If you're looking for a small liberal arts school, check out Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon. Compared to UofU, WWU, MSU, CU-Boulder, etc. it doesn't have the best ski terrain in the area, but Hood still has a lot to play on and sick parks; plus, you can ski there all summer too. The mountain is about an hour away. I chose LC not just because of Hood but because Portland is a fucking great town and because it's centrally located to a lot of cool shit: the coast, the columbia river gorge, oregon rainforest, etc etc. You're also not far from Mt. Bachelor, the Cascades, Whistler etc.
And of course, the academics (and the pot) aren't going to be beat anywhere.