New skis for the 2023 season line the wall.

2023 Winter Gear Preview

What's New at Our Local Outfitters

- | 3 min read

BOOT UP!

Have you made the rounds at local outfitters to see what’s new and where the early season deals are? We did! Here’s our winter gear preview for 2023-24’s hardware and softwear highlights.

 

Cottam’s Ski Shop

A tuner works on a snowboard.

All season rentals. These are the key words at Cottam’s downtown Taos location with easy access on Paseo and a large parking area. From demo level quality to the more practical, ski and snowboard packages are available now and are hard to beat on value. You can find packages including mid-season tunings starting at $239.00. Reserve online now to save 20% on daily rentals. Additionally, this store also sells new skis, boards and equipment.

To keep you warm and dry on the slopes grab base layers from Under Amour, luxurious sets from Norwegian favorite Kari Traa and bibs from Northface. Don’t forget to check the clearance section – this location has some solid sale rack finds!

Bootdoctors

A man sits on platform to have ski boots fitted.

The prescription isn’t just for your feet at Taos Ski Valley’s custom footbed specialist. Find new lines from a wide range of Mips safety system helmets and eyewear to high end jackets, pants and bibs.

The new Smith 4D Mag with ChromaPop Everyday Rose Gold Mirror Lens takes ski goggle confidence to a new level. BirdsEye Vision clarifies what’s ahead and riders in your periphery, effectively increasing your field of view by 25%. Its MAG lens change system uses magnets for quick, easy lens changes for no fuss when things get gnar gnar.  Also, the shop is currently stacked with Helly Hansen, Flylow and Stio brand sets and the tune shop is open and turning them out.

Le Ski Mastery

The Veth family pose in their ski shop, Le Ski Mastery

Overnight ski tuning and mounts. Skis and Snowboards. State-of-the-art Montana stone grinding machine and 45 years of practical experience. Say what? Actions speak louder than words at this family-owned and independent small business for 33 seasons in Taos Ski Valley. Le Ski Mastery is known for taking care of this community and for its meticulous attention to detail and quality that the Veth family stands behind and takes very seriously! Surely you know their technical ski racing chops, but that’s exactly why all levels are welcome here.

New Smartwool base layer sets are true to their name in material and look. Tailored lines move with your body thanks to structured colorful stitching in materials that work hard to keep you warm. Meltingly soft sweaters patterned in classic Selbu rose from Alpaca Imports feel good inside and out supporting local Bolivian artisans.

Coupled with soft-as-fresh-powder mittens from Swany, an upstate NY performance glove maker dating back to the 1890s, you won’t feel winter’s chill. The mittens are made of warm and durable materials with an emphasis on natural fibers meeting modern textile technology. Mittens feature a unique zipper opening in the shell to an inner glove liner. Being able to take fingers out of the mitten and use them to use your cell, buckle bindings or zip a kid’s jacket is so useful.  Unzip on really warm spring skiing days or allow easy access to insert a warmer on the extra cold ones.

New ski gloves available at Le Ski Mastery.

TAOS Sports

This is your closest and most convenient rental and gear shop sitting at base of Lift 1. The Resort’s namesake is jam-packed with the most outerwear of all the outfitters we visited, in quantity, quality and variety of sizes in pretty much every brand you can think of, as well as a huge section of alpine streetwear from Howler Bros and Kuhl.

If you’re in a pinch for something like an extra GoPro mount, portable puppy bowl or novelty like TAOS-branded Hydroflask, vanity plate or trail sign, you don’t have to go far to find it! Goggle selection is paramount from Oakley and Smith. Also, it’s your only retailer to score Elan skis on-mountain, as well as other flagship brands like K2, Rossignol and Volkl.

 

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