Are There Any Real Ski Towns Left in America?

The world is a different place than it was 40 years ago, and so is skiing. The small mountain town with snow as its lifeblood has, in so many places, mutated into a real estate opportunity, or a shopping mall, or an amusement park. Or it’s simply a resort. One that looks like a functioning town, but it so stratospherically expensive, it’s effectively a gated community, with the gate being made from money. So, is that the ski town of today – unaffordable, slick and packaged and marketed? Can town be all of these things and still feel like the place that puts skiing and snowboarding above all else, that still feels authentic? And if so, where are they?