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Taos Ski Valley

T A OS AIR

T A OS SKI VALLEY C OUR T S THE TEXAS MARKET

B Y C OLIN B ANE

emember those wearisome days of taking an uncomfort- The service is just one crucial element of what Taos
Rable, noisy school bus ride a dozen hours to go skiing in Ski Valley CEO David Norden describes as a major renaissance
the Rocky Mountains with a church group from somewhere at the ski area, which has invested heavily in four new chairlifts
like Kansas City or a school group from Dallas? over the last four years, a greatly expanded snowmaking oper-
Those days are over, especially if you live in Texas and are ation, renovations to the children’s center and The Bavarian
headed to New Mexico. Texan skiers and snowboarders from on-mountain restaurant, and a new hotel, The Blake, which
the Austin and Dallas markets—two of the fastest growing opened in 2017 (more on page 26). The Blake—a glorious,
cities in the country—now have direct flight access to Taos rustic-chic upscale boutique with a wonderful western flair and
Ski Valley in northern New Mexico thanks to new scheduled thoughtful, environmentally sustainable touches—was named
public charter flights from Taos Air. The new charter service, in honor of the iconic Blake family that started the ski area in
owned by the ski area, launched in December with $399 1954, and eventually sold it to Louis Bacon, a noted conserva-
round-trip flights three days a week to Taos Regional Airport tion philanthropist, in 2013. Bacon has significantly invested
from executive jet terminals at Austin International Airport in Taos since the acquisition.
and Dallas-Love Field. “People are excited to get here, but it’s a tricky place to
The 2-hour flight from Austin and Dallas to Taos is get to, so access is key,” Norden said. “A private jet experience
a great alternative to the 11-hour drive from Dallas and at a very affordable commercial airline price helps eliminate
12-hour drive from Austin. Even getting from Santa that barrier.”
Fe Regional airport is a 2-hour drive to Taos—3 from This is especially true, given the dearth of available and
Albuquerque International Airport. frequent flights to Santa Fe. There are only two national

20 | NSAA JOURNAL | SPRING 2019