When it was just a bunch of guys sneaking off to ski, we'd hit local spots like Taos, Crested Butte, Breckenridge, Wolf Creek, etc. Smallish, fun mountains we could drive to with at least a few decent black areas. We'd run wild until someone broke a leg or we ran out of money. The pinnacle of this era was a week in Whistler, BC. Blackcomb has to be my favorite mountain ever.
Now I'm in Phase II of my skiing evolution. We all have wives/girlfriends now, so quaint little ski areas no longer cut it. Wolf Creek is too darned cold (though Pagosa Springs has some beautiful hot springs). Taos and Crested Butte are too darned difficult. The closest girlfriend-friendly area is Purgatory (Durango Mountain Resort)--wide, gentle, boring groomed slopes, cozy suites with private hottubs in the Village hotel, and good food and (some) dancing in Durango. Acceptable resorts are Tahoe, Mammoth, Vail, Aspen, Snowmass, Telluride, Deer Valley, etc. I'm not sure I remember what "shredding" is. Now I receive compliments on how perfectly parallel I keep my skis rather than how I stick a landing after a 20 foot freefall from the cornice and tear down the mountain like a surfer on a tsunami.
