Karl, I feel your pain booking ski trips in advance. I am an avid skier that "must" ski at least 3-4 weeks every year. That's one of the reasons we bought a cabin in Pagosa Springs in southern Colorado (I believe you frequent there as well). The Wolf Creek Ski resort is one of the last hidden ski gems in North America. Privately owned, they are a family run business, and I have never been disappointed skiing there in the past 17 years. Lift tickets have slowly increased in price, but as a retired military (Senior), I can ski daily for about $45. AND, no lift lines. We pride ourselves in getting between 18 and 20 runs a day, all before 1PM....lunch and home. I would really love to ski Telluride or Aspen, but am happy to stay local and get a ton of skiing done on a retirement budget.
Cheers,
Dick