New Mexico's sky-high trails and historic towns captivate visitors

There have been a lot of attempts to conquer New Mexico since 1540, when the Spanish Conquistadors pillaged the deserts and mountains in search of the golden treasures of the Seven Cities of Cibola.

The native Pueblo Indians revolted in 1680, regained their lands briefly, but recapitulated to the Spanish and later Mexican settlers. The fledging United States took over for good in 1848, vanquishing Mexico and the Pueblo, Apache and Navajo nations. Today, the conquests are on New Mexico's fabled ski runs and trails. And the gold that eluded the Conquistadors is evident in sunrises and sunsets that bathe the majestic mountains, valleys and settlements with gilded splendor. A little more than an hour's drive from the Albuquerque gateway airport is the 400-year-old capital city of Santa Fe. At 7,000 feet above sea level, it's our oldest and highest U.S. capital, and it's just 16 miles from one of the state's premier mountains, Ski Santa Fe. Vistas on the drive up to the ski area showcase the region's natural and manmade beauty. The Pueblo adobe architecture is well represented in old and new homes. Their sensuous, earth-toned curves stand out in the snow against the backdrop of a 12,000-foot mountain range. At Ski Santa Fe, we immediately recognized a mountain that will challenge all levels of athlete. The main chairlifts, the Tesuque and Millennium triples, deposit skiers at a lofty 12,000 feet. These chairs access many of the advanced and expert runs, but also offer an intermediate skier the chance to sample the upper slopes.

From the Tesuque chair, most of the area's signature runs are accessible. On powder days, try the glade skiing at Tequila Sunrise and Easter Bowl, Big Rocks and Chile's Glades for more radical pitches and/or denser trees.

Skier's left will get you to the open, advanced runs of the North and South Burn, transitioning into wide-spaced tree runs and the groomed black-diamond Parachute run. Or head left a bit more to the glorious groomed blue run Gay Way, which offers stunning snowball-in-your-face scenery. This run is reminiscent of other western ridge runs at Sun Valley and Lake Tahoe, where skiers get the feeling they're hang-gliding.

Gay Way routes you by the terrain park and through the main beginner area of the resort, accessible by the Easy Street chair. On this side of the mountain, the Super Chief quad is probably the most versatile of the chairs, opening up all grades of terrain and allowing every skier level to ski down from its summit. After a great ski day, it's back down to the capital to sample the offerings. Santa Fe, one of our country's jewels, is a mecca for history, art (it's a UNESCO Creative City), cuisine and yes, opulent pampering. Explore the diminutive Plaza, the terminus of the famous Santa Fe Trail. Visit the Palace of the Governors-New Mexico History Museum, the U.S.'s oldest public building. In the museum, learn about, among other things, the occupation of the city by Confederate troops, outlaw Billy the Kid's stint as a La Fonda Hotel dishwasher, and the role that Santa Fe played in the Manhattan Project, the creation of the atomic bomb in nearby Los Alamos.

A $20 pass gains entrance to five of the major museums. Explore the shops and art galleries (there are six pages of galleries listed in the phone book!). Marvel at the St. Francis Cathedral, Loretto Chapel and the San Miguel Mission. Soak up the atmosphere and light that influenced painter Georgia O'Keefe, photographers Ansel Adams and Alfred Stieglitz, writer D.H. Lawrence and composer Igor Stravinsky. Hotels are plentiful and generally more expensive the closer they are to the Plaza. The historic La Fonda Hotel, built in 1922, is the most recent incarnation on a 400-year-old Plaza site and is, perhaps, the quintessential Santa Fe inn. It features the Plazuela, an enclosed central square surrounded by great little shops, beautiful art glass panels and a central dining area serving a devilish chipotle meat loaf. The Inn and Spa at Loretto features full-on spa services and a fine on-site restaurant, Luminaria. There are many great restaurants in town serving chiles-centric southwestern, Mexican and New Mexican cuisine. A few highlights include Maria's for chile stew and the place to be for margaritas; Tomasita's for traditional New Mexican; and the Five and Dime, née Woolworth's, the birthplace of the Frito Pie. This notorious concoction marries Fritos corn chips to red chile, cheddar, lettuce, jalapeños, sour cream and onions. Yum. Bidding adios to Santa Fe, we head northeast to the Enchanted Circle scenic byway and the historic town of Taos. A significant art center, Taos is the site of the 1,000-year-old Taos Pueblo, a still-functioning communal dwelling complex that is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The pueblo is well worth a visit, but beware: Photographing inside the grounds costs extra and comes with restrictions. Be careful to respect signs and privacy. Other sights to catch here include the Taos Plaza and art district, and historic homes of notable residents including frontiersman Kit Carson, the first governor Charles Bent and several artists.

Twenty miles up the road from Taos is the village of Taos Ski Valley, home of the Taos Ski Area. The spot is so remote, one wonders how it was discovered in the first place.

By air, that's how.

Before World War II, Swiss native Ernst Bloch came to America dreaming of starting a Rocky Mountain ski resort. A wartime stint in U.S. Army Intelligence interrupted his dream, but he returned with a new name, Ernie Blake, and began his quest for deep powder and steep terrain.

He found Taos Ski Valley while commuting by air to his two ski area jobs. He and his wife, Rhoda, set out to create a place there for themselves and their friends. Over the years, a small Alpine-style village sprang up in the little valley, and chairlifts were built to make it easier to access these foreboding mountains.

Less-than-accomplished skiers may gulp loudly as they stare up at Al's Run for the first time. But a strategically-placed sign tries to reassure; "Don't Panic! We have easy runs, too!" Expert skiing is Taos' cache, with more than half the runs so designated. Intermediate and beginner terrain splits the other half, but keep in mind that you should treat the "greens and blues" a notch higher, say double-blue or green, than what you're used to at other resorts.

The big action at Taos entails finding a knowledgeable local ski buddy, a ride up Chair 6, a check of your skills by the ski patrol and a 20-minute uphill hike to the Highline and West Basin Ridges.

Or continue on another hour to the top of dizzying Kachina Peak. From there, the reward is endless vistas, deep powder and the challenge of the steep and deep.

Back down to earth in lift-serviced land, there are plenty of advanced and expert runs, including some radical glade skiing, accessible from most chairs. Intermediates can find some nice runs off of Chairs 4, 7, and 8, with beginners accessing green terrain on chairs 6 to 7 and 8. There's also a terrain park off Chair 7. Novices can polish their skills at the base-area lifts before making the big move up-mountain. Beginners might need to suck it up at the end of the day down the two cat trails to the base, as accomplished and intimidating skiers whiz by. All of this challenge might be put to good use in Taos' excellent ski school or during its popular Ski-Weeks improvement programs. The area has a solid extreme-skiing reputation, but has tried to become more family friendly, too, says Adriana Blake, Ernie's granddaughter and the area's marketing director. One of the last U.S. holdouts, Taos finally allowed snowboarding two seasons ago.

"We did that to enable families to ski together and to acknowledge riding's popularity," Blake says. They've also added comprehensive children's programs and snow sports packages that include lodging, meals and instruction. Accommodations in the village run the gamut from spa-opulence to clean and basic. We stayed at the Alpine Suites, which was comfortable and convenient to the slopes. Some skiers also choose to stay down-country in Taos proper.

There are several dining choices in the village, among them the fine restaurants attached to the hotels St. Bernard, Edelweiss and the Inn at Snakedance in addition to Rhoda's, which has many New Mexican specialties. Try the chile dishes and don't forget the Frito Pie at Tim's Stray Dog.

Hitting the road back on our Enchanted Circle tour, we hit the old mining boomtown of Red River at dusk. It's a no-nonsense ski town now, no cutesy-cutesy frills, with a wide main drag lined with inns, restaurants, museums and ski shops, and chairlifts coming down to the highway in the middle of town.

The brochures note that 80 percent of the town's 6,000-bed base is within walking distance of the lifts. We stayed at the Riverside Lodge on Main, which was warm and cozy.

The ski area, which touts 85 percent snowmaking coverage and a two-side mountain layout, is fully accessed by either the downtown Copper or Red chairs. Big cruising is the forte of Red River. Advanced black runs, accounting for a third of the terrain, are concentrated on the front side of the hill as are the bulk of the intermediate trails. The Backside has most of the beginner runs, featuring nifty trails through the aspen forest and a stop to view the Moon Star mining camp replica. Three terrain parks entice snowboarders and adventurous skiers. For the Nordic ski crowd, an extensive cross-country trail system at the Enchanted Forest is just a few miles down the road.

At the base of the Red chair, stop in at the funky and friendly Lift House Bar and Grill for a nice lunch and the signature brew. Try The Timbers for its humongous chicken-fried steaks or Texas Red's for one of its famous T-bones. Another 29 miles up-canyon lands us in our last ski destination, the renovated and expanded Angel Fire Resort. New owners have built a country club center with golf, spa, and fine dining. We stayed at the Lodge, where some restorations were still underway. What was finished was tasteful and elegant, including the Caliente Grill, with its signature steaks, comfort food and desserts, and the intimate, romantically-lit En Fuego Wine Bar.

The mountain experience was a pleasant surprise. In addition to some of the best cruising runs of our trip, we had some of the best powder skiing down perfect-pitch gladed runs. The entire mountain is accessed via the high-speed quad, Chile Express. We found a lot of blue cruisers and easy beginner runs, with a smattering of short, black diamonds off this chair.

There are extraordinary views from the top of Summit Haus and from there you can slide over to Southwest Flyer and ski the runs or tear up the Liberation terrain park. Here you will find the powdered glades, lots of wide cruisers for blue and green alike. Or from the top of the Flyer, a short hike leads you to the more radical black diamonds: Nitro, Detonator and Baa-Da-Bing. Aren't done skiing when the sun goes down? For a $12 add-on to your day pass, you can schuss the only night-skiing hill in the state.

For another type of daytime and evening thrill, catch a ride down the fast Polar Coaster tubing hill at the ski area base.

When you're finally ready to pack it in and head home, ponder this: Did you conquer New Mexico?

Or did it conquer you?