CU boulder pretty much fits the bill for what you described, I skied 90 days last year while being in school, so if you really wanna get up to the mountains, its not that far/hard. not to mention Breck/Keystone slay it in the park department. Boulder as a town is a great place to live, plenty to do. I personally would say that you'll have a better time at CU than DU too, I have plenty of friends at DU, and they always come up here to rage, never the opposite. There is a reason for that. Hope that helps