After years of resistance, Taos Ski Valley finally opened to snowboarders on Wednesday.

The facility has been planning for the shift for months to accommodate what it anticipated would be overflow crowds. Tickets for the snowboarding opening, which staff at the resort have referred to as "the day hell freezes over," went on sale on Tuesday.

Founded more than 50 years ago, Taos has steadfastly refused to allow snowboarding. A blog on the decision by the Blake family, which owns the resort, said it seemed like the right time to change that tradition.

"Taos Ski Valley has a long-standing tradition of being family-oriented, and now with so many young people snowboarding, we are turning away more and more families, particularly families that traditionally come to Taos," the blog states. "Opening to snowboarding allows us to refocus on being a family-oriented mountain."

The blog also notes that as Taos Ski Valley began to consider expansion and its base area redevelopment plan, it would have to give the snowboarding question "real consideration."

Celebrating the new era, plans include an evening event on March 22 that is slope-style exhibition featuring top pro and regional skiers and snowboarders. A slope-style event is a judged competition where one rider at a time goes through a series of jumps and other obstacles, performing tricks along the way. There will be Spring Break tubing and a performance by Big Sam's Funky Nation from New Orleans on March 19 and a birthday bash celebrating the late founder Ernie Blake with fireworks and a torchlight parade.