If you’ve been thinking about competing against the world’s best, at New Mexico’s largest and most prestigious skiing and snowboarding event, the time has come to pull the trigger. The 2010 Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships at Taos is nearly full, conditions are buff and the mountain is blanketed with a deep base. The battle goes down next week from March 10 – 13th.

With a talent-packed field featuring athletes from around the globe, now is the time to test yourself against the mountain and some of the best skiers and snowboarders on the planet. As Warren Miller sagely stated, “if you don’t do it this year, you’ll only be one year older when you do.”

The Taos comp draws athletes from everywhere – both because Taos is sick and because they are dangling a $12,000 purse. The event is a Freeride World Qualifier (FWQ) event, allowing athletes to gain entry to the Freeride World Tour’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 FWQ venue.

Not 100% sold yet? Check out this vid from last year:

If you more on the stealth tip and would rather watch the comp and slay some pow next week, Taos is offering some sweet spectator deals to the tune of $14 off of daily lift tickets, one free night of accommodation after purchase of two nights during the event and discounts up to 30% off at many lodging properties. For a complete overview of prices, options and discounts, please visit SkiTaos.org and review the options by following the link to the freeride event and then clicking on “lodging”. You can also call 866-250-7313 to talk to a real live Taosian.

For complete beta on 2010 Salomon Extreme Freeride Championships at Taos, hit up SkiTaos.org. To learn more about the Freeride World Tour, check out FreerideWorldTour.com.

See you in the Land of Enchantment next week!