Ozomatli, Leftover Salmon headline Taos music fest

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

Two-day concert set for Aug. 20 -21 at the ski area base

SUMMIT COUNTY — Railroad Earth, Ozomatlie and Leftover Salmon are among the headliners for this year’s Taos Mountain Music festival, set for Aug. 20 and 21 at the base of the New Mexico ski area’s lifts.

“We are really excited about the lineup this year,” said festival director Steve Gumble. “This weekend has some amazing musical talent and great late night shows featured at the festival campground and local venues.”

Additional acts include Matisyahu, Donna the Buffalo, Jackie Greene Duo, Afroman, Orgone, Dangermuffin, Langhorne Slim, Shannon McNally and Hot Sauce, Ryan McGarvey and Mariachi Luz de Luna. (more…)

Filed under: arts and film, Summit County news | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

Skiing: Taos looks at major upgrades

Posted on January 17, 2011 by Bob Berwyn

New lifts, gladed trails and snow tubing are all part of a plan to bring Taos Ski Valley into the 21st century. CLICK ON THE MAP FOR A FULL SIZE VIEW.

Plan includes lift to the summit of Kachina Peak

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Taos Ski Valley is aiming for a major makeover that could potentially include a new lift to the top of iconic Kachina Peak and another to access terrain off West Basin Ridge. The Kachina Peak lift was originally included in the resort’s first master plan, but the proposal could fundamentally alter the ski experience at Taos, characterized by big areas of terrain accessible only by hiking.

But that may not be what skiers and snowboarders want. In a scoping notice, the U.S. Forest Service said the resort has failed to evolve with market demand. As a result, skier visits have dropped in the past 10 years. Adding new lifts and terrain will help the ski area meet demand for better access. The scoping notice goes on to say that the area encompasses under-utilized and undeveloped terrain that could be made accessible by gliding.

Taos is also looking at adding a tubing hill and snowshoe trails to add low-impact winter amenities, as well as lift-served mountain biking. Included in the proposal, now under consideration by the Forest Service, are upgrades to the area’s existing lift network, which consists entirely of fixed-grip chairs, with new high-speed chairs.

Click here to get more info, including access to all the current Forest Service documents on the proposal.

Filed under: recreation, ski industry, Ski Resorts, skiing and riding | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Skiing: The Hausberg

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Bob Berwyn

Home is where your skis are ...

“A Hausberg, or ski commons, is a place to re-affirm the roots of the sport, born not of commerce, but of athletic and aesthetic idealism, something that’s done not for money but for love, for the physical ideal it represents, pure and simple.”

By Bob Berwyn

* some interesting comments on this essay at a Telemarktips discussion thread.

In German-speaking Alpine regions of Europe, many towns have a place name for their local ski hill; it’s called Der Hausberg, translated literally as the House Hill, or home mountain. These proper names probably evolved from a generic term simply describing the mountain closest to town.

Often, these slopes aren’t the biggest bump on the local horizon. The main criteria is easy access from the heart of the village, within walking distance of homes, schools and shops.

A few mountain towns in the American West are also favored with in-town ski areas that could fall under a similar definition. Howelson Hill in Steamboat Springs comes to mind, as does Snow King Mountain, in the heart of Jackson Hole, and even Aspen Mountain.

But cultural and economic development patterns in the American West, along with a more expansive mountain topography, led to a municipal grid that’s markedly different from the cozy villages nestled in narrow Alpine defiles. Instead of dense residential clusters around a central market square or church, our exurban Western towns are more often spread lengthwise along a highway, for ease of commerce, or sprawled expansively across broad mountain valleys, where you can live the ranchette dream. Indeed, many Old World immigrants came here for those wide-open spaces. I know I did. (more…)

Filed under: Summit County Colorado | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

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