New Mexico’s high frontier
Photo © Michael Holmquist, courtesy Taos Ski Valley

Roughly half of Taos' terrain is rated black diamond, and 19 of those 36 slopes are considered double black diamond. That makes for some supremely radical terrain. Even better, so the story goes, Ernie Blake, Taos' founding visionary, declined to construct a lift to the top of signature 12,481-foot Kachina Peak. "Americans are too lazy," Ernie reasoned. "The hike is good for them."

In Taos, as skiers make that calorie-burning, hour-long hike to the summit of Kachina, they often overlook the series of chutes that descend from the ridge along the way, known collectively as Highline Ridge. Long? No. Steep? Well, put simply, don't attempt this chute without the help of a guide or confident local. Cornices, trees, and rocks will eat up the foolhardy and unprepared.

Move on to Alta Chutes, Jackson Hole