Planning for 2027 - Best USA Resort for Season-Long Rental?

I'm in the incredibly fortunate position to work remotely (EST hours), not have kids, and love snowboarding.

I spent my entire last winter in Mammoth Lakes, California for (3) months and I'd like to do it again this coming season.

I really enjoyed Mammoth specifically because it was so remote (Felt like it got less visitors and for the crowds it did see Mammoth handles them really well given it is pretty gigantic - lift lines were rarely an issue all season, etc). Additionally with I was always ~5 minutes from a ski left (Great for after-work runs!!!).

Goals:

• Under $4,000/mo lodging (Preferably under $3,000)

• Strong preference for < 10 minutes to the lifts (I do not want to spend my weekends driving two hours in traffic up/down the mountain each day).

  • This basically means I want to live in the resort town, not commute there (I do not want to live in SLC and commute - That sounds miserable).

• As minimally crowded as possible - I don't want to spend an hour in a lift line (Priority #1)

• USA based (work requirement)

• Intermediate-Advanced terrain (Rarely an issue), but basically not Palisades Tahoe (Expert terrain out the wazoo) - I love moguls, but I don't want a resort that is all steeps. I love a good wide groomer, I love a variety of terrain.

• Ideally a single large resort - I'd rather live at one resort that's huge than be 1 hour from 3 resorts. I don't wanna commute, I wanna take the bus to the lift and ski, drink beer, etc.

Don't care about:

• Nightlife (I'll be solo, I don't care if town shuts down at 7PM - I'll be at the gym or in bed)

• Proximity to anything (I'll be there all winter, I don't need an airport or a whole foods)

Napkin math says:

• Mammoth Lakes (Yet again - If it ain't broke)

• Park City (AI says this is a great pick, but I don't trust that it isn't crowded?)

• Snowmass (AI again)

Am I missing any big contenders? Any advice y'all can give either for my plan, or my locations?