Mount Hood, elevation 11,249 feet, is an inverted catch basin for Pacific storms trying to cruise over the Cascades. It offers four different ski areas around its base, but among these the east-facing Mt. Hood Meadows is the finest. It's one of those rare resorts that skiers from elsewhere discover and then describe to friends back home as a "skiers' mountain."

A resort needs a number of "plenties" to qualify as a skier's mountain: plenty of snow for a long season, plenty of naturally rugged terrain to challenge the experts for days at a time, and plenty of attitude to support skiers and snowboarders in their search for new limits. Mt. Hood Meadows, the largest day hill in the country, obliges on all counts. The resort boasts 35 feet of snow each season, features steep-pitched Heather Canyon for tons of backcountry excitement, and is run with laid-back small-mountain hospitality despite the variety it has to offer.

Over three-quarters of the marked trails at Meadows require intermediate through expert abilities to ski. But beginners can't go wrong on any of the three chair lifts south of the main lodge. Night skiing (until 9 or 10 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday) is in the vicinity of the main lodge, served by five chair lifts.