Crystal Mountain Resort Washington

Just 90 minutes (122km) from Seattle, this is Washington State's only real destination ski area, set in the picturesque Mount Rainier National Park. With an above-average snow record (865cm) and more than 50 major trails, there's plenty of skiing and snowboarding crammed into 3,000 vertical feet – with some unusually good off-piste. This includes genuinely 'steep-and-deep' terrain spread across challenging glades, chutes and bowls on the resort's back-country slopes. These open at the ski-patrol's discretion and attract hard-core skiers from all across the state. Crystal claims that 30% of its trails are in the black diamond (difficult) category.