All of the region's ski and snowboarding resorts are enjoying good to excellent conditions now, with the last round of storms bringing Wolf Creek's base to 84 inches. Silverton Mountain is reporting a base of 89 inches, with a record 196 inches having fallen in December. (Bases differ from snow fall due mainly to settling of the snowpack as well as wind removal and evaporation.)

Ski Santa Fe has a 60-inch base but high winds have scoured many of the upper mountain's exposed runs, resulting in their closure — such as Cornice, Parachute, Gayway, Wizard and both Burns.

Taos Ski Valley has an average base of 78 inches, with 14 expert runs now open. Tonight the resort will ring in the New Year with fireworks and a torchlight parade down the slopes, and live music by the Monkey Feeders and Tabularasa in the Martini Tree.

Telluride is reporting a 55-inch base; Durango has a 54-inch base, with all runs open. Crested Butte has a 42-inch base but none of its famed Extreme Limits terrain is open yet. Down south, at Ski Apache, there is only a 30-inch base, with just 29 percent of the formidable mountain open.

It is always interesting to see what the major ski and snowboarding media have to say about the regional snow sliding scene in their annual ski resorts guides. Here's a summary of their latest reports. Skiing Magazine calls Silverton Mountain the "Best Resort You've Never Skied" in the entire nation, calling it the "best no-frills, no-beginners steep skiing on the continent." It also posted an honorable mention for Cheapest Lift Ticket at $49.

Monarch Mountain secured the magazine's nod for the Best Resort-Based Cat-Skiing with their Monarch Snowcat Tours and its 1,000-acre powder playground atop the Continental Divide in the rugged Sawatch range. A day here runs $230, including lunch.

Taos claimed the top spot for the Best Legal Car Camping in its C Lot, Best Patio award for the Hotel St. Bernard deck, an honorable mention in the category for sunniest resort and honorable mention for deep powder.

Wolf Creek was ranked second nationally for Best Powder, with Alta/Snowbird of Utah taking this coveted title, and took third place for Best Trees.

Crested Butte took the major honor of Best Steeps for its Extreme Limits terrain, with runs like Body Bag Glades — CB's Colorado Freeskier shop also received an honorable mention for Best Slopeside Tuning Shop, and the resort was ranked eighth for Best Trees.

Telluride came in at the No. 3 spot in the Best Steeps category, and the No. 4 ranking for Best Overall resort — finishing ahead of Alta, Snowbird, Aspen, Big Ski, Steamboat and Breckenridge.

Ski Magazine's reader resort survey reveals some agreements and some disagreements with the Skiing survey.

Telluride was selected as the 10th best area in the West, the highest finish of any regional area (Deer Valley took the top honor). This included its fourth place ranking in the Scenery category, the No. 6 spot for Weather, the eighth place for Dining, and No. for Lodging. Hurting it was its 60th place finish for Access, but since it is but a five-hour drive for Santa Feans, that's not an issue for us.

Taos only came in at the No. 27 spot overall, hurt by its remote location, sparse nightlife and other nonessential factors. Readers picked it second in the Terrain/Challenge category, just behind Jackson Hole, and eighth in Value.

Overall, the regional resorts can hold their heads up high, considering the huge corporations and money behind many of the West's major winter resorts. We're smaller but blessed with generally wonderful snow, dedicated employees, creativity and a relaxed ambiance now sadly lacking at many big-name resorts. Happy trails in 2009!

Daniel Gibson can be reached at dbgibson@newmexico.com.