The 2009 Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships at Taos, held from March 4 – 7, has sold out. The event has topped out at 130 athletes, with an additional 25 on a waiting list, praying for the chance to compete in New Mexico’s largest and most prestigious ski and snowboard event. The competitors will be chasing a $12,000 purse as well as the chance to qualify for Freeride World Tour events

“This thing has turned into a monster,” says says Taos’ Alejandro Blake, who reports that athletes from as far away as Europe are attending, bolstering an already stacked North American contingent and making this year’s field the most competitive in the history of the event.

“We thought long and hard about changing our status from North America’s premiere independent big-mountain event to a tour event,” adds Chief of Race, Tom Winter. “But joining forces with the Freeride World Tour (FWT) has worked out really well. It’s enhanced the international visibility of both Taos and the Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships, and we’re poised to welcome the world with the kind of southwestern hospitality that only Taos can offer.”

As a qualifying venue for the FWT, the Taos event will allow athletes to gain points and become eligible to compete in the FWT’s four showcase events: The Nissan Russian Adventure (Sochi, Russia), Nissan Tram Face (Squaw Valley, USA), Nissan Freeride de Tignes (Tignes, France) and Nissan Xtreme (Verbier, Switzerland). Taos also joins an elite group of venues, from Italy and Norway to Austria and Slovakia as a FWT Qualifying event.

To learn more about this event, make reservations or to see results from past competitions, please visit skitaos.org/freeride. To learn more about the Freeride World Tour, check out freerideworldtour.com. And stay tuned for special see and ski deals that will allow spectators to take advantage of discounted accommodations and skiing during the March 4 – 7 timeframe of the event.