The 2010 Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships at Taos will be held from March 10 – 13. This premiere big-mountain event is New Mexico’s largest and most prestigious ski and snowboard competition. Last year athletes from around the globe descended on Taos Ski Valley to test themselves against the resort’s famed steeps and chase a $12,000 purse. This year the world again returns to Taos in March for the sixth installment of this venerable competition.

Again for 2010, the Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships at Taos is a Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) event. 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 Chamonix (Chamonix, 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.

“With athletes from as far away as Japan and France participating,” says Taos’ Alejandro Blake, “ we have a truly global field.”

“But that doesn’t mean that they’ll walk away with a win here,” adds Blake. “We’ve seen local athletes do very well here and they’ll be looking to uphold local pride at the 2010 edition of this event. I’m excited and our team at Taos is excited to host this event again in 2010.”

“There’s no doubt that this is the largest and most prestigious event in New Mexico and it has also become one of the most important events on the freeride circuit in North America,” says Chief of Race, Tom Winter. “Our partnership with the Freeride World Tour has allowed us to create an event of global significance and we expect this year’s field to showcase some of the top athletes in the world when it comes to skiing and snowboarding.”

To learn more about this event, make reservations or to see results from past competitions, please visit skitaos.org. To learn more about the Freeride World Tour, check out Freeride World Tour. And stay tuned to skitaos.org for special see and ski deals that will allow spectators to take advantage of discounted accommodations and skiing during the March 10 – 13 timeframe of the event.