwelling is at . Kachina Village, also at over 10,350 feet, houses Bavarian Restaurant and two condo complexes and accommodates six permanent residents and visitors in 30 condo units; 70–80 home sites are planned for development. Wheeler Peak, the tallest mountain in New Mexico at , overlooks the village. The village is completely surrounded by

Carson National Forest Carson National Forest is a national forest in northern New Mexico, United States. It encompasses 6,070 square kilometers (1.5 million acres) and is administered by the United States Forest Service. The Forest Service's "mixed use" policy allows f ...

, including bordering designated wilderness.

History

In the 1800s, present-day Taos Ski Valley was the site of a small copper mining town called Twining, New Mexico, though it was later abandoned. Present day Taos Ski Valley was founded in 1955 by

and Rhoda Blake. They lived in an eleven-foot camper in the absence of any buildings in the area except almost-completed Hondo Lodge (now Snakedance Condominiums). Even after moving into the lodge, they lived without power until 1963. Ernie and Rhoda had been living in

Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label= Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The name “S ...

. Ernie was managing the Santa Fe Ski Basin. The first ski lift, a J-bar, was installed in 1956. Until 1957, the ski resort featured only one ski slope, Snakedance. In 1957, the resort installed a second lift—a

Poma Poma, incorporated as Pomagalski S.A., and sometimes referred to as the Poma Group, is a French company which manufactures cable-driven lift systems, including fixed and detachable chairlifts, gondola lifts, funiculars, aerial tramways, peo ...

(platter) lift. Blake was for a time involved in the day-to-day management of the resort, answering the phone and telling prospective visitors whether the skiing was expected to be good in advance of weekend trips. In December 2013, the billionaire

purchased Taos Ski Valley from the Blake family, who had owned it since 1954. In 2018, Taos Ski Valley, Inc. started Taos Air, a virtual airline which operates scheduled public

air charter Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flight ...

service at Taos Regional Airport during ski season. Taos Air began operations to destinations in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, offering shuttle service between the airport and the resort, with the Town of

Taos Taos or TAOS may refer to: Places * Taos, Missouri, a city in Cole County, Missouri, United States * Taos County, New Mexico, United States ** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico *** Taos art colony, an art col ...

providing terminal access, marketing,

de-icing Deicing is the process of removing snow, ice or frost from a surface. Anti-icing is the application of chemicals that not only deice but also remain on a surface and continue to delay the reformation of ice for a certain period of time, or preve ...

service, and a hangar. In 2020, destinations in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

were added.

Economy

Tourism is the village's main industry. As of the 2011–2012 season Taos Ski Valley Corporation employed approximately 700 people during winter months. In an average year $47 million are spent in the local economy of Taos Ski Valley. About $12 million is from ski operations alone. The community is a popular summer and fall vacation destination. In 2005, 55 businesses operated in Taos Ski Valley. Lodging options include hotels, private home rentals, condominiums and alpine styled bed and breakfasts. The town of Taos, located 30 minutes drive down the canyon, provides year-round services.

Demographics

As of the 2010

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

, the Village held 69 people and 272 housing units, with only 14.3% occupied. From 2000 to 2010 population increased 23.2%. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

was . The racial makeup was 75.4%

White White is the lightness, lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully diffuse reflection, reflect and scattering, scatter all the ...

and 24.6%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino. In 2000, 12.5% of 32 households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.5% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between t ...

living together, while 59.4% were non-families. 46.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 3.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.75 and the average family size was 2.46. Only 4.3% were under age 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 33.9% from 25 to 44, 50.0% from 45 to 64, and 1.8% who were 65 years or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 166.7 males. The ratio of males to females was 1.66. The median household income was $67,708, and the median income for a family was $103,422. Males had a median income of $65,833 versus $24,375 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the village was $43,143. None of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

Education

Almost all of the CDP is within

Taos Municipal Schools Taos Municipal Schools (TMS) or Taos Municipal School District (TMSD) is a school district based in Taos, New Mexico, United States. Taos Municipal Schools has a total area of . The school district has a total of six schools. The district has one h ...

, with a very small remainder in Questa Independent Schools. The former operates

Taos High School Taos High School, founded in 1917, is the public high school in Taos, New Mexico, United States. A part of the Taos Municipal Schools school district, is located outside of Taos Pueblo, at the base of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The distric ...

References

External links

Taos Ski Valley Resort

Taos Ski Valley Chamber of Commerce

3dSkiMap of Taos Ski Valley
{{authority control Ski areas and resorts in New Mexico Villages in Taos County, New Mexico Sangre de Cristo Mountains Tourist attractions in Taos County, New Mexico Ski Valley