Backcountry Skiing: Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico Guidebook

Backcountry Skiing: Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico
by James Marc Beverly
Taos Avalanche Center
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New Mexico has been possessed by many peoples, tribes, countries, and government entities—and without fail, those who visit become possessed by its vastness and beauty. As centuries pass and new abodes are built on top of old, the peaks and valleys forged over geologic time remain. To experience their splendor, open your eyes, take a deep breath of the high desert air, and let the rapture of the place overtake you. At no time is the splendor wasted on those who hike to these summits during the winter and spring months as they are rewarded by the incomparable bliss of sliding down on snow. A truly magical experience.
Backcountry touring is a relatively new activity in New Mexico. The early days of the pandemic left many avid skiers and riders without a functioning ski area. For the cost of a lift ticket, backcountry travelers could buy a new pair of skins and open up the world outside the ski area boundaries.
I never saw tracks far beyond the ski area boundaries in the 80s; it wasn’t until the early 2000s that I started to see occasional tracks. Today, it’s rare that I don’t see someone else out having fun in the sidecountry—but the wilderness experience is still very much available to those willing to explore.
New Mexico offers many adventures in areas less traveled. The snow can be as deep as anywhere in the Rocky Mountains, and the spring skiing can make for quick descents. While the New Mexico snowpack shares commonalities to the snowpack at large within the Rocky Mountains, the lower latitude plus high elevation combine to form a special snowpack different from the surrounding states. The changing snowpack may be very different from the typical continental snowpack folks have come to expect in the San Juan or Elk Mountain ranges just to the north in Colorado.
I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend the majority of my youth, and to have made a successful guiding career, in these mountains. I share the common thread of the experience with those who have come before and those yet to make the discoveries.
—James Marc Beverly