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Getting to the steeps in the East Ridge area of Sunlight Mountain has meant a long traverse in and a long traverse out, but a plan under review includes a chairlift to eliminate all that cross-hill travel.

Robert Redford's Sundance Mountain Resort maybe just an hour south of its well-known neighbors in Utah's Wasatch Range -- on a clear day you can see the top of Snowbird -- but it feels like you have traveled decades away. Tucked up a steep, tight canyon east of Provo, the resort opened it in 1969 -- and it doesn't seem like much has changed since then.

So, all you want is deep pow', first tracks and freshies all day. You're not interested in checking the grooming report for morning corduroy. Only snowboards or fat-boy skis on board. And hiking is the best way up. If this is you, then Silverton Mountain and Powder Mountain await your arrival.

A district court in Placer County has dismissed a lawsuit aimed to block construction of a gondola between California sister resorts Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows -- paving the way for the project to be built.

Though less than an hour from the glitz and glamor of South Lake Tahoe, Kirkwood Mountain Resort couldn’t be more different.

What do families want out of a resort? Parking near slopes, ski-in ski-out lodging, efficient signup for lessons, plenty of wide, moderate trails for the whole family, and lots of entertainment.

Sometimes, you just have to get away from all the hustle and bustle of city-suburban life. That place just might be Mount Shasta in northern California.

We are all guilty of obsessing about "powder days" in the Colorado Rockies. But, truth be told, between big-pow' storms, there are more "mogul days" than anything else.

Local hill Sleeping Giant will shut off its two ski lifts at the end of this season, as the non-profit that runs the ski and snowboard mountain can't make ends meet for winter operations.

Monarch Mountain has been a locals' mountain since the first rope tow in 1939 -- grabbing consistently light powder snow from its 11,900-foot perch atop the Continental Divide. Not the largest (800 acres and five lifts) or longest (1,000 vertical), but Monarch has a down-home, fixed-grip character unlike its bigger Colorado neighbors to the north and west.

Anyone who hears the words "Colorado" and "powder" in the same sentence best expects "Wolf Creek" to follow closely behind.

Turning skiers and riders away from a resort on a powder day is not what resorts want to do but, in the case of Crystal Mountain, there was not a choice.

Taos Ski Valley is a skier's mountain. Not for the faint of heart. It can match steeps with any in the Rockies. And, if storms course far enough south, it's a dry powder snow-pocket nonpareil. Six years of new ownership has smartly overhauled the lifts and base areas of this venerable original-family resort, including high-end hotel The Blake and chairlift to the top of Kachina Peak.

Taking a helicopter to find untouched powder isn't only for skiers and riders in Alaska or Canada: Plenty of runs can be had in the Lower 48, too.

A much-anticipated expansion project on the north edge of Sun Valley is set to get underway this summer.

Once there was a time when you reached age 60, you'd skied for free. Then you had to be 70. And now, at a half-dozen Western resorts, 80 is the new 60.

This season, Solitude Mountain decided that all who drive up to the Utah resort will pay for parking -- prompting an industry-wide look at overcrowded lots, traffic jams and public transport options on the way to the hill.

In most seasons, the Pacific Northwest can claim the most snow in the country -- and the heaviest powder. So, skiers and riders who head up to the Cascades know they have to work a bit harder to carve up the freshies.

Action-sports company Woodward began with summer camps in the East but now is firmly established in the Rockies and the Sierra for adventurous skiers and snowboarders ready to up their game.

With greater purpose than ever, the "Winter Park Express" fires up for another season Jan. 10, adding all Fridays to its daily service from Denver to the slopes and trail of Winter Park, and back.