photo: Skye ChalmersAcres: 632 | Vertical: 2,200 | Snowfall: 200 | Web: okemo.com

"There aren't many ski towns on the East Coast where you can actually see the hill from town and vice versa," says Mountain ski tester Greg Peruzzi. "And Ludlow is a classic old-school Vermont ski town." In the early '80s, the resort invested heavily in guest services and snow quality above all else-and revolutionized the ski business. You can count on edgeable corduroy here even when the weather doesn't cooperate. This winter Okemo adds 15 new snow guns and invests $125,000 in its Nordic and alpine rental gear. And the constantly evolving terrain park and halfpipe continues to draw the East's best freeskiers. But the guest-first attitude won't change. "They ramped up the snowmaking and grooming again," says Peruzzi, who tunes skis at the Totem Pole Ski Shop in Ludlow. "People around here will let management know if there's a lone death cookie loose on the hill. Time it right and you can have a nice sleeper pow day here, too."

From the Early Winter 2012 issue