APRÈS-SKI certainly wasn't coined in the West, but with historic saloon towns like Ketchum, Idaho, and modern über-alpine villages like Whistler, British Columbia, it might as well have been. Even sleepy Bend, Ore., is starting to stay up late and play to live music and a lively ambiance. Pick a direction, grab your skis (or not!) and get ready for a snowy carnival replete with good times as fresh as the morning tracks.

Mount Bachelor has long felt like a local's mountain, though the first-time visitor always returns. Located 30 minutes from Bend, the après scene once suffered from the intensity of the skiers and riders, extreme athletes who might knock off a 50-mile bike ride or an hour's climb after a full day on the slopes.

Not so anymore. While the Bendites' aura still makes you feel healthier just by standing in its midst, the Bend scene is booming with au courant bars like 2007's Deep, a cosmopolitan atmosphere more familiar to Whistler wanderers than this brewpub-crazy (five breweries and counting) former cowboy town. The oenophile can dust off 100 wines by the glass across at Merenda Restaurant & Wine Bar. Of course, crawling from the Deschutes Brewery & Public House to the Bend Brewing Company to Cascades Lakes Brewing Co. Lodge ain't a bad way to spend a late afternoon either. Bend still isn't Sun Valley, but it's catching up mighty fast.

Sun Valley will forever reign as the Northwest's first destination ski resort. The area's combination of clear skies and incredible snow lured Los Angeles moguls to the slopes long before extreme-skiing impresario Warren Miller parked his van in the dirt parking lot for the season. The charm of a traditional mountain, authentic town and Wild West spirit mean there are few places better from first turn to last run.

"Sun Valley après means Grumpy's, where I snag a 32-ounce schooner of Foster's and a Grumpy Burger," explains Branson Veal, commercial director and principal of the Choreografik Production Co. "It's definitely a local's hangout but when tourists discover it, they always come back. The fact that my wife grew up next door is an added bonus."

"It really depends on who you want to hang out with," laughs Veal's wife, Lissa, who was babysat in the house that became Grumpy's. "There's something for everyone. The Roosevelt Tavern has great live music, the Sawtooth Club great steaks, and Sushi on Second is a favorite haunt of Bruce Willis', among others."

"I start thinking about après with about two runs left in my day," continues Tony Grob, principal and creative director at Gigantic Planet, a film production company. "I start and end at the Pioneer Saloon. It's hard to beat a great Manhattan and an even better steak."

Of course, film personalities also frequent another Western outpost-cum-alpine hub located about five hours south on Interstate 84. Park City, epicenter of the Sundance and Slamdance film festivals, provides reels of après options during the nonglam weeks as well. The Lounge in quieter Deer Valley packs people onto its spacious deck, especially when the spring sun starts peeking over the Wasatch Range.

"The whole Park City-Deer Valley après scene depends on what you want," says cartographer Bart Wright, principal of Lohnes & Wright GIS and Mapping. "Deer Valley's lodges boast great luxurious lounges like Stein's, but there is also the Main Street crawl in Park City including the Claim Jumper, No Name Saloon and local favorite, O'Shuck's. Or you can always hit a classic microbrewery like Wasatch Brewing Company."

If you stay put after your runs, check out the Legends Bar & Grill located inside Park City Mountain Resort's Legacy Lodge. You don't want to miss Mother Urban's Ratskeller either, as this former bordello now stocks over 100 leggy beers.