[J.A.Sucker]

Steamboat has changed quite a bit recently because of ownership deals. So has Jackson Hole. I don't think you can get anything in town for what you guys want to pay. Steamboat is a cool town and the skiing is off the hook, but it's really remote. Also, it's at lower elevation so the season is about a month shorter than most other places in CO (i.e. Vail, Breck, Copper, etc).

Jackson has really gotten yuppified and therefore isn't what it once was. It's also beyond the middle of nowhere and it gets COOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLDDDD there. Really cold. There's a joke about the Wyoming Windsock and it's a cannonball on a chain hanging from a tripod. There's more than some truth to that joke.

Tahoe is great and all and gets lots of snow (a lot more than Colorado does), but the snow quality is much more variable. I grew up skiing in Colorado and it's not nearly as good here in California. While you do get those epic powder days, the snow pretty much sucks a day or two later. The skiing is significantly better in Colorado.

I'd look at Breckenridge if I were you. The mountain has plenty of great terrain, the skiing is consistent, and real estate prices are still fair (and will likely go up). The town has lots of real locals spots that are lots of fun and it's less than an hour and a half from the airport. Weather is never an issue on getting up there, either, unlike California. The ski season is very long, with the best skiing starting in March, peaking in early April, and rolling on until they close (which is usually the first weekend in May, when they close because the help goes to Durango to go whitewater rafting). Then you can hit A-Basin and ski/BBQ/party until June or so.

My two cents.

FWIW: Utah would be at the top of this list, but the Mormons managed to take over the most perfect place on Earth, so too bad. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]