10 Underrated North American Ski Resorts

Vail. Breck. Aspen. Park City. Tahoe. These are all well known and established names in the ski world, surely on the bucket-list of skiers and snowboarders around the globe. But let's not forget that there are hundreds of ski areas in North America, many flying under the radar for lack of name recognition or remote location. Here are ten underrated ski areas to consider.

An hour and a half north of Santa Fe is Taos Ski Area, which has kept its cool due to its location far away from a major population center and, frankly, because New Mexico is not often talked about in serious ski circles. But, a visit will change that perception.

Kachina Peak reaches 12,481 ft above sea level for expert, adventurous terrain, and Taos fills its groomers, glades and moguls with a light, fluffy, dry snow. A recent $300 million investment has things looking sharp, but hasn't "messed with the magic" of Taos, according to Taos chief executive David Norden, referring to its small numbers and strong local vibes.

Home to Taos Pueblo, a World Heritage Site, the town of Taos itself is considered an "art colony" with strong southwest culture.

Located a half-hour from Salida, along the Continental Divide in the Sawatch Range and away from the buzz of the I-70 Colorado resorts, most people outside the state have never heard of Monarch. After a visit, you won't forget it.

Monarch receives a whopping 350 inches of snow a year, filling up alpine bowls, long tree runs, and a lot of intermediate groomed runs. It offers one of the most novel deals in the state in what it calls the "Migration Ticket"-if you show up with a season pass from another resort, you get a discounted daily lift ticket for just $57.

Salida as a town is no slouch, either, boasting the beautiful Arkansas River and a surprisingly large downtown area. It's also home to four hot springs: Cottonwood, Joyful Journey, Valley View, and Mount Princeton.

Speaking of the I-70 Colorado buzz, Copper is one of those mountains that, if it were located anywhere else, would probably gain more attention.

But because it's surrounded by big names-Vail and Breck-and competes with a handful of nearby local favorites-like Winter Park, Abasin and Keystone-Copper kind of finds itself lost in the marketing game.

Copper's open bowls and cat-skiing terrain will make advance skiers happy, and an ongoing $100 million renovation includes a new lift and mid-mountain lodge for the 21-22 season.

Kicking Horse Mountain rises high above the town of Golden in British Columbia. With a population less than 4,000, it carries a sleepy vibe, but on the mountain, it shines as the region's king of side-country terrain.

The two main peaks are T1 and T2, each with a bit of in-bounds, hike-to bowl terrain. Past T2 are fields of well-spaced trees, in an area locally referred to as "Hookers and Blow." With a name like that, I don't see how you couldn't be curious.

Though sleepy at times, there is still plenty of entertainment in Golden-Whitetooth Brewing and The Wolf Den, for example. Just don't expect the hustle of Banff because, after all, crowds are not what Kicking Horse does.

If skiing in Alaska doesn't sound cool, then you're probably reading the wrong article.

But, so much focus is placed on Alaska as a summer destination that the possibility of winter sports gets lost. Located outside of Anchorage, Alyeska has a reputation for steep terrain, lots of snow and killer views of the Chugach Mountains.

Small in elevation, not even 4,000 feet above sea level, altitude is not an issue for travelers (at least compared to Colorado and Utah!), making it a nice mountain for all abilities.

Bridger Bowl is a half-hour outside of Bozeman, all but completely off the radar in the middle of Montana. You will get a big mountain feel on its slopes, with 2,700 feet of vertical (advanced riders will enjoy the 20-minute hike to the chutes and powder fields of "The Ridge").

There's a strong local vibe and a lack of crowds, as well as some very good bargains: lift and lodging packages starting at only $99 per night. Bridger Bowl is unique in that it operates as a non-profit.

Grand Targhee sits on the border of Idaho and Wyoming. It splits its terrain nearly equally across beginner, intermediate and expert, all three getting a bit more than 30 percent of the share.

Though you've probably never heard of it, the place gets absolutely slammed with snow, typically more than 500 inches a year, with a long season that starts in mid-November.

The ski area is located between two tall peaks, Fred's Mountain (9,862 feet) and Peaked Mountain (9,830 feet), which present great vantage points and the option for steep, high-alpine terrain.

Mt. Bachelor in Oregon is a stunning, symmetrical stratovolcano that has stayed under the radar because it carries quite the intimidation factor-more than 50 percent of its terrain is considered advanced or expert, weeding out families and casual skiers.

Plus, it's massive, second in size only to Vail, with more than 100 runs and 4,300 skiable acres, allowing everyone to spread out and find their own space. The ski season is also noticeably long, one of the longest in the nation, starting in mid-November and sometimes going into mid-May, so there's less pressure to ski on the busy holidays and weekends.

Thanks to a dry climate, you get many "blue-bird" days on Mt. Bachelor, and it's only 20-some miles from Bend, Oregon, which serves as a wonderful home base filled with a young, active population.

Accessible via the infamous Donner Pass, a journey to Sugar Bowl is fun for the history that surrounds its slopes.

It also has some interesting history in itself-Walt Disney was an original investor, for example (Sugar Bowl was featured in the 1941 Disney cartoon "The Art of Skiing," where Goofy goes to Sugar Bowl to learn how to ski), and its roots mix in Austrian ski culture and a number of accolades, most significantly as home to California's first chairlift and the first gondola in the West.

So, if you read up on it enough, you can show up to Sugar Bowl and it won't matter what the snow or terrain looks like. Just kidding. Sugar Bowl exceeds there, too, with nice views of Donner Lake.

With 41 percent of its terrain marked as beginner, Stratton Mountain in Vermont is a great family getaway.

It has more than 100 trails and is the highest peak in Southern Vermont, but its location a hundred miles from both Burlington and Manchester (neither are major hubs) has protected Stratton from the masses.

Stratton has a special place in its heart for beginners, home to the nation's first ski school for children and the world's first snowboard school. Families, take notice.