ANNUAL SNOWFALL: 400 INCHES
THE EXPERT: CHRIS DAVENPORT, 38, PROFESSIONAL BIG-MOUNTAIN SKIER
At Silverton you've got to carry a shovel and probe and make good decisions. In return, you get 100 percent off-piste skiing: powder. You might only get five runs in, but you'll be exhausted. Which is good when you gather in the tent that passes for a base lodge at the end of the day for a beer. It's a throwback to the forties, when ski areas just had the lift and a warming hut. No frills. I've always said Silverton is like a heli-ski operation with a chairlift. HOT TIP Stay at the Grand Imperial Hotel (doubles from $79; grandimperial-hotel.com), on Greene Street. After dinner, hit the Miner's Tavern. The mines may have closed, but this place is still the same.