Located just 15 minutes west of Vail, many locals prefer Beaver Creek to Vail because it’s significantly less crowded and, with the help of prevailing westerly winds, the snow conditions are almost always better. Don’t miss these greatest hits:

For corduroy cowboys: You probably don’t want to start the day with Centennial, which at 2.75 miles long, runs from the top of Cinch Express (Chair 8) down to the base area, but if you like to cruise and carve, it’s a beaut! If you park at Arrowhead (and score one of the limited spaces at the resort’s only free lot—another local secret) and ride Arrow Bahn Express (Chair 17), don’t miss swinging down Cresta at least once. Carving wide, sweeping turns through a hall of aspens with the valley spread out far below, you get the sense that you’re the only one on the mountain; it’s a day maker.

For bumpers: Mogul lovers head straight to Grouse Mountain, where every run offers the chance of finding a perfect line. Screech Owl (exit left off Grouse Mountain Express/Chair 10) has the double whammy of a super funky fall line and big bumps. Make it through the first steep pitch, and you’re rewarded with a flat mogul field where you can push speed and work on technique—right before the bottom drops out again. If you want more, test your endurance on Bald Eagle, which is one of the longest double-black mogul runs in Colorado. Have a snack first because It. Doesn’t. Let. Up.

For hotdoggers: Grouse Mountain also is your ticket to the Royal Elk Glades, heavily treed runs skirting the western ski area boundary that open up into powder fields before being swallowed up again. The runs rarely get skied out and, although short, because they’re easy to lap again and again. On the other side of the mountain, a ride up Red Buffalo Express (Chair 5) gives you access to the gate leading to Upper Stone Creek Chutes. This in-bounds, experts-only extreme terrain, with cliff bands and steep drops, skis like the best of the backcountry.

For powderhounds: Beaver Creek has two bowls, which are exactly where you want to be on a powder day. Access Larkspur’s just-right-grade via Larkspur Express (Chair 11), where you’ll get face shots all day long but never pick up too much speed. (The short bump runs on skier’s right are also a blast in deep snow.) Rose Bowl (skier’s right just off Centennial Express/Chair 6) might be small, but it’s a warm-up (via the Rose Bowl Express/Chair 4) for a trio of black-diamond runs: Web, Spider, and Cataract, which all hold their snow for days before becoming some of the most prolific mogul fields on the mountain.