Taos Ski Valley
Mountain Adapts To COVID To Provide Safe Family Fun By EFRAIN VILLA
As we soar higher and higher, suspended above the fluffy snow gleaming on the mountain slope beneath us, I listen to my snowboarding instructor, Jake Wilkes, philosophize on the beauty of snow sports. He interrupts himself to point to a nimble skier far beneath our chairlift deftly maneuvering through moguls. I glimpse him right before he disappears behind a patch of trees, leaving a wispy trail of white powder floating in his wake. “That looked like a comet,” I tell Jake. “That’s Burt Skall, the ski school director,” he says. “He’s an amazing skier and snowboarder, and an even better instructor and coach.” To be fair, saying Burt is an amazing skier is not so much flattery as it is stating the obvious. The surprising part is how well his knees have kept
A toddler learns to snowboard with a family member in the Pioneer Beginner’s Area. Courtesy photos.
up with his four decades of coaching. Then again, he knows how to treat them well, and teaching others how to treat their own bodies and minds well happens to be one of his passions. “We prioritize people skills in all of our instructors,” says Burt. “People think instructors spend a lot of time learning how to teach technique, but we actually spend a lot of time working on how to relate to people and build relationships, so we understand motivations and cognitive and behavioral abilities. That’s why we have kids who have been coming here since they were five and now that they’re teenagers, they are still skiing with the same instructor.” The Perfect Time to Go: The pandemic has reminded humanity how fast life can change, but for the moment, this might be the best time to visit. “If you’re looking to really get out and enjoy the mountain and time with your family, there’s probably no better year to do it, because there are no other distractions,” says CEO David Norden. “There are also no big crowds and we are taking COVID precautions very seriously.” Pandemic countermeasures Taos instated to become New Mexico Safe Certified include having employees work in pods to minimize potential transmissions along with contact tracing, temperature checks, enforcing the mask requirement and eliminating nightlife activities. The cozy restaurants with roaring fireplaces are also closed. If you’re staying at The Blake, the flagship hotel at Taos Ski Valley, food can be ordered at restaurants and hotel staff will deliver it directly to your room. “It’s our version of Uber Eats,” says David. “We are trying to do our part so restaurants in our community stay in business.”
12
New Mexico Kids!
March/April 2021
A father and daughter ski the Highline Ridge, where more advanced skiers and riders can hike to select terrain.
The pandemic has forced many children to be cooped up due to school closures and many parents are tired of living life through a Zoom frame. Without the worry of overcrowding, right now might be the best time to try snowboarding or skiing as a family. Springtime can yield excellent snow conditions. The Rio Hondo Learning Center: The center was renovated three years ago and turned into an interactive wonderland. Architectural elements were integrated into streamlined, kid-friendly registration processes and equipment fitting. The building’s concrete support pillars, for example, were painted to look like aspen trunks with markings denoting height, so young skiers can be outfitted easily with the right size skis or snowboards. The scale is a repurposed chairlift that gets kids immediately used to the concept of sitting in open air transportation. There is also a small climbing wall with plenty of padding and the bathrooms have miniaturized everything, including tiny toilets and miniscule sinks for handwashing. Even the signs and artwork are placed low to the ground. Having the building’s form follow its function means less time engaged in the more tedious aspects of snow sports lessons and more time learning to ski or snowboard. For now, most of the registration and fitting process is done outside until it is safe to gather indoors once again. And the ski school is only conducting private and small group lessons. The Perfect Progression: The topography of the beginner slopes has recently been reshaped to create what instructors call “the perfect progression.” The contours of the hill are designed to support the foundational techniques all snowboarders and skiers must learn. “The whole idea behind the perfect progression park is we want to teach the idea of ‘go’ versus the idea of ‘stop,’” says Burt. “It's about flow. Snowboarding and skiing become fun once you can start moving instead of worrying about stopping. Gravity slows you down. If you drop a beachball on this terrain, you wouldn't have to worry about slowing it down; it would naturally do what it's going to do. It’s the same for people. The first time you go down, even if you lose it and don't have control, the landscape will put you back where you're supposed to be. It's like you have natural bumper guards.” On Equal Footing: Learning skiing or snowboarding as a family upends that typical family hierarchy in fun, safe and fascinating ways. “It's a bonding process when families learn together,” says Burt. “It's sort of a chance for a little bit of role reversal, where the parents are glad the children are learning something new and then the kids are glad that mom and dad are also finally getting it. Everybody is going through the same experience while having some of the same challenges and successes.” Puppy Love: One of the biggest attractions at Taos Ski Valley has little to do with snow sports. The avalanche dogs have become celebrities. “A lot of parents will tell their kids, ‘Let’s go meet the avi dogs,’” says David. “We have even had demonstrations where we bury something, and the dogs have to find it in the snow to show how they could find a skier lost in an avalanche. Everybody loves the dogs.” Although the dogs may not always be available to interact with guests, since they are on the clock, people are welcome to ask about opportunities to see them at work, David says.
