Snowboard at Copper Mountain, Colorado

Summit County's best-kept secret, Copper is a favorite of Colorado boarders. Arrayed across the face of Copper Peak are trails that progress from easy to thrilling to terrifying. This natural segregation of trails keeps rank beginners out of the way of overconfident intermediates and impatient experts.

For those who prefer solitude, there are the famed Copper Bowls, which feature treacherous steeps and plenty of fresh pow. Copper Bowl is a true backcountry experience that's now lift-served. Then there's the Spaulding Bowl at the top of the Storm King Poma ground lift—provided you can deal with a Poma. The chutes here funnel down to the quad-exhausting bumps of Resolution Bowl (or "Rezo," as locals refer to it). Three runs and you'll be heading for a beer to chase away the lactic acid. Extra added attraction: Beginning mid-February, a couple of no-charge (as in "free") 10-person snowcats carry powder prowlers to the top of Tucker Mountain daily from 10 to 1:30 on a first-come, first-served basis (weather permitting). Ride it fast 'cuz Tucker closes at 2 p.m.

If you dive into Far East, Too Much, Triple Treat or Formidable, you'll have quite the hike out if the Alpine double isn't running.

Parks and pipes
Copper is duly recognized as one of the top resorts for parks and pipes. The parks are groomed every night while the pipes are cut every other night. The 20-acre Catalyst Terrain Park (Copper's main park) is on the Loverly trail and has three lines, one for each ability level. No matter how skilled you are, you'll appreciate watching what everyone else has up their sleeves—thrills and spills are legion. Beginners have small kickers and rails here. Once you're confident in your landings, you'll find larger kickers and some jumps to up the challenge. As for the pros, go for as much air as you want on the shack jib, giant tabletops, hip features and an 8-foot wall ride set atop a 17-foot quarterpipe. The signature jump, The Shaft, is a 60-foot table. A section of rails includes a variety of flat, kinked and rainbow rails leading into the well-designed and maintained 430-foot-long superpipe with its 18-foot-high walls.

If you like showing off, Copper's Main Vein Superpipe sits just above the base of the American Eagle lift and within view of the deck at Jack's. You can also watch pipe competitions and events from that vantage point.

Playground Kidz Park is full of small kickers, rollers and tables that provide the perfect venue to master your skills before moving on to the larger beginner features in the Catalyst Terrain Park. The resort also has a 200-foot-long minipipe with 6-foot-high walls.