Email this article

Angel Fire, New Mexico

Clean mountain air and the simple life

By Erinn Morgan

Around Town

Rollin' Down into Taos

It may be peak foliage season, but there is still snow on the South Boundary trail as we take off from the trailhead at about 10,000 feet. We have been waiting for this moment - the start of an epic mountain bike journey from forest to desert, 22 miles, from Angel Fire down into Taos.

While many have said, “You'll never see another soul out there,” we run into a gaggle of other bikers within the first 25 minutes of climbing. They have come from all over - Texas, Salida, Albuquerque.

The initial climb tops out at buff singletrack that is covered with slushy snow crunched down by the many tires rolling this way before us. As we wind our way through the tight woods track, the Aspens begin their show; the glowing leaves are covered in snow. Wow.

The snowfields - and fir trees - are ornamented with bright yellow dots. “This is where we figured out where Christmas tree ornaments came from,” joked one Santa Fean in our shuttle van to the trailhead. “See the Spruce trees with all the colored leaves on them?”

With a solid smile plastered on our faces, we reach the Garcia Park waypoint for a food break and some lolling in the sun. Alas, the trail is too good to sit here for any length of time; we are off down a fire road in search of the next stretch of sweet singletrack.

All those who told us to take a map were right - the trail markings are scarce and we are glad to see even more people ahead to help guide us. With a little help from a variety of groups, we find the next trail connection. It boasts more snow and a glowing Aspen stand that made us stop and pay homage with wonder. The bonus was a view that spilled out into the Sangre de Cristo range and its valley floor.

Finally, the ride commenced with a challenging technical desert descent that required me to lower my seat in glee. We soon found the highway into town and rolled on down into Taos, past adobe homes and inns, art shops and into an enveloping, baking warmth courtesy of the New Mexican sun that melted the snow fields quickly from memory. Henceforth, we were belly up at Eske's Brew Pub with a green chile beer, eating green chile stew. When in Rome...

On Being Enchanted

The drive from Durango to this “Land of Enchantment” is both serene and jaw-dropping. The road winds out of Pagosa Springs and past the Rocky Mountain Wildlife Refuge down into New Mexico. We had the unusual visual bonus of fall foliage and snow-covered mountains, which the vistas were able to eek out in one breath. The meadows rolled out in a green-carpet splendor dotted with cows and horses. The sun licked the hilltops while the cloud cover shrouded the mountains in an ominous layer.

The first signs of civilization are in Chama, a town at 8,000 feet. It boasts a steam train but not much else. The road is smooth and easy all the way to the edge of the Carson National Forest; as we ascend into the mountains to cross this range near Broke Off Mountain the snow level becomes apparent.

The higher-elevation aspens are still green - some not having had a chance to reach their full autumnal potential - and covered with snow. The road becomes slushy then icy as we enter the cloud layer. We begin to descend, slowly, into a spectacular New Mexican sunset. The mountains above Taos are stunning, peaceful and covered in white icing.

We drive faster to attempt to catch the final act of the sun. Rounding the mountain back down from the snowline and into the meadows, we see it. The sky is purple. Truly.

This is a sight I have never seen before. It is later that we learn the town of Angel Fire received its name from American Indians because of its spectacular sundown show. I now see why.

Passive solar homes built into dirt dot the landscape just outside Taos; this is the impressively conscious Earthship community. Crossing the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge is surreal - the last bit of light revealing what appears to be a 650-foot drop down to a narrow snaking stream. The trip across is quick but impressive (if not unnerving), nonetheless.

Taos twinkles in the near distance. Pulling into town, the center is reminiscent of a quaint Spanish settlement, cobblestone streets and all. We head straight for the Apple Tree for dinner on a recommendation from a friend, but it is packed. We leave our name and head for the Alley Cantina, where an eclectic mix of patrons obviously add the flavor to this arty town. After margaritas, chips and guacamole, we head back to the café for delectable duck fajitas. Once sated, we embark up the winding, twisting hill to Angel Fire. The snow melting on the windshield as it touched down. Is it really September?

A Town for all Seasons

Home to the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup for the last few years, Angel Fire definitely draws people in for the biking - both for the downhill and cross-country tracks on the mountain and for the epic trails outside the ski resort boundaries. This sport will likely take on an even stronger appeal in coming years as Angel Fire Resort is planning a massive expansion to its trail network this summer.

userfiles/images//ANGELmtnbiker.jpgThe resort has developed a plan for its mountain bike park with Gravity Logic, the operations crew responsible for the Whistler Mountain bike park in British Columbia. That plan primarily focuses on skill building parks, dirt jump trails, greater accessibility for new riders and a supporting bike infrastructure at the base area, which translates to a better (and burlier) bike-rental fleet, expanded repair shop, armor and helmet rentals, instruction and guided tours, skills clinics and trail patrol.

Also in the works is an excavated dirt trail like Whistler's A-line, as well as North Shore-style trees trails. Gravity Logic will be creating an “easy way down” run similar to Easy Does It at Whistler. This would be an excavated top-to-bottom trail away from the blacks and double-blacks.

In addition, the existing on-mountain cross-country trail network will be almost doubled by reclaiming old trails, adding features and providing ongoing maintenance.

In the flip season, Angel Fire Resort (celebrating its 40th anniversary this year) is also making some major improvements to its ski terrain. New this year is the Lowrider Park, designed with lower rails and smaller features for developing skills for skiers and snowboarders before moving into the Big League at the Liberation Park, which features a 400-foot halfpipe. This is also the inaugural year for about four acres of glade skiing. This is a nice addition to the 9 acres located on the front side of the mountain. With a summit elevation of 10,677, a 2,000-foot vertical drop, two freestyle parks and fluffy New Mexico powder, the skiing and boarding here is definitely top-notch. - Erinn Morgan

With a meager populace of just more than 1,500 nestled in a beautiful valley high above Taos, N.M., Angel Fire is largely incestuous in nature - it remains stubbornly resistant to many outside influences. Sure, the tourists, skiers and mountain bikers come and go with the seasons, yet the local bakery, smokehouse and even the ski resort all exude the air of a place that modernity has not yet afflicted.

Some peg the population as a contentious group, debating over everything from education to land use. "This town is always arguing over something," says Tim Gaffney, a 17-year Angel Fire resident and owner of Van-Go shuttle services, which gives bikers and hikers a lift to their desired destinations.

Gaffney is shuttling us to the legendary South Boundary Trail, which begins above town and descends more than 20 miles into Taos on supremely tight, twisting singletrack. Today, the bar is raised as the foliage is peaking and the trail is snow-covered from an early fall storm.

"Sometimes I love this place and sometimes I hate it," says Gaffney, whose wife runs the local veterinary clinic. The two are deeply involved in the community, so he is unable to hold back about it. A recent bout with officials about a new high school in town has left him disillusioned - and shuttling his son down to Taos to school.

Still, he smiles and waves as a truck passes us on the four-wheel-drive road to the trailhead. "Hey, that's Simon!" he says. Gaffney is undeniably proud of this modest ski hamlet as Aspen it is not. He enthuses about the simplicity, the beauty and the access to the mountains, pointing out trails, lakes and even the more commercial golf courses and ski runs. "This is a great family mountain."

There are three others in the shuttle van besides us - guys from Santa Fe that have driven an hour up to Taos and taken a 45-minute shuttle drive to ride this epic trail. "They call it the Yellow Brick Road," one says, "because of all the aspen leaves on the trail. This is peak time to ride it because it's so beautiful."

Incorporated only 20 years ago, the town of Angel Fire sits in a wide, open meadow just under the eye of its namesake ski resort. It is a spread-out kind of place, a working man's town in a way (as is evidenced by the crowd at the Bakery, where the green chili is both homemade and divine). It is a place without the cache, charm or complications of its sister city down the hill.

Angel Fire is, in fact, the fastest-growing town in northeastern New Mexico, according to the state department of Taxation and Revenue. Perhaps it is, in part, because real estate is still a feasible endeavor here; or maybe it's the allure of clean mountain air and the simple life.

On the first pass through Angel Fire and the valley floor, we spy an oddly shaped, vaulting white building up on the hill that we cannot ignore. What is this bizarre structure? We head toward the enigma to reveal its identity. It is, strangely enough, a Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. Actually, it was conceived as a memorial for one young son of a doctor - a man who obviously dealt with his grief in a very visible yet productive way. The photos, the on-site chapel and the helicopter perched on its side are all very poignant. It was, in 1968, the first Vietnam Veteran's memorial to be raised. In 1987, President Ronald Reagan signed a proclamation that recognized the Memorial as one of national significance.

On this particularly crisp September weekend, downhill bikes dot the landscape of Angel Fire Resort - on cars, bobbing down the ski runs and attached to riders spinning down the resort's road. The occasion is the Final Descent downhill race, a non-points event that draws the beginners, pros and everyone in between for Angel Fire's legendary terrain. It is gnarly, to say the least. And today it is also wet, rutted and snowy.

What a pristine backdrop for such a sport. The weather has made things interesting for these riders, and carnage will be par for this course. "One guy broke his wrist; another went head-first into a rock garden," says a marshal positioned at one checkpoint along the A-rider course. "One girl flew down this hill and her bike went out from under her and she grabbed out to hug a tree to stop her fall."

Yet they all came despite the weather-induced perils, all 200 of them. From Dallas to Denver and everywhere in between - three Denver downhillers that missed the race registration deadline by a scant few minutes still planned to stay to ride on Sunday.

"This place is awesome," says one, who has hung a pair of muddy race goggles around his dog's neck. "We drive down here all the time through the Sand Dunes National Monument on a four-wheel-drive road."

The race includes two courses on which all riders slip and slide downhill through mud, ice and snow. These are expert trails in their own right - Mother Nature has raised the stakes today, which is sure to be a day of crashing, cursing and bravado.

Back in town there is not a downhiller to be found having breakfast at the Bakery, which doubles as the town's diner. A mother-and-daughter team work the busy floor, serving our grub with record speed. I have to ask: "Is this green chili homemade?"

"Yes, we still make it here," the mother sighs, as if the act were quite a chore. "It's green chili plus butter, flour, oil and salt." Only in New Mexico.

Interestingly, popular opinion has it that quality fuel in Angel Fire is a scarce commodity. When asked where to eat in town, some of the racers say, "In Taos."

We found quite the contrary at spots like the surprisingly sophisticated (albeit slightly pricey) Roasted Clove, which served up fine wines, the signature fresh crusty bread with oil and roasted garlic and a mouth-watering rib-eye crusted with mashed garlic. The java and breakfast hotspot for tourists and locals alike was Our Place, where organic fare and specialty brews hit the mark.

It is here, at the town's eateries, that we got a good dose of local flavor. The people of Angel Fire were generally welcoming and friendly with a small contingent that came across as brusque. The air of cultural insulation up here is evident but not prevalent. Outsiders are welcomed, but begrudgingly by some. Perhaps it is a result of years of catering to tourists in a small town where the only industries are construction, a few relocated software companies and tourism.

Still, Angel Fire and its environs have made a great and positive impact on us. We'll be back.

Erinn Morgan is a Durango-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in many magazines, including National Geographic Adventure, Bike, Skiing, Muscle & Fitness, and 5280. She is also a singletrack addict.