���ϳԹ���

Hilaree Nelson is one of the boldest ski mountaineers in the world. The 46-year-old lives in Telluride, Colorado, and has skied from the summit of 26,906-foot Cho Oyu��in the Himalayas, the sixth-highest mountain in the world; made the , also known as the Peak of Evil; and, last year, with her boyfriend, Jim Morrison, nailed the , at 27,940 feet, the fourth-highest mountain in the world. She’s also a����and a mother of two.

When she’s not shredding big-mountain lines around the world, you can find her lapping runs at her home mountain��or revisiting her roots at Stevens Pass in Washington’s Cascade Mountains, where she first learned to ski at the age of three. Here are her favorite resorts and inbounds runs from��over four decades of skiing.��

Taos, New Mexico

Lift Ticket: $110

“This was the ��when I was a 19-year-old dirtbag. All the super-steep K��chutes off Kachina Peak are awesome, high-adventure lines, and they’re pretty accessible. There’s a lift to the top��now, but it rarely opens. The peak is open to hikers more often, and I actually like that you have to work to get there.

“When I was a ski bum, I stayed in the town of Taos, which is a 30-minute drive from the resort. But now that I’m an adult with kids, I like staying up on the mountain. The last time I was there, we got a room at . It’s super nice. You walk out and you’re on the hill.”

Telluride, Colorado

Lift Ticket: $139

“��is my home mountain, so it’s obviously my favorite. The hike-to terrain is some of the best anywhere, especially off Palmyra Peak, which is technically inbounds but takes 45 minutes to an hour to get to. The top doesn’t open very often, so maybe that adds to the allure.

“The Mak-M–Stairs–Plunge combines three different runs—Kant-Mak-M, Spiral Stairs, and Plunge—off of Chair 9. It’s a big��giant-bump run, meaning it’s a good way to get in shape. You just lap it. It’s steep, north facing, and always dependable. Dynamo, off Chair 14, a.k.a. the Gold Hill Lift, is probably my other favorite. It’s off a high-speed quad, and it’s this fast, straight-to-the-bottom run,��which you can do in three minutes. It’s steep, rarely very moguly, and there are all these little secret shots off of it.

“The town of Telluride is small, but cool. The lifts come right out of town, and you can walk everywhere. But unlike many ski resorts, it feels real because it was a mining town in the 1800s, and then the ski area came in the seventies.”

Crystal Mountain, Washington

Lift Ticket: From $59

“I grew up in Washington, so I like ��a lot.��It’s updated all of its lifts, and it’s a big mountain with really fun skiing. The snow is good,��and there is a lot of it. There’s also great hike-to terrain that’s still inbounds, and it’s not super crowded since everyone can be pretty spread out.

“There’s no real town, and the après at the base is pretty minimal: there’s only one bar. But it��has��a really cool camper scene in the parking lot, which is pretty unique.��The mountain allows it��and even has��hookups and services for RVs. It’s a total ski-bum scene.”

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

Lift Ticket: $154

“��has amazing sidecountry access, and I tend to go out the backcountry gates if I have the option. But there’s lots of steep skiing inbounds, too. I love Cody Bowl, Rock Springs Bowl, and the Hobacks, below the tram. I like all the terrain off the Thunder and Sublette quad chairs, and Corbet’s Couloir is an incredible, classic inbounds run.

“The local scene in Jackson is a little more intense, a little more aggro. It reminds me of Chamonix [France] in that way, but I still have tons of fun there. Plus, it has more of an après-ski��bar scene compared to these other places.”

Squaw Valley, California

Lift Ticket: $169

“I love the people at ��probably more than those at any other resort. There’s this really cool��local scene where you can go and meet up with people. Everybody’s friendly and a high-quality skier. It’s just fun. The resort gets crowded, though, but I’ve never been there when it’s too crowded, because I’m able to ski weekdays.

“The terrain off Squaw Peak is really nice. The Palisades are obviously well-known, and I like the Headwall below the Headwall Express Lift and everything off��KT-22.

“There’s a good town at the base, but it doesn’t feel as authentic as Telluride, since it was built after the lifts. I usually stay in with my boyfriend. Lift tickets are pricey, but the resort is on the��, which is reasonable. California resorts also stay open the longest—Squaw has run lifts through the Fourth��of July before. It has really sunny days, and it’s super fun to ski spring corn snow.”

Stevens Pass, Washington

Lift Ticket: From��$84��

“ has fantastic skiing. I grew up skiing there��and love that it’s small and rootsy. Lift tickets are still under $100. There’s no town, no bars, no après-ski, but it has a really cool parking-lot scene. That’s it: the��parking lot, the��lodge at the base, and the mountain. Some of my favorite runs are Nancy Chute and Bobby Chute off Cowboy Mountain, and I love everything off Big Chief Mountain. It’s a quick��drive from , so its easy to make a day trip out of it.”