try alyeksa resort in Girdwood. Half hour south of Anchorage. GREAT powder. We're going to be snagging snow here within the next couple of weeks and it should be ski time by the first of November.

The elevation change is actually close to 2500ft. The base is only a couple hundred feet above sea level (the Turnagain Arm of the Cook Inlet.) And, yes, you can see the water many times. There are glaciers nearby, the resort is amazing, the mountains are phenomenal.

www.alyeskaresort.com

Of course, I'm an Alaskan, so I'll push for my snow over any other any day. (Although I do love Breckenridge.)