New West Network

My Page: Carson Bennett

Until Next Season

It’s only the first week of April in Albuquerque, but the temperature is already in the sixties and seventies. The trees have already budded and blossomed; my street is suddenly green again. Last week I planted an herb garden. The sun is bright, the days are warm.

I already miss skiing.
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A sampling of this weekend's ski activities

The season is winding down. (Or up, depending on how you look at it.)

The way I look at it, there are some wicked cool things happening in the Colorado and New Mexico ski mountains this weekend. Don't pack up your gear quite yet.

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Exhausting Ourselves for Charity Since 1997

What could possibly motivate two-person teams to hike the ridge at Taos as many times as humanly possible in a five hour period? (Besides, maybe, being chased by a guy with a gun?) The answer may surprise you – the motivating factor is charity.

This is the 12th annual Ben Myers Ridge-A-Thon, folks. Originally established in 1997 as a fundraiser for an extreme skier from Taos to offset the cost of his cancer treatments, the Ridge-A-Thon continues in Ben Myers’ memory. This year, on March 28 and 29, all proceeds will benefit the Taos Community Foundation’s Emergency Medicines Fund. According to the Taos News, the EMF “provides vouchers for the purchase of prescription medications at wholesale cost from local pharmacies, with the intention of providing free prescription medicines to eligible individuals.” [more]

And Then There Were Three

It finally happened. One of the last remaining skiers-only strongholds has fallen. Now only three mountains, Deer Valley and Alta in Utah, and Mad River Glen in Vermont still ban snowboarders. On Wednesday, March 19, 2008, Taos Ski Valley opened its lifts to our single-planked brethren.

We’ve been talking about it on this blog since the season began and the folks at Taos announced their plan to allow boarders in March. Skiers were stunned. The announcement was the only subject of conversation at Taos on December 14. At the top of every run: “Those boarders are going to completely f*** up this run.” On the lifts: “Enjoy the smooth ride now. Snowboarders don’t know how to ride a chair without either jamming up the bottom or falling off the top.” Hiking the ridge: “Patrol is going to have to watch out for boarders up here. They can’t do this steep stuff. They’re just going to hurt themselves.” In the bar: “When the boarders get here, this place is going to be too crowded and noisy.” And on and on. [more]

A Little Harder Than it Looks

I’ve been skiing since I was four years old. I’m 28 now, and I’m just starting to get good at it. Why, then, did I decide to try snowboarding? Why did I decide to effectively revert back to a puerile state of snow-sport competence? Well, I thought it would be easy. I thought snowboarders snowboarded because they couldn’t be bothered to learn the art form that is skiing. I thought I would prove a point.

Not so. [more]

Many Resorts Open Through April

It’s true, this year’s ski season started slowly for those of us in the Southwest. But then December came, the snow started to fly, and in many places it still hasn’t stopped. Ski areas in New Mexico and Colorado have seen record years, epic base depths, and more skiers and boarders than expected. In fact, most of the resorts in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico are extending their seasons into April.

A few updated closing dates after the jump. [more]

Taos Ski Week, Day 6

Today is the last day of the Taos Ski Week. In the morning Dano immediately takes us up to hike the ridge. Any upper-level (or even mid-level) Taos Ski Week class would be incomplete without a crowning run on the famous Highline Ridge.

At the top of lift two we pop off our skis, sling them over our shoulders, and hike up through the trees to the ridgeline. I take the lead and Dano hollers at me to pace myself, but I’m too excited. I have hiked the ridge before, many times, but for some reason it feels different today. It’s a celebration. The culmination of a full week skiing hard and pushing ourselves past our own boundaries. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I’ve never in my life skied better than I have this week. [more]

Taos Ski Week, Day 5

The meat of the morning is the video analysis. I had heard rumors about this, but didn’t know if every class did it. Our instructor lines us up at the top of Moe’s, a short black run on the back side full of moguls. At the bottom of the run, another ski instructor stands with a video camera. When he give the signal, the first person in our group drops into the moguls and makes a few turns. Her form is beautiful. The next person goes, and he also does well. I move to the back of the line. I want as much time as possible to remind myself of everything I’ve learned this week, and prepare myself to display it. [more]

Taos Ski Week, Day 4

Apparently, ski boots don’t have to hurt. I did not know that. I thought it was just the price you had to pay for a day on the slopes. Dano tells me I should go to the Boot Doctor, one of the shops at the base of the mountain, and have them take a look at my boots. It could be that they’re too big, and I have to crank the buckles down too hard, cutting off circulation to my toes. Or, it could be that I need a new footbed. I don’t even know what a footbed is. [more]

Taos Ski Week, Day 3

You would think that after a storm like that the snow would be up to my eyeballs. Well, it certainly did snow enough, but the wind came and messed it all up. Today I get to chair one early enough to a few runs before the ski week class starts. As I ride to the top of the mountain, I scope out Al’s Run below me. Snow drifts four and five feet high cut diagonally across the run, but in between the drifts – a shield of ice. The wind has scoured the slopes at Taos, picking up every flake from the front side and carrying it away to...somewhere else. Although the base depth is still more than eighty inches, it’s hard as a rock.

When my group and I meet up with Dano at the mid-mountain Whistlestop cafe, he says as much. “Today, we learn how to ski the crud.” [more]