If you are flying in from YYZ, I would recommend flying to YYC and heading up for two glorious days to Lake Louise. If Whistler & Blackcomb were considered as two separate mountains, Lake Louise would then be the largest ski mountain in North America. The lake will also be frozen & is quite a Winter Wonderland. The Rockies conditions are more powder than wet (which can be icy on the West Coast). Everyone thinks Whistler, but Banff & Lake Louise are just as easy to get to (if not easier with it's wide roads & easy/beautiful drive).

Happy skiing...and I loved Australia this year too!!! Everyone goes to Eastern Australia but Western Australia is absolutely breathtaking!!! Perth & down the coast....wine tasting, beautiful coastal towns, artisan neighborhoods...

alyeska
 

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.)

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9995348/

"The award-winning staff at “Ski Snowboard America and Canada” and skisnowboard.com have selected their list of “Early Season Best Bets” — a dozen resorts that will put a December smile on a snow lover’s face."


1. Alta/Snowbird, Utah
2. Grand Targhee/Jackson Hole, Wyoming
3. Steamboat, Colorado
4. Whistler/Blackcomb, British Columbia, Canada
5. Mammoth Mountain, California
6. Winter Park, Colorado
7. Fernie Mountain Resort, British Columbia, Canada
8. Lake Tahoe resorts, California and Nevada
9. Killington, Vermont
10. Sunday River, Maine
11. Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
12. Le Massif, Quebec, Canada

I can vouch for 1,2,3,4, and 9 for good Xmas week skiing. Any of the top 4 would be in my "Top 10 places to ski" list.