Small Western Ski areas you would like to go

I have been to a lot of ski areas out west and I always like the small areas that are often overlooked - Bridger Bowl is a prime example. There are others that are so out of the way we tend to not consider them. I loved the report on Sundance. It has been on my list but always passed by for the familiar Alta/Bird. Red Lodge Mt is one that is on my list of got to go to before I can't make any more turns. Other interesting spots include:
Sunlight Mt Co.
Wolf Creek Co.
Brundage Id.
Teton Pass, Mt.
Diamond Peak, Nv.

I would really like a list of small ski areas that if one were to plan a western road trip, they would save a day or three to explore - and of course, a first hand experience.

I find it remarkable that many of these gems offer a $50 or less day ticket and crowd free slopes with many an untracked run on a powder day and yet we complain about crowds and high priced lift tickets.

Do you want glits or glory?

Monarch and Wolf Creek, CO
Lots of places around Tahoe: Mt. Rose, Homewood, etc.
Mt. Eyak, AK
Snow King, WY
Mount Hood Meadows, OR (might be too big to qualify)
Ski Apache, NM

I've been lucky to so many but given my recent high altitude issues I'm going to focus North of the boarder which is lower elevation to answer this

I've done Whistler, Fernie (a must try that many people haven't even heard of) Lake Louise, Sunshine (a true misnomer as its never sunny there).  I want to do the interior BC.  
Silver Star
Panorama
Kicking Horse
Not sure you could really call any of these small but off the beaten track yes.

You think people haven't heard of Fernie? Okaaaayyyy....

Matt-Chuck,

Expand the Westvibe; Ski the East that you haven't skied, if there's any left.  

Hang on.  How 'bout Black Mountain, Jackson, NH, or Yawgoo in "You Must Be Kidding", RI.

That being said, Powder Mountain in Utah is Hickory on HGH, not counting the Catskiing,

Mount Norquay in Banff, AB would be a nice neighborhood hill to play with the kids after schooling them at Sunshine.

Ski You & Ace Soon.

I would put Fernie & Whistler on the "big" side not the small area side.
So how to define "bigness", maybe it's an overdeveloped base area and a plethora of lifts or a lot of people. That's for you to decide.
To me - Whistler is big, Powder Mtn is medium and Snowbasin - although enormous seems small because there is almost no base area and no crowds.

Those small Canadian areas look interesting, but small high elevation areas like Cooper with a base elevation of 10,500 look really interesting.  Some of these areas may not get the 400+" of snow others get, but they don't need it either as they have much less traffic. Areas like Powderhorn Co which have access to backcountry look very cool. I have passed many of these up in my quest for Big Mountain adventures. I also have to confess, other than the Tahoe big boys, I don't have much experience with the far western resorts.

Z- you have a passion for Targhee, thought that you would have mentioned it. Although I am fishing for small areas I have never heard of (some have been mentioned already in this thread), I am also interested in some first hand accounts.

Wolf Creek, Silverton, Grand Targee, that little place in Oregon that Kirby and Martha skied when they did their hut to hut thing and that little place that sits right over the city of Vancouver...I've seen it from the city but would like to see the city while skiing from above.

 
Shames Mtn...enough said...

Red.

+1 for Shames. That place looks so sick.
-Mount Cain BC.
-Lee Canyon NV.
-Santa Fe NM.
-Eaglecrest AK.

There are a bunch of places in Oregon and Washington.

64ER wrote

Matt-Chuck,

Expand the Westvibe; Ski the East that you haven't skied, if there's any left.  

Hang on.  How 'bout Black Mountain, Jackson, NH, or Yawgoo in "You Must Be Kidding", RI.

That being said, Powder Mountain in Utah is Hickory on HGH, not counting the Catskiing,

Mount Norquay in Banff, AB would be a nice neighborhood hill to play with the kids after schooling them at Sunshine.

Ski You & Ace Soon.

Mount Greylock Ski Club? http://www.mtgreylockskiclub.com/

Some of my favorites with TR/mag links -- many are more notable for aesthetics (scenery, old-school atmosphere, feels like a private mountain) than for ball-busting terrain, but all are worth checking out if you're nearby.

Monarch, CO
Snow King, WY
Pajarito, NM
Sipapu, NM
Red River, NM
Santa Fe, NM
49 Degrees North, WA
Mount Spokane, WA
Lookout Pass, ID/WA
Sundance, UT
Brian Head, UT
Norquay, AB

I just drove by Monarch on my way to Steamboat from Crested Butte. There is an awful lot of snow up there. A lot. When Colorado has a good year, which they are, Monarch is deep. Not an easy place to ski, though, because there is no lodging at the base, and you have to drive a steep pass every day to get there, along with trucks.

Benny Profane wrote

I just drove by Monarch on my way to Steamboat from Crested Butte.

You drove by Monarch in a big snow year and didn't stop? Your AARP ass is crazy.

I'm on a schedule here. Very cheap room with a bud in Steamboat, and it looks good up here, too. Next stop, SLC.

Pebble Creek, ID
Turner Mountain, MT
Apex Montain, BC
White Water, BC

All are have verts around 2k with very small footprints.

Lost Trail Powder Mountain, Mt. = They get a lot more snow than the rest of Montana. Better terrain than most small ski areas. Cheap. The only people in the liftline are kids from the local grade school in blue jeans with their parents old skis. And friendly enviroment.

Red Lodge, Mt. = " Rock Dodge." They rarely get decent conditions. The Beartooth Pass is fun in the Spring time. Like Tuckermans except you can drive to the top.

Teton Pass / Turners / Lookout / Maverick / Snowbowl = Boring

Discovery = " Disco " ... Small Jackson Hole. Moguls are King there and it is steep. Cheap.

Castle Mt, Alberta. = About an hour from Fernie. Fernie is actually huge but Castle is small with huge vertical ( 3100' ) . No liftlines. Friendly. You can buy a bag within 30 minutes. Very steep. Check out their trail map. The trails never intersect. On the BC / Alberta border. Really cheap to ski and stay. Besides Big Sky it is my favorite.

The Entire Nelson, BC region = Red is probably my favorite. Most of these areas require some hiking to get to the goods. The goods are good if you don't mind the walk.

Bridger Bowl, Mt = Crowded. To get to anything worth skiing you need to hike with most of Montana State University and stand in long liftlines. Good skiing if you can hit it right but it's just moments away from Bozeman and everyone in that city knows when the skiing is right. 500 Subarus get turned back every powder day when the parking lot fills up at 7:30 AM.

Mt Baldy.... Just add lots of snow.