Red River Ski Vacations - Ski Town of the Southwest by Mike Singh.

Called the "Ski Town of the Southwest", Red River Ski Resort lies on Black Mountain, rising directly above the town of Red River, New Mexico. The historical town of Red River itself has an altitude of 8,750 feet, while Black Mountain has an altitude of 10,350 feet and a vertical drop of 1,601 feet.

The resort offers six chair lifts and one surface lift, with 58 trails divided equally on 290 acres of skiable areas for skiers and snowboarders, with 32% beginners, 38% intermediates, and 30% experts. With an annual snowfall of 252 inches, the snow is 85% man made. With a ski school, group and private lessons available, even if you've never skied before, you will quickly be on the slopes after your first lessons. There are even lessons for snowboarders, who are welcome on the Red River slopes. You can rent all of your ski and snowboarding equipment for very reasonable rates.

Taos Ski Valley (TSV) opens to snowboarders. After years of pressure, Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico has finally given in to the demands of snowboarders. Beginning on March 19, 2008, Taos will officially begin a new era by opening the resort up to snowboarders.

This really is only the last 2 or 3 weeks of the season so skiers can enjoy a few more months of skiing freedom.

With Taos dropping the snowboarding ban, there are only 3 U.S. resorts that still keep boarders from their slopes: Alta (Utah), Deer Valley (Utah) and Mad River Glen (Vermont). Alta and Deer Valley are highly unlikely to open up to the boarders anytime in the foreseeable future.

This helmet-cam video (2min 58sec) of Skiing Big Powder at Taos Ski Valley, New Mexico shows just how much fun and excitement is available on our downhill ski trails. Northern New Mexico has some of the best skiing to be found in the United States, and Taos has long been legendary for its steeps and deep powder. Fifty-one percent of Taos' runs are rated expert, and half of the expert runs are double-black diamonds. Intermediates will have a field day with great steep cruising.

Beginners are limited or challenged, depending on how one looks at the terrain. But first-timers have a surprisingly good isolated area to learn. Rise up to meet Taos' challenge. If you normally ski blue runs at other resorts, you can ski Taos. It may be tough at first, but persist — you'll catch on. Taos can be an extremely rewarding ski experience because of its challenge.