The well-designed Keystone Resort, now owned by the same people who run Vail, is an easy 74 miles from the Colorado state capital. Car rental is unnecessary; you can get to Keystone by airport bus and then use the free shuttles that connect the scattered condos and hotels with the various lifts. The Keystone gondola is at the River Run Plaza. There are handsome base facilities: benches to buckle your boots, open-air barbecues, complimentary ski checking, and even free Kleenex to wipe a runny nose.

Loveland Basin is a treat at daybreak. The Continental Divide is a dark blue silhouette that slowly dissolves into angles and arches. Many visiting skiers from the Alps and countless Americans who appreciate stunning vistas along with their ski instruction come here to ski.

Family-oriented environmental center located in the Hallam Lake Nature Preserve in town. Offers a worthwhile introduction to the great outdoors without actually having to traipse through the backcountry. There's a self-guided nature trail that winds through the preserve's 25 actres, with good opportunities for bird-watching along the way. Resident birds here include such birds of prey as screech owls and golden eagles. Also at the visitor center is a well-stocked indoor trout stream.

Copper Mountain is all-American, with wide open spaces between the condos. You can pit your physique against long descents and steep faces, or ease down the intermediate runs. The area is famous for its separate facilities for expert and adventurous skiers; intermediates have their own runs. Wherever you are on Copper Mountain, you can see I-70.

The Copper Mountain ski terrain swoops from a base elevation of 9,600 feet to summits at 12,050 feet; there are runs suited for all skiing skills and every type of skier.

Snow became the white gold when Breckenridge turned into a winter-sports mecca. In addition to a terrain exclusively for snowboarders, Breckenridge has 1,915 snowboardable acres. For the extreme snowboarder, it offers the above-timberline steeps and deeps of Peak 7, and the immense bowls on Peak 8. Peak 9 has long, groomed runs for carving the perfect snowboard turn and Peak 10 offers the challenge of bumps and trees. Moreover, snowboarders’ lift tickets are also good at Arapahoe Basin and Keystone.

West of Truckee; 1/2 mile from I-80, off old Highway 40. 65 kilometers of groomed trails; tours, lessons, rentals, lodge.

1651 Squaw Valley Loop, Squaw Valley. 18 kilometers of groomed trails.

Off Highway 50 east, 1 mile north of junction of Highway 50 and 28, at Spooner Summit. 101 kilometers of trails; lodge, snack bar.

A mile from I-80, at the Soda Springs exit. 320 kilometers of groomed trails; tour, lessons, rentals, lodge, and a restaurant.